Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-08-01
4 ehalF d fame
The earrier washington Erected
Across thu Hudson.
ARNOLD REMOVED ONE LINK.

ARNOLD REMOVED ONE LINK.
Sill, III, Monster Cable, In Spite OF t"e
r~r.itor,s At, sS1vSaFt ~ Purpose and
Blocked the Progress Of the British
ships UP the River.
Somewhere in the bed Of the Hudson
river lust OF Of West Point lies buried
the larger part Of a great r cnaln:
me Of several ordered by General
washington during the Revolution to
he constructed to prevent the enemy
from ascending certain rivers to &C.
complisb strategic points Of vantage.
The British were making strenuous
efforts to get hold Of the Hudson IN
order to keep fre,e,, communication with
Canada by the additions! channels OF
the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain1.
and so It was determined to obstruct
the Hudson BY a great chain crossing
from Fort Montgomery to Anthony's
Nose. ia
But this was d failure. The chain
parted within a week after it had been
stretched, and, although subsequently
raised and again placed. 1t was de-
stroyed by the British.
Finally washington decided to forge
another and obstruct' the river between
West Point and Constitution island. for
here there was an abrupt change OF
course, and a heavy tide reduced the
speed of any ship encountering IT. Be
sides, the channel was 300 feet narrow
er at this crossing.
The forging OF a chain such as was
contemplated was then no small under.
taking. Requests we're, secretly sent
to various iron companies, and among
the bids the. most favorable came from
the Sterling Iron works, situated In
one of the most beautiful regions Of
the east, now within the fashionable
domains Of Tuxedo Park
It was originally organized BY Lord
Sterling IN 1861, a we'll known officer
iii tie Revolutionary ARMY. and con.
tinued 10 operation for more than a
hundred years, meanwhile passing into
the possession Of Abel Noble. who
married a niece of Peter, Townsend
and who now in association with the
latter increased the capacity of the
works which eventually came into the
entire possession Of Peter Townsend.
a patriot and filed With the spirit Of
the time.
He finally obtained a few Welsh min.
ers from Pennsylvania for the heavy
handling in the forging nda-number
Of men from ConnectlcYt with their
OK teams to do the hauling and when
the chain was ready it was drawn
over the rough mountainous roads and
through forests that had to be pur.
posely cut in many places and SO on
to New Windsor. the nearest river
point. and lowed to West Point.
It was a strenuous undertaking from
the very start. Each link weighed 500
pounds, was two feet in length and
two and a quarter inches square, and
each 100 feet was secured BY q swivel,
a twisting link, and At every thousand
feet there was a tievfs.. The whole
Of this weighed 1856 tons. When 1t
was stretched across from West Point
to Constitution island 1t was buoyed
up BY large sixteen foot logs, and
these we're In turn held In place BY
the anchors. Ri
The British made no specific attack
on this then invinciblei obstacle. for it
must be remembered that in those
days there was no dynamite nor tor.
pedoes, and none of the enemy's prows
would have pushed their way through
such a barrier. 's
Although the British did not succeed
in passing the big Hudson river chain,
the American traitor Arnold gave 1t
his particular attention, and removed
a link Of 1t under the p~retehhse of hav.
ing it repaired for weakuessjat a near.
by smithy. He wrote to Major Andre
that it would not be replaced until the.
forts were surrendered to the British.
But somehow the chain stood for its
purpose. and Sir Henry Clinton did
not attempt to relieve Burgoyne.
Parts Of this celebrated chain are TO
be seen among various historical Gu.
rios Of prominent societies. "a number
of years ago Mayor Hewitt Of New
York. then the owner Of a mine near
the Sterling properties. became inter.
ested IN finding out the whereabouts OF
the remaining portions Of the chain: "A
large part Of 1t lies at the bottom Of
the river. about thirty tons were I'm
various possessions, and ut West Point
there are thirteen links. and staple
placed near the spot where the chain
was anchored and a plate tells OF tbs
date and place OF forging.-Boston
Herald.
No Primaries For Her.
Are you going to the primaries 10.
night EtbelindaY asked the husband
OF bis s%uffragette wife.