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Deerpark and Mount Hope

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INDIAN HOSTILITIES OF THE REVOLUTION.

The war of the Revolution brought its additional Indian hostilities upon the inhabitants of these towns. At its commencement the Indians again retired and joined the English, and only returned to the old settlement and graves of their fathers as enemies to the whites, and to commit all kinds of bloody deeds. Their first incursion was in 1777, when they attacked the family of Mr. Sprague, who lived in the Northern part of the town. The next year they attacked the family of Mr. Brooks, some of whom they killed and took others of them prisoners.

Previous to the above date little danger had been apprehended, and at the time the militia of the town were doing duty elsewhere—when Capt. Cuddeback, Gerardus Swartwout, Cornelius Swartwout and Gerardus Van Inwegen, on whose personal presence and exertions the people chiefly relied for protection, were at Fort Montgomery when it was taken; and though the others did, Van Inwegen never returned. Capt. Cuddeback with a party of men was sent across the river to prevent the enemy from loosening or otherwise injuring the chain stretched across it; while the Swartwouts with Van Ingewen remained in the fort. Thus the Captain was not in the battle. The Swartwouts escaped and Van Inwegen was killed. The party crossed the river on the framework of logs, constructed to buoy up the chain, keep it near the surface, and prevent its breaking with its own weight.

These Indian attacks alarmed the people, and the Committee of Safety, who had the charge of home military defences, began to act with vigilance. They directed scouting parties from time to time to look over and scour the frontier,-in doing which they swept over the woods as far as Cochecton, a distance of forty miles, where a few families had settled before the war. Persons suspected of aiding the enemy were apprehended and imprisoned by them or discharged.— Through their intercession the militia of the town were permitted to remain at home, to guard that frontier. They ordered the erection of three forts in the neighborhood of Peen pack—one at the house of Jacob Rutsen De Witt; one at the house of Benjamin De Puy, Esq.; and the third at the house of Ezekiel Gumaer.

At this time the Peenpack neighborhood extended from the line between Orange and Ulster, to what is now Cuddebackville, a distance of four miles, and was in Ulster county. Benjamin Du Puy, Philip Swartwout and Thomas Kytte were the first committee for the town. The first two were Justices of Mamakating. Harmanus Van Inwegen became a member afterwards. The lower neighborhood, called “Over the River Neighborhood,” because on the opposite side of the Neversink, extended down to the Delaware, and was in the old county of Orange. Though our informant is not certain whether or not there was a committee there, yet he thinks no forts were erected to defend that neighborhood.

Our informant’s father sent him—then six or eight years old—with his mother to Mr. James Finch’s, who lived at what is now called Finchville. Benjamin Du Puy and one or two of his sons sent their wives and small children to Major Phillips’ for safety. Some women and children encamped in the woods on the East side of the Neversink for a short time. The forts were each garrisoned by a few soldiers, called nine months’ men, sent for the purpose from different places.

When the war commenced there were about fifty families within the limits of Deerpark, which removed to the forts when they were erected. On the 13th of October, 1778, a party of nearly one hundred Indians and Tories, commanded by Captain Brandt, invaded the settlement. They first fell upon the family of Mr. Westfall, and killed one man. They next attacked the house of Mr. Swartwout, who was at home with his sons, the women having been removed to the fort. They all endeavored to escape, but one of the sons was shot down between the house and barn. Another ran to the river half a mile off, swam it, and was shot near the opposite shore. The father, an old man, and two of his other sons ran on together for his assistance, but finding that they would soon be overtaken, the father told his son James, a very active strong man, to run and save himself, which he did.— The Indians pursued him half a mile over fences and across lots, when he gained the fort, and they gave up the chase. The father and the other son were soon overtaken and despatched.

When the firing of guns was heard, those who were out on their farms repaired to the forts at Gumaer’s and De Witt's. The other fort was abandoned, as there were no troops to garrison it. As there were but few men kin Fort Gumaer, Capt. Cuddeback who commanded, in order to deceive the enemy, paraded all the women and young people back of the house and fort, collected all the hats and coats about the house, and put them on the women. He also placed the spare guns and sticks in their hands, so that all might appear to be soldiers. When the enemy came in sight of the fort, the Captain ordered the drum to beat, and marched them in Indian file from the rear to the front of the fort, and entered it in a distant but distinct view of the Indians. The women and children were ordered into the cellar. Anna Swartwout—a large woman, somewhat in years, the widow of Major James Swartwout—told the Captain that she would take a pitchfork, which had been brought into the fort as a defensive weapon, and remain with the men, and assist in case the enemy should attempt to enter. The Captain granted the request, and she took the fork, and in true military bearing walked about anxiously observing the conduct of the Indians, and ready to defend her castle.

The fort was a picket fort with nine men, with the families of the neighborhood in it. It was situated on open land, and could not be approached in day time by the Indians, without their being seen; and as the inhabitants were known to be good marksmen, they did not approach within gun shot. As the enemy passed a few shots were fired from the fort without effect. They passed on to Fort De Witt, where they took a station on a hill in the woods, and fired a few shot at the fort and house without any other effect than killing Capt. Newkirk’s horse. The fort returned the compliment with the same result, doing no harm, as was known when the enemy retired from the settlement the same day.

They burned all the houses and barns in the vicinity, except those houses which were saved by the extinguishment of the fire after being communicated to them. This produced great distress for a time, for the inhabitants were despoiled of their grain, hay, buildings, furniture, etc. The day after the enemy retired, Major Phillips of Phillipsburgh arrived with a company of militia, but the damage had been done and the spoliators had departed.

In our statements of Indian aggression we are brought down to 1779, the year in which the memorable battle of Minisink took place. This we shall not particularly notice or describe in this place; but for certain reasons which we deem satisfactory, refer to it more at large in our notice of the town of Goshen. No one town in the county, in point of fact, has any exclusive claim to the patriot devotion of her citizens on that occasion, or to its dear-bought glories; for the fight was beyond the present limits of the county—but as Goshen holds in sacred ground the honored dust of the slain, and suffered most deeply in the extent of her lose, we place the battle of Minisink beside the monument which commemorates it.