Travels Through North America, During the Years 1825 and 1826. v. 1-2

The battery, to which I walked, is at the southern extremity of the city and island of New York; there was formerly a Dutch fort here, but it has been pulled down, and the place altered into a public garden, which gives a fine perspective of the entrance of the bay, and of Long Island. West of the battery, in the Hudson river, is a fort, called Castle Clinton, communicating with the battery by a wooden bridge, ninety paces long. This fort forms a semicircle; on the diameter are the former barracks, and behind the walls, which form the semicircle, a battery of twenty-four guns, under casemates. North of this fort, on the same shore, in front of the city, are two other forts of the same description, called North Battery and Fort Gansevoort; being of no use they are abandoned. Castle Clinton is now a public pleasure house. In the barrack is a coffee-house; boxes for parties are arranged within the battery, and on the platform are amphitheatrical seats, because the yard of the fort is used for fire-works, and other exhibitions. From the battery I walked to Brooklyn ferry, and was delighted with the large number of vessels, and the great life and bustle. Brooklyn is situated on Long Island, opposite to New York. The straight, called East river, at Brooklyn, requires about seven minutes and a half to cross it; there are two steam-boats and two team-boats continually crossing. Brooklyn appears to be a flourishing little town, judging by the quantity of stores which are established there. I passed to the left, and after having walked upwards of a mile, spent some hours at the navy-yard, and returned to the city exceedingly fatigued, on account of the great distance.

I went on board of the Pallas with Mr. Hone, president of the Canal Bank of this city, a rich and respectable man, and with Mr. Derviter, a merchant of this city, and a native of Grammont, in Flanders. The Pallas rode at anchor in the Hudson, between New York and Jersey City, a little village in the state of New Jersey, opposite New York, on the right side of the river. Soon after our arrival, boats likewise arrived with some ladies, who had wished to see the Pallas. As the cabin was but small and narrow, the ladies were served, by Captain Ryk, with an elegant luncheon on deck, under an awning; they were some of the most amiable and fashionable ladies of the city, and remained on board till three o’clock, and then went on shore during a pretty heavy storm.

On returning home at night, I observed that the streets were not well lighted. I was afterwards informed, that the corporation of the city was just engaged in a quarrel with the gas-company relative to the lamps; this quarrel protracted the inconvenience, though it was somewhat lessened by the numerous stores, which are kept open till a late hour, and are very splendidly lighted with gas. The gas-lights burn in handsome figures; at a music store, I saw one in form of a harp.

An eminent physician of this city, Dr. David Hosack, who, since his second marriage, is said to have an annual income of twenty thousand dollars, receives every Saturday night, during the winter season, the professional gentlemen of the city, and distinguished foreigners. His library, and collection of engravings, is then opened for the use of the visitors, and a discourse is sometimes delivered. This learned and obliging gentleman, offered himself to me as a guide through the city; I accepted his politeness, and visited several interesting institutions in his company.

The City Hospital was built in the year 1770, by voluntary contributions, and is supported by the interest of its capital, and by the state government. The building is of blue stone, and stands on high ground, in a very healthy situation. An avenue of old and high elm trees leads to it. In the first story is a large room, where the board meet; this contains the library, which is particularly rich in botanical works. In the basement is the kitchen, and several wards for syphilitic patients. They intended to establish a new hospital for these patients, like the lunatic asylum, formerly in one of the wings of this hospital, which is now established out of town. There may be accommodated in this hospital altogether four hundred patients of both sexes. They are attended to by nurses in large wards, each of them containing about sixteen beds. The bedsteads are of wood; upon inquiring why they were not of iron, they replied, they were afraid to use them, on account of the heavy thunder-storms which frequently occur. Six physicians and four surgeons are attached to the hospital, and alternately attend. One physician and one surgeon live free of expense in the hospital, and one of them must always be present for extraordinary cases. The apothecary’s shop attached to the hospital is kept very neatly; however, it appeared to me to be inferior to those in the hospitals of Boston and Montreal.

