The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-16
EACH LINK WEIGHS 500 POUNDS.
A Part of the Famous Old Chain Will
Decorate Il New York Mans Lawn.

A Part of the Famous Old Chain Will
Decorate a New York Mans Lawn.
Former Mayor Hewitt has just
bought IS links of that famous old
chain once stretched across the Hudson
at West Point, by our American revolu-
tionary forces. blockading the river
against the British ships AS each link
of this historic chain weighs 800 pounds,
it is no child's play to properly display
it to customers in the old curiosity shop
where sample links of the iron monster
are exhibited.
There are tens of thousands of New
Workers. extensively travelled" and
well read, who never heard of the store
where Mr.. Hewitt has spent months, it
is said closing his final negotiations for
section of that chain. The place is
not only unique historical junk shop,
but the merchant at the head of it
bears the astonishing name of WEST
minister Abbey
ton of the original West Point chain
used in the revolutionary war had
been in a heap of scrap iron at the
Brooklyn navy yard for half CEN
fury, when one day the pile of junk
was put up at auction and knocked
down to him as purchaser. In carting
off the scraps he was staggered to find
ing 300 pounds and nearly four feet
long. 1t took three men and a wind
lass to put one aboard truck, after
two men had broken saws and drills
and spent hours in cutting it loose
from the chain. 1t cost S. a link to cut
the chain, he said. which, added to the
| price, SIS, made the total cost $50 per
link.
| Former Mayor Hewitt is to display
| his Is links on his lawn at the Green
wood lake country seat, in New Jer-
| Sey.
Westminster Abbey said that the
| metal, silver steel, in the chain was
| tn softest, toughest, yet the hardest
| iron known. 1t took his men a whole
| day to sever one of the links--the iron
| being only three and one-half inches in
diameter He called it as ductile as
copper and as hard as platinum.
The particulars of this chain are in
| terestng, According to the revolution
| airy experts of Front street the Ameri-
can tried their prentice hand on four
of these chains as means of keeping
| the British from sailing up the river,
| laying waste the country above and
shipping troops and supplies to the in
| terror where they proposed to extend
| their war operations. The big chain
| was the only effectual barrier in the
| way of the enemys navigation. 1t was
| stretched across the Hudson at the mar
| rOWest place, just below West Point
| 1t was fixed to the huge rocks on each
shore and under the cover of batteries
on both sides Of the river.
1T is buoyed up wrote DR.. Thatcn-
err in 1880, 'by very large floating logs,
about Is feet long, pointed at the ends
to lessen their opposition to the force
of the current at food and ebb tide
| The logs are placed at short distances
from each other. The chain carried
over them and made fast to each by
| staples. There are also a number of
anchors dropped at proper distances,
with cables made fast to the chain to
give it greater stability"
| Losing chronicles in his history that
this great chain was $50 yards in length
nearly a third of a mile-and it, with
the Notifications, made West Point the
strongest military post in the country.
| The chain was manufactured by Pet
er Townsend of Chester at the Sterling
| Iron works, in Orange county, about
% miles back from West Point The
general superintendent of the works
as engineer, was Captain Thomas Ma
chin, who afterward assisted in engin-
eering operations at Yorktown, when
| CORVALLIS was captured
1t was completed about the middle
of April, IT'S, and on May / it was
stretched across the river and anchor
| ed.
When Benedict Arnold was arranging
to betray West Point to the British this
| chain became the object of his especial
| attention. Only a few days before his
| treason was discovered he wrote in a
disguised hand to Andre that he lad
| weakened the distractions in the river
by ordering the removal of link from
the chain to a forge under the pre-
tense that it needed repairing. He
added that the link would not be re-
turned to it's place before the forts
would be in the hands of the enemy.
Here is the narrative of the chain
forging. Colonel Timothy Pickering
with Captain Machin, met at Mr.
Townsend's house late on a Saturday
night in March, 177S, to engage him tC
make the chain. Former chains being
too fiimsy, had been destroyed by the
British fleet. Mr.. Townsend readily
consented to construct the chain, anG
in violent snoWstorm, amid the dark.
ness of the wild March night, they SET
out for the Sterling iron works. Al
daylight on Sunday morning the FORCES
were in operation. New England steam
ers carried the links as fast as they
were forged to West Point, and in tht
space of six weeks the chain was com
pleted. The links were welded in soc.
tlonS-elght links to a diVision-eacf
section being about 80 feet long anC
weighing $500 pounds. These section.
were fastened together at West Pom
by cleVlSeS and SWivels In this ingen
ious way the monster chain was easil,
handled. Its total weight was $50 ton!
$4,000 pounds.