Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Brief History of the 19th Century "Country Club at Pelham" Published in 1889


In the Autumn of 1883, a group of Pelham Manor residents led by James M. Waterbury joined with a group of New York City “club men” and organized a new “Country Club” dedicated to the enjoyment of all “legitimate sports.”  By 1884, the Club commenced operations in the nearly-34-acre area encompassed by the Suydam / Morris Estate adjacent to the Bartow property (the site of today's Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and carriage house.

The group converted a mansion on the property known as “Oakshade” built by artist James Augustus Suydam between 1846 and 1848 and later owned by Richard Lewis Morris into a clubhouse.  The group was unable to buy the property, so it leased the property for five years.  The property was adjacent to and just northeast of today's Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum property, but straddled today's Shore Road with most of the property on the Long Island Sound side and about one-third of the acreage on the opposite side of Shore Road.  

The map immediately below shows the property leased by the club in 1883.  The roadway that bisects the property is today's Shore Road.  The smaller portion of the property "above" the roadway in this map is where the club located its steeplechase course.  Adjacent and to the "left" of the property as shown on the survey was the property of Robert Bartow (the site of today's Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum).



"Map of Land Sold by R. Bartow Esq To James
A. Suydam Esq. & Letitia J. Suydam Situated in
the Township of Pelham W. C. County N. Y.
D. B. Taylor, Surveyor May 1st 1846."  Sourc:
Westchester County Archives.
NOTE:  Click to Enlarge.


Diagram of the Pelham Steeplechase Course for the Race Run on
October 18, 1884. Note the Reference to "Pelham Road"
(Today's Shore Road) at the Bottom of the Map. Source:
Pelham's Gay Pastime - A Day of Glorious Steeplechasing
Provided by the Country Club, N.Y. Herald, Oct. 17, 1884, p. 6, cols. 3-4.
NOTE:  Click to Enlarge.

The Club was not a predecessor to today's Pelham Country Club.  To make matters more confusing, the Club was known by many different names including the Pelham Country Club, the Country Club at Pelham, the Country Club, the Country Club at Westchester, and more.  

Members of the Country Club at Pelham rode to the hounds, sponsored and competed in steeplechase races, held grand polo matches, played baseball, tennis, billiards and more at their Club.  The Club's great steeplechase races became nationally-renowned and attracted gamblers and spectators from all over the northeast.  As the Club grew in fame and stature, it contributed to the cachet of "Pelham Manor" and the notion that the area was a country playground for the wealthy of New York City and the surrounding region.  I have written extensively about the Pelham Country Club and, particularly, the baseball games and steeplechase races that the Country Club at Pelham sponsored. (See the lengthy list of links at the end of this posting.)

Grand balls were held inside Oakshade, the Club's headquarters.  During the country club years it was the scene of many dances, parties and celebrations.  The grounds of the estate were particularly busy during the summer months when the weather was fair.  For nearly five years the Club entertained 250-300 members, their families, and guests. Many of the links at the end of this posting describe the grand scenes of steeplechase races and the pageantry of early “base-ball” games held at the Country Club. 



Undated Post Card View (Ca. 1918-1923) of "Oakshade"
Once Used as the Clubhouse of the Country Club
at Pelham After Conversion of the Structure to a Roadhouse.

As New York City intensified its efforts to purchase the entire area for inclusion within the new Pelham Bay Park, however, the Club was forced to search for a new site. In early 1889, the Club settled on a new site on Throgg’s Neck (about two and a half miles away) and arranged to move to a new clubhouse and grounds in the fall of that year.  

Early in 1889, however, the Club began its preparations to move.  An article appeared in the January 26, 1889 issue of The Evening Post published in New York City.  It described the early history of the Club, its plans to move, and the construction of its new clubhouse on Throgg's Neck.  The article is transcribed in its entirety below, followed by a citation to its source.