For the purpose of visiting the newly-erected lunatic asylum, we called upon Thomas Eddy,13 an aged and venerable Quaker, who is at the head of the hospitals, charitable institutions, &c. I was introduced to him at Dr. Hosack’s. We found Mr. Eddy at home, with his two daughters, his son, and partner, who is likewise a Quaker. The family was dressed in the plainest style, and this simplicity joined to the greatest cleanliness, prevailed through the whole house. Mr. Eddy is in possession of a fine library, which he showed us; it contained several splendid works on natural science; among others, Wilson’s American Ornithology, with the splendid supplementary volume published by Charles Lucian Buonaparte, son of Lucian Buonaparte. Mr. Eddy then drove with us to the country-seat of Dr. Hosack, on the East River, opposite the navy-yard. Dr. Hosack, who was formerly married to a sister of Mr. Eddy, accompanied us to the Lunatic Asylum. This is five miles from the city, on a hill, in a very healthy situation, not far from the Hudson River. The road lies between country-seats and handsome gardens, and it is one of the most pleasant places I have seen in America.

The asylum is built of sand-stone, is three stories high, and surrounded by a garden; it was built mostly by subscription, but is likewise supported by the state government. Mr. Eddy is one of its greatest benefactors and patrons. There were one hundred and thirty-three maniacs, by which number the building was almost filled; they were about to enlarge it by two other wings. Besides the meeting rooms for the committee in the first story, there are the apothecary’s shop, and the wards for the poor patients, who have a large corridor and sitting room. One wing of the building is inhabited by the male, and the other by the female patients. There are subterraneous passages from the corridors to the large yard, which is surrounded by walls, and serve the patients for walking, exercise, and play. In the middle of each yard is a shelter supplied with benches, for bad weather. In the upper stories are the rooms for the inspectors, and several other apartments where patients may live separately. In the whole establishment great cleanliness is observed; but still the institution appeared to me less perfect than the asylum of Boston, or that of Glasgow in Scotland. The garden is kept in very good order; there is likewise a hot-house, which is supplied mostly from Dr. Hosack’s collection. On the roof of the house is a platform, from which we had a very pleasant and extensive view.

A Philosophical Society hold their meetings in the same building containing the American Museum. In one of the rooms is a collection of minerals, not yet very extensive, but exhibiting many fine minerals from the northern frontiers of the United States. Another saloon contains a collection of paintings, which do not appear to be very valuable. The best picture was a portrait of the celebrated American painter, Benjamin West, who died in London; this picture is from the masterly pencil of Sir Thomas Lawrence. There are two paintings by Teniers, and two others by Salvator Rosa. I was particularly pleased with one of the latter; an old soldier praying in a wild landscape before a simple cross! Two other paintings are said to be by Rubens: among these I observed a portrait of Rubens, of which the original is in the collection of Mr. Schamp, at Ghent. There are likewise good plaster-casts of the best Roman antiques, of a Venus of Milo, and the three Graces of Canova, and likewise two gladiators of full size by the same artist.

The house of Commodore Chauncey14 is situated on a hill in the navy-yard, which affords a fine view of the wharf and Long Island. The commodore took a walk with me to the wharf. As I left his house, I was escorted by a guard of honour of thirty marines, commanded by a captain; in the meantime the man-of-war Franklin saluted me with twenty-one guns. This mark of respect was quite unexpected in the United States, and of course I was the more surprised and flattered.

In the navy-yard two frigates and two corvettes, not yet named, were building; one frigate was finished, but was still under cover. Both frigates are called forty-fours, but carry each sixty-four guns. These are intended to be thirty-two pounders, which is now the common calibre of the navy of the United States. The vessels are built of live oak, from North Carolina; the timbers are salted in order to prevent the dry-rot. The three ships of the line, Franklin, Washington, and Ohio, were in ordinary; they are called seventy-fours, but the two first are each calculated for eighty-six and the latter for one hundred and six guns. I saw likewise the renowned steam-frigate Fulton the First, of which many fables have been fabricated in Europe. The schooner Shark, of eight guns, was perfectly fitted out, and ready to sail in a few days for the coast of Africa, in order to prevent the slave-trade.

