New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-29
a PATRIOTIC PILGRIMAGE.
suRvIvING HOMES AND LOCAL HAUNTS OF
THE MEN OF i77s-'ss.

COLONIAL MANSIONS - ALEXANDER
HAMILTON AND HIS TREEs-REvo1
LuTIoNARY NOTIFICATIONS
THE OLDER NETWORK.
The stranger who to-day makes his ptlgrmsge TO
,he Island Of Manhattan viii look IN vain q, the Bat
sery for memertoes Of hundred years ago. IL IS
poss,ble that some Of the venerable ens shaded ne
nrst Presidents he took his walks by the wsersido
attended always al a rcspec tul distance by his sece
tarles but the eyes Of Washington looked upon the
demolition Of nhe old fort the southern euh OF me
Bowling Green and the slow rise upon It's sltc OF 'no
walls Of the ambitious Government House, when was
Intended to be the official residence Of the Repuonc
Chief Magistrate, but which never served mat pui-
pose, and before many years gave way TO private
residences The houses that face the BaterS MASSIVE
and venerable, q few years younger IN ase' puI
arc copies OF the homes that adorned lower BroadWay
Wall and Pearl sts.. where wealth and fashion had
their haunts century ago. and that "ero 'yp'ai VI
the stately, hospitable men and women VINO iniaoiNu
them. The homes Of that day have disappeared Win
the people who made then famous, and ns'eah OF
ladies In brocades and hoops ana gentlemen III ssHn,
silks and velvets who promcnaded the Mall In front OF
Trinity Church hrons OF eager men OF business push
their way along and who're George Washington's
coach and six with its ontnder' dashed down
wa,lst to Federal Hall. the express wagon
and the bankers coach go rafting by. Only Broad
followed until IL brsnched of eastwardy TO the vii
lace of Menhato on the side Of the little lake that
once marked the site Of the Iombs, and wsstwsrtly
10 the village Of Sapon!kau, now built by the
home, Of the Ninth Ward nor yet the Broad Way SO
admired BY the members of the first Federal Congress-
shaded by double lines of trees and alive with the
coaches and phaetons Of the gentry but the great
avenue that the main artery of the cttys heart Of
commerce and Of which no NEWCOMER speaks ex-
cept with pride.
Though the metropolis has been for the last half
century city of iconoclasts and everything has gwen
way the demands OF trade and commerce, there
yet remain. even in the narrow limits that marked
the ancient city OF New -Amsterdam buildings
that standing hundred years ago and had his
,orica connection with the days of the Revolution
and the birth period OF the young Republic, and that
now deserve visit from the modern pilgrim. First
O. these in the order of pilgrimage is
SAM FRAUNCES's TAVERN
n stands at the corner Of Pearl and Broad SITS
somewhat altered from its original aspect by the
addition Of two stories 10 its height and by rough
usage but still bearing witness in its venerable self
the days when men built for comfort rather than
for show and intended their houses last. Once 1t
stood amid howery gardens having been erected as
the city residence Of Etenne (stephen De Lancey who
married suShter of Stephanus Van Cortlandt. from
whom he received gift of the land In I762 phr
chased by samuel Fraunces the Demonco Of his day,
known 10 men about town " Black SAM account
Of his dark complexion. and was opened under the
sign OF Queen Charlotte" Fraunces was household
steward for President Washington while the latter
was resident OF New York. and from first to last
an ardent patriot. Here the merchants of New-York
met 10 protest against the Stamp Act here the Sons
OF Liberty sometimes assembled. and eighteen pound
ball from the British ship Asia came crashing through
It's roof August night in 1875, when the Sons Of
Liberty were removing cannon from the Battery
On the second floor of this building the great historic
room whose pathetic story is known TO every American
child. Its walnscoted walls, recessed windows,
antique freplaccs and cupboards and old time atmos
pherc accord well with its record for in this
room that General Washington took silent, tender
farewell Of the comrades in who had fought The
battles Of independence with him That December
day the old Revolutionary tavern TO the
heart Of every New Yorker and the Of the Re
voluton, who meet In tho historic room, keep alive
It's precious memories.
OLD ST. PAUL'S
Every Centennial visitor will be certain TO make
a pilgrimage to old ST. Pauls Church. and inquire with
reverence for the pew in which Washington
cusiomed to worship. But few Will realize that IN
1867, when 1t built, IL far of town
THAI people predicted It would never have congre-
CATION or be able to picture themselves that the
church o. 1859 faced the river and had uninterrupted
View Of the pebbly beach and sparkling Of the
HUDSON River which then came up as far as Green
wieh-st While the British used other churches for
hospitals. barracks and riding schools, they spared
ST. Paul's. in whose pulpit Lord uowe's favorite
chaplain the Rev. DR.. O'Meara used to predict the
certain triumph of the royal Beneath the
chanoel the ashes Of MaiorGenera Richard Mont
gomery, and other officers Of the Revolution repoSe
beneath the green sods Of the graveyard. NewYork
Justly proud Of ST. Pauls century ago, and IN
point Of ARCHITECTURAL taste 1t far surpassed the
Trinity Church at the head of Walst., which
IN TR1NITY's CuURCHYARD
But the pilgrim will find the graveyard OF Trinity
to be rich in patriotic ashes ard the dust Of who
flied high civic stations 1t contains the tombs of
Alexander Hamilton, Francis Lewis, sgner of tbs
Declaration Of Independence, General Marnus Wiett
and score of their contemporaries scarcely less well
known 10 fame, and here also the quiet resting
places Of such modern heroes Captain Lawrence Of
the Chesapeake, and General Philip Kearny. Under
the shadow of Trinty's spre lies also slab Of brown
stone bearing the name Of Charlotte Temple who
romance and LATER tradition aege TO have been the
victim of a British officers wileS, and no grave Is
more eagerly sought by visitors especially by the young
and romantic; but the sympathy they express and
the tears they shed at this shrine wasted for truth
conpes the assertion that such person a. Charlotte
Temple ever existed outside of pages Of romance
and there Is moral certainty that the name craven
in the sandstone slab was tie work OF stonecutter
employed In the rebuilding of the church half century
ago II IS a pity 10 spoil a pathetic romance but
this week and hereafter the stream OF its visitors Will
undergo no dminution this account and sympa,
thec voices will continue to bewalI the sorrows NJ
the luckless girl who never existed In the green
which surround old 81 Fauls and Trinity Church
grassy Of the dead that patriotic pride has saved
from the grasp Of the Spectator in real estate the
Centennial pilgrim VIII find record; OF the citv's
past life, and abundant employment for a leisure
hour.
THE PROVOST PRISON OF l777,ss
The presen, City Hall Park was known in the last
century as The Fields" and here stood in the DAYS
when the British forces occupied the city of NewYork
a great square structure Of stone. three stories in
height and suImounted by a cupola. known as the
g.o7 Its massive wall are still standing
though doomed to immediate destruction in order 10