"THE COUNTRY CLUB.
-----
ITS NEW HOUSE AND GROUNDS ON PELHAM BAY.
-----
A Description of the Building as It Will Be -- The Club's Origin and Growth -- Why the Old House is to be Abandoned.
-----

Pleasantly situated in Pelham township, amid grounds which slope gently down to the waters of Long Island Sound, is the old Morris homestead, or, as it has been known during the last six years, the house of the Country Club of Westchester County.  This Club, although not so old as some of the similar organizations in the neighborhood of New York, ranks among the first in the wealth and social position of its members, and is about to begin a new and important era in its history.  The old club-house is to be torn down, as the grounds upon which it stands are almost in the centre of the tract recently purchased by the city for park purposes.  The necessity of removal, known for some time to the members of the Club, led them to take measures for the purchase of a new site upon which to erect a more commodious house.  Resulting from this was the formation of the Country Club Association, an incorporated body, and the purchase of a desirable tract of land on Pelham Bay, upon which a large and beautiful club-house is now in process of erection.  Before a description of this house or of the property recently acquired by the Association is given, a brief account of the steps leading to the formation of the Country Club may be of interest.

In the autumn of 1883 it occurred to Mr. James M. Waterbury, whose country residence is at Pelham, that a club of this description would be an excellent thing.  The more he thought the matter over, the more favorably impressed he was with the idea.  Then he discussed it with some of his friends in the neighborhood, and finally invited fourteen gentlemen to a supper, after which the subject was broached.  Every one present received the suggestion enthusiastically, and the Country Club was then and there started.  The names of the gentlemen who thus became the founders of the organization were:  H. A. Coster, J. M. Waterbury, J. S. Ellis, J. C. Furman, Edward Haight, jr., C. O. Iselin, F. W. Jackson, Delancey A. Kane, William Kent, Alfred Seton, jr., Alexander Taylor, jr., F. A. Watson, W. S. Hoyt, Pierre Lorillard, jr., and Lorillard Spencer, jr.  J. M. Waterbury was chosen President; W. S. Hoyt, Vice-President; H. A. Coster, Treasurer; and William Kent, Secretary.  Mr. Waterbury immediately proceeded to look for desirable quarters for the new club, and finally decided that the Morris house and grounds, formerly known as the Suydam property, were best suited for the purpose.  An effort was made to buy this property, but was unsuccessful, and accordingly a lease of it for five years was secured.  From the start the Club was successful, and its membership is now filled to the limit.

A reporter of THE EVENING POST recently called upon J. C. Furman, Chairman of the Building Committee which has in charge the erection of the new club-house, to obtain from him a description of the structure and its surroundings.  'When the necessity of seeking new quarters was forced upon us,' said Mr. Furman, 'by the acquisition by the city of the 1,750 acres now known as Pelham Bay Park, in which our old club-house stood, it was decided, as the original club was not an incorporated body, to form an organization to be known as the Country Club Association.  This was done, and there were purchased by the Association about 120 acres of beautifully wooded and rolling land on Pelham Bay, two miles nearer the city than our former site.  The tract purchased is known as the Van Antwerp property, and is situated on Throgg's Neck, in the township of West Chester, Westchester County.  It is bounded on the north by the Lorillard Spencer estate and on the south by the William Laytin estate.  The Eastern Boulevard forms the western boundary, and on the east the land is washed by the waters of Pelham Bay.  Naturally,' continued Mr. Furman, '120 acres have been reserved for its purposes, the remainder being divided into villa sites, many of which have already been sold.  Among those who have purchased sites are:  J. M. Waterbury, John S. Ellis, C. H. Leland, C. P. Marsh, F. Pearson, Howard Gallup, George B. French, Paul Thebaud, Moses Taylor Campbell, S. A. Read, Renwick Aspinwall Russell, and Edward Clarkson Potter.  Mr. Potter has already begun the erection of a beautiful stone and brick villa near the new club-house.  The association has issued bonds, and from the money accruing from the sale of these has advanced to the Club a certain sum for the erection of the new house, the purchase of grounds, and the laying out of the same.  These bonds the club has the privilege of redeeming.  The site for the club-house is on a natural terrace, or elevation, seventeen feet above the waters of the bay, and we think can scarcely be excelled.  Digging for the foundation was begun in September, and the contract calls for the completion of the house by the first of next May.  The building is to be of the colonial style of architecture and will have a length of about 300 feet, with an average depth of 50.  The foundation will be of pressed brick, and the sides will be shingled.  The roof will be shingled and painted red, and all of the trimmings are to be plain white.  The idea is to combine beauty of general effect with extreme simplicity and convenience.  

