General
Montgomery and Mr. Morris, to meet the commander in chief at Newark, and
recommend to him the place, which they should deem ‘most prudent’ for crossing
the Hudson.
At this
moment the Congress was beset with a new difficulty. Governor Tryon still resided quietly in New York, and was considered, even by these
representatives of the people, as the legal Governor, although they took care
not to obey his authority, nor to show any other symptoms of allegiance, than
outward respect, and a vigilant caution, that his person should not be molested. It so happened, that at the very time they
were informed of General Washington's arrival at Newark, by a letter from
General Schuyler, they also heard that Governor Tryon was at Paulus Hook, and
the alarming probability was, that he and General Washington would come
together at that place. To meet so
ominous a crisis required more deliberation and forethought, than the Assembly
had at command. But no time was to be lost,
and they resorted to the following expedient.
‘Colonel Jasper was called in, and requested to send on one company of
the militia to Paulus Hook, to meet the Generals; that he have another company
at the side of the ferry for the same purpose; and that he have the residue of
his battalions ready to receive either the Generals or Governor Tryon,
whichever shall first arrive, and wait on both, as well as circumstances will
allow.’ No other embarrassment seems to
have occurred; the Governor and the General spared themselves the awkwardness
of an interview; and on the next day Washington met the Congress, according to
a previous arrangement with Mr. Morris and Mr. Low, when addresses of
congratulation and civility were exchanged, in which there was nothing
remarkable, except the pointed hint from the Congress to the commander in
chief, that, ‘when the contest should be decided by an accomodation with the mother county, he should resign the
important deposit committed to his hands.’
He was then escorted out of the city, by several companies of the
militia of New York, and a troop of light-horse, which
had accompanied him from Philadelphia.
From The Life of Gouverneur Morris: With Selections from His Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers; Detailing Events in the American Revolution, The French Revolution, and in the Political History of the United States, by Jared Sparks, Volume 1, Boston: Gray & Bowen, 1832, p 52. Some minor edits may have been made, but an attempt has been made to preserve the original spelling. Although some effort has been made to correct the limitations of OCR technology, if you find an error please report it to jvinci@colonialhall.com.
Designed and Edited by John Vinci Last modified August 20, 2006
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