The Marquis de Chastellux's Account of a Visit to Fishkill- 1780

The Marquis de Chastellux was one of three major generals who accompanied Rochambeau and the French Expeditionary Forces to America from 1780 to 1782. The Marquis's account of his travels through Early America give us an intriguing glimpse of the Fishkill Supply Depot. The following is a reprint of passages from the 1963 translation of Chastellux's writings by Howard C. Rice, Jr.

November 20, 1780: Morehouse's Tavern (Wingdale) NY. HopeWell-Fishkill
"The horse which carried my portmanteaus, not traveling so fast as I, did not join me till the next morning, so that it was ten o'clock on November 20 before I could set out. Three miles from Morehouse's Tavern is a very high mountain; you then descend, but not quite so much as you ascended; after this you travel along over elevated ground, leaving large mountains on the left. The country is well cultivated, affording the prospect of several pretty farms, with some mills; and notwithstanding the war, building is going on, especially at "Hopel" [Hopewell] township, which is inhabited chiefly by Dutch people, as is the greatest part of the state of New York, for it formerly belonged to the Republic of Holland, which subsequently exchanged it for Surinam. My intention was to sleep five miles on this side of Fishkill, at Colonel Griffin's Tavern. I found him cutting and preparing wood for fences: he assured me his house was full, which was easy to believe, for it was very small. So I continued my journey and reached Fishkill about four o'clock. This town, in which there are not more than fifty houses in the space of two miles, has long been the principal depot of the American army: it is there they have placed their magazines, their hospitals, their workshops, etc. but all of these form a town in themselves, composed of handsome large barracks, built in the wood at the foot of the mountains; for the Americans, like the Romans in many respects, have for winter quarters only wooden towns, or camps, composed of barracks, which may be compared to the hiemalia of Romans.

"As for the position of Fishkill, the events of the campaign of 1777 had proved haw important it was to occupy it. It was clear that the plan of the English had been, and was still, to render themselves masters of the whole course of the North [Hudson] River, and thus to separate the eastern states from those to the west and south. It was necessary therefore to secure a post on this river; West Point was chosen as the most important point to fortify, and Fishkill as the place the best adapted to the establishment of -the principal depot of provisions, ammunition, etc.; these two positions are connected with each other."

November 21, 1780: Fishkill-West Point
"The 21st, at nine in the morning, the quartermaster of Fishkill, who had come the night before with the utmost politeness to offer me his services, and to place two sentinels at my door; an honor I refused in spite of everything he could say, called upon me; and after drinking tea according to custom, he conducted me to the barracks, where I saw the magazines and workshops of the different workmen employed in the service of the army. These barracks are regular wooden houses, well built and well covered, having garrets and even cellars, so that we should form a very false idea were we to judge of them by what we see in our armies when our troops are "in barracks." The Americans sometimes make them like ours, but this is merely to shelter soldiers when they are more within the reach of the enemy. They call the latter "huts," and they are very expert in constructing both. They require only three days to build the barracks, reckoning from the moment they begin to cut down the trees; the huts are finished in twentyfour hours: They consist of little walls made of heaped up stones, the intervals of which are filled earth kneaded with water or simply with mud; a few planks form the roof; but what renders them very warm is that the chimney occupies the outer side, and that you can only enter by a small door, at the side of to chimney. The army has passed whole winters in such huts, without suffering and without sickness. As for the barracks, or rather the little military town of Fishkill, such ample provision is made for everything which the service and discipline of the army may require that a: provostry: and a prison, surrounded by palisades, have been built them. One gate only affords access to the enclosure of the provostry and in front of this is placed a guardhouse. Through the window bars of the prison l distinguish some prisoners in English uniform; these were about thirty soldiers, or "Tories" enrolled in English regiments. These wretches had accompanied the Indians on raids they had just made by way of Lake Ontario and the Mohawk River: They had burned upwards of 200 hundred houses; killed horses and cows, and destroyed above one hundred thousand bushels of wheat. The gallows should have been the reward for these exploits; but the enemy having also made some prisoners; reprisals were dreaded, and so these brigands were only confined in rigorous and close imprisonment.

"After passing some time in visiting these different establishments, I got on horseback, and under the conduct of a state guide whom the quartermaster had given me, I entered the woods and followed the road to West Point, where I wanted to arrive for dinner. Four or five miles from Fishkill, I saw some felled trees and a clearing in the wood, which on coming nearer I discovered to be a camp, or rather huts inhabited by several hundred invalid soldiers. These invalids were all in very good health; but it is necessary to observe that in to American armies every solider who is unfit for service is called an invalid; now these had been sent here behind the lines because their clothes were truly invalid. These honest fellows, for I will not say unfortunates (they know too well how to suffer, and are suffering in too noble a cause) were not covered, even with rags; but their assured tearing and arms in good order seemed to cover their nakedness, and to show only their courage and patience."