At a second visit, we first went on board the steam-frigate, Fulton the First; this vessel is entirely disarmed, and serves as a receiving ship. She is a floating battery, and was to carry thirty thirty-two pounders. Her sides are six feet thick, made of oak timbers, which are fixed upon and crossing each other, so that the vessel may be compared to a floating block-house. Her machinery resembles that of a team-boat: she has two parallel keels, between these an engine of one hundred and twenty-horse power is fixed, and one large wheel is moved by it. The vessel is very spacious: in several places reverberatory furnaces may be added, in order to heat balls red-hot. Before this frigate was dismantled, she carried two small masts with triangular sails, but the commodore has substituted large masts with the usual sails, for the instruction of the sailors. The machinery had been taken out for some months, and placed in an arsenal on the wharf: the place it had occupied was covered with boards, to make a common deck for the sailors. Since that time an upper deck has been built, upon which are comfortable state-rooms for the officers. This frigate has been spoken of as a real miracle; that she presented towards the enemy a forest of swords and lances, and threw a stream of boiling water, &c. all of these are stories. Her construction during the latter part of the war with England was merely an experiment, though it caused the English a great deal of anxiety. All competent judges with whom I conversed concerning this vessel, objected to her and were of opinion that this large body could only be used to defend straits. She never was at sea, and some feared that she would be unfit for it. Moreover, as the navy-board at Washington having objections to the further application of steam to ships of war, it is probable that they will discontinue the building of more steam-frigates, although the machinery of a second is already finished and placed in the magazine.

We were likewise on board of the two ships of the line, Ohio and Franklin. The Ohio is of a new construction, and has not yet been in service; the Franklin and Washington, however, have already made several voyages. The sides of the Ohio are thicker than those of the other ships, and her decks higher: all these men of war have not the modern round, but broad sterns, in each of which is a battery of twelve guns. Only one of the frigates, still standing on the stocks, has an elliptical stern, which unites the defensive power of the round, with the elegance of the broad sterns.

Every thing appears to be in an improving state at the arsenal. In the house where the office of the commodore and his agents is kept, there is a hall fitted up as a chapel; this serves during the week as a school-room for the midshipmen; we found these young gentlemen engaged in their mathematical studies, under the direction of the chaplain.

In the harbour we visited two Liverpool packet-ships, the William Thompson and the Pacific. Every regular mode of communication between two places, by stages, steam-boats, &c. is here called a line. Two years since, I saw the packet-ship Cortez, at Liverpool, and admired her elegant arrangements; but these two vessels were far superior to her in regard to elegance and comfort. Both have a large dining room, and in its centre a long mahogany table; on both sides of the dining room are the state-rooms, each of them containing two beds one above the other, and a wash-table. In this cabin there are ten of these state-rooms, five on each side, and, besides, near the windows in the stern of the ship, there are two state-rooms having but one bed, so that twenty-two gentlemen may be accommodated. The mizen-mast passes through the cabin and table. The cabin is lighted partly by the windows in the stern and partly by a large skylight; the state-rooms receive their light by patent deck-lights. There is another room in front of the dining room, for the ladies, near the mainmast, where the motion of the vessel is the least felt; on each side of their room, are two state-rooms, for eight ladies. The sides of the dining room and ladies cabin are of mahogany and curled maple, with elegant looking-glasses. In the Pacific, between every two state-rooms there are columns of white marble. All the settees are of mahogany covered with black horse hair cushions, and the floors of both cabins are richly carpeted. The stairs which lead into the dining room, are likewise of mahogany and covered by a shelter, under which sea-sick passengers may sit on benches. There is likewise a roof over the poop, where passengers may walk and be sheltered from the rain and sun. The passage from New York to Liverpool costs but thirty guineas, for which price passengers are perfectly accommodated. Each packet is of about five hundred tons, and they sometimes make the passage in seventeen days. On the 1st and 16th of each month, one of the eight vessels of this line leaves New York for Liverpool, and on the same day another leaves Liverpool for New York.

On the first Sunday of my stay in New York, I visited the new Lutheran church, with the consul, Mr. Zimmerman. The service was in English, because there are at New York but few descendants of German parents who understand the German language. Dr. Schaeffer preached: he is a native of Philadelphia, and the son of a German clergyman; his sermon was good and not too long, but after the sermon came a lamentation upon the miserable state of the church funds, which was not particularly edifying. There appeared to be a deficit of eighteen thousand dollars, which the consistory tried to make up by subscription, to which the congregation was invited to contribute. Dr. Schaeffer’s congregation formerly belonged to an older Lutheran church, still existing in this city, but they parted from the latter and established a new church, though rather in too extravagant a style, as their expenses were disproportioned to their income. The minister besides complained of his own small salary, and implied that an augmentation would not be unpleasant to him, as he stood in need of it.

It is a difficult matter to ride in a carriage through the streets on Sunday, because there are chains stretched across in front of the churches, to prevent their passage during service. The land of liberty has also its chains!15

In this manner eight days soon elapsed, and amusement was not wanting, as my mind was occupied with interesting and useful novelties. I passed my time in cheerful and pleasant company. At dinner and evening parties I continued to make interesting acquaintances with men of different occupations and professions. I observed that the families I visited were richly furnished with silver, china, and glass; the fine arts also contributed to the ornament of their apartments. At the evening parties we commonly had music and dancing. The dinner parties consisted generally of from twenty to thirty persons, whose conversation was generally refined. In New York, as well as at all other places, where English customs prevail, the ladies leave the table during the dessert, and the gentlemen keep their seats; however, nobody is obliged to drink, unless he feels inclined. Every one rises and leaves the house without ceremony. The servants are generally negroes and mulattos; most of the white servants are Irish; the Americans have a great abhorrence of servitude. Liveries are not to be seen; the male servants wear frock coats. All the families complain of bad servants and their impudence, because the latter consider themselves on an equality with their employers. Of this insolence of servants I saw daily examples. Negroes and mulattos are abundant here, but they generally rank low, and are labourers. There are but a few slaves in the state of New York, and even these are to be freed in the year 1827, according to a law passed by senate of the state. There are public schools established for the instruction of coloured children, and I was told that these little ape-like creatures do sometimes learn very well. In the city there are several churches belonging to the coloured population; most of them are Methodists, some Episcopalians. A black minister, who was educated in an Episcopalian seminary, is said to be a good preacher. But there is in this country a great abhorrence of this class of people, who are obliged to live almost like the Indian Parias. In the army they are only employed as musicians, but are never admitted to be soldiers. Soldiers are not even allowed to be of mixed blood!16

Colonel Bankhead, of the second artillery regiment, who was on the recruiting service in this city, offered to show me the fortifications for the defence of the bay of New York. We sailed in a boat, along with General Swift and an engineer, first to Governor’s Island, opposite to New York.

Upon this small island is a fort of red sandstone, called Columbus; it consists of four bastions, which, on the city side, has still a covered work between two of the bastions, but further below, in the Narrows, new fortifications have been built, and therefore Fort Columbus is considered useless and is neglected. In the interior are the barracks and arsenals, the former in very good order, and inhabited by a company of artillery. I found a bible in each room, and was informed that it was a present from the New York Bible Society.

West of the fort, near the river, there is a tower after the style of Montalambert, called Castle Williams. This was commenced in 1803, and finished in 1811. Colonel Macrea of the artillery in the fort, received me with twenty-one guns. The officers have lodgings and gardens on the glacis of the fort; there is likewise a wooden barrack, which serves in time of war for a battalion of infantry; a large two-story brick house with a piazza, is intended for the head-quarters of the commanding general. Opposite to Castle Williams, are two small islands; on each of them is likewise a battery, called Fort Wood and Fort Gibson. These batteries appear but small, and the principal defence will be at Castle Williams, where also I observed furnaces for heating shot. From this spot there is a particularly fine view of the city.

We then sailed along the western shores of Long Island, to the straits called the Narrows, a thousand yards wide, and formed by the shores of Long Island and Staten Island. They are defended by Fort Tompkins on Staten Island, and Fort La Fayette on Long Island. We visited the latter; it is built on rocks in the sea, two hundred and fifty yards distant from the shores, so that it forms an island. It is a square building, and erected after a plan of General Swift. From the outside it has the appearance of a Montalambert tower. The outside of the walls is of red sandstone, but their interior of gneiss; it was garrisoned by one company of artillery. During peace a shed was built over the platform, and a garrison stationed here during the present hot summer.

Fort Tompkins stands on a height opposite to Fort La Fayette, and on the shore of Staten Island is a battery which defends the Narrows by a raking fire.

On Long Island is another hill near the village of New Utrecht which commands Fort La Fayette, and in the vicinity there is a bay, where the English and Hessian army landed in the year 1776, when coming from Staten Island to take possession of Long Island. In order to defend this spot sufficiently they are about to build a very strong fort designed by General Bernard, resembling Fort Francis, near Coblenz, (on the Rhine.) The casemates, calculated for dwellings as well as for defence, are to be built under the ramparts, whose front face will be three hundred and seventy-five feet long: they are to be covered with earth, and a common rampart erected on top of them. In front of this is a covered way in the ditch, lower than the ramparts, with six guns, three on each side, for the defence of the ditch, &c. They were just beginning to build this fort, which is to be called Fort Hamilton, and the engineer-officers thought that it would not be finished in less than four years. The government has experienced the disadvantage of those buildings which were built by contract, and this well-arranged work will therefore be built under the immediate direction of government. General Bernard is a Frenchman; he was engineer at Antwerp, and obtained the attention and favour of the Emperor Napoleon by his great knowledge and modesty, who appointed him his aid. In 1815, he entered the service of the United States, at the recommendation of General La Fayette, and was appointed in the engineer corps under the title of assistant engineer, with the salary of a brigadier-general, but without wearing the uniform of the engineer corps, nor having any rank in the army.

He is a great acquisition to the corps, and I was somewhat astonished at the cool and indifferent manner in which they spoke of this distinguished engineer. The cause, however, of this coolness, undoubtedly is to be found in a silly misconception of patriotism; for the general is a foreigner, and frequent experience has shown that a foreigner in military service seldom enjoys satisfaction. Two new fortifications are to be built outside of the Narrows on rocks, in order still better to defend the entrance to New York, by firing crosswise at vessels, and are intended to serve as advanced posts to Forts La Fayette and Tompkins.

A gun-maker, by name of Ellis, received a patent for making repeating-guns; I visited him in company with Mr. Tromp. A repeating musket will fire frequently after being once loaded; it consists of a long tube, in which touch-holes are bored at certain distances, according to the number of shots it is intended to discharge. The musket is charged in the usual way, a piece of sole-leather is put upon the load, on this another charge, and again a piece of leather, &c. until the required number is introduced, according to the size of the tube. For each of these loads, whose height is known by a mark on the rod, there are touch-holes made on the right side of the tube, each of them closed by a valve. A box is attached to the lock, which primes itself, and moves downwards from the highest touch-hole to the lowest, until the shots are gradually discharged, one after the other, and in the same manner the valves of each touch-hole must be opened. This instrument was very interesting to me. Mr. Ellis has also made an experiment of his plan for the use of American troops, but it seems to me that such a tube would be much too long and too heavy, and the loading would consume too much time, not to speak of the difficulty of drilling a man to use this curious weapon. This idea struck me, and my opinion was confirmed as soon as I tried Mr. Ellis’s gun. The experiments I made with it, proved to me that particular care would be necessary in using it without danger. A musket of this nature, containing five charges, fired the two first separately, and the last three at once!