'As you enter the house you pass into a wide hall extending across the entire width, at the further extremity of which will be a billiard table more especially devoted to the use of the ladies who may wish to play.  Branching off on each side of the main entrance which is on the side of the house away from the bay, are corridors, leading on the right to the large club-room, in which there are to be three billiard tables.  The corridor on the left leads directly to the servants' room, and on the sides of this corridor are the large dining room and a small private dining-room.  At the rear of the house, facing the bay, the hall opens on a broad veranda, which extends the full length of the building, and is seventeen feet broad.  From the veranda a magnificent view may be obtained, four miles across the water to Long Island, through the uninterrupted space between Throggs Neck and City Island Point.  The two upper stories are to be devoted to the members of the Club and their wives (no children), who are permitted to occupy rooms for two weeks at a time only, providing the rooms are called for at the expiration of that period.  If occupied rooms are not called for, they may be retained indefinitely.

'The initerior will be finished very simply.  The colors of the Club are red and white, and they will be made, so far as possible, predominant.  The servants will wear black liveries trimmed with red and white cord.  The wood principally to be used for the interior finish will be pine, painted white, the whole idea being to carry out, so far as it may be done, the effect of the colonial style.  The whole house -- two stories and attic -- will contain in the neighborhood of fity rooms, and the estimated cost of the building alone is $35,000.

'As I have said already, the house will stand on a sort of natural terrace seventeen feet above the water level.  From the upper terrace the descent to the water will be broken by two other terraces, the lower one of which will be occupied as the shooting-ground.  Mr. Oliver Iselin, during a recent trip abroad, has visited the principal pigeon-shooting grounds of the Continent, and will have charge of the construction of these.  Above the shooting ground on the second terrace are to be four tennis courts.  A little to the rear and right of the house are to be the baseball grounds, and still further to the right the polo grounds.  These latter, when completed, will, I believe, be the finest of their kind in the country, as they are to be laid out after the most approved plans, and will be absolutely level.  The dimensions of the polo grounds will be 750x500 feet.  Surrounding them is to be a twenty-foot roadway, which in turn will be flanked on each side by grass walks each fifteen feet in width.  The roadway will be macadamized and dressed down with blue stone.  The steeplechase course will be flagged out when needed, starting with the polo grounds, which will form a part of it.  The stables, the site for which has not as yet been definitely determined, will be enclosed in a courtyard.

'Below the house, a little to the left, there is to be a dock 250 feet in length.  It is proposed to build a fast steamer, which would be used, should the arrangement be made, in connection with the other clubs further up,, the New York Athletic and the American Yacht Club, for instance.  We think an arrangement of that kind can be made, in which case the boat will make regular trips to and from the city, stopping at the several docks at stated intervals.  Even should the proposed arrangement with the other clubs fall through, a boat will probably be provided by some of our members.  The distance by water to the city is about ten miles, though of course it depends in what part of the city the landing is made, and the trip would be a very pleasant one.'

'What are the condition and prospects of the Club to-day?' was inquired.

'The Club is in an excellent condition every way, and its prospects are very bright.  Three hundred and fifty is the limit of our membership, and the limit is now reached, a number of new members having recently been elected.  There are, besides, a number of names of proposed members on the list for admission.  While nothing has been decided in regard to an increase of membership, I think it quite probable that we may increase the present limit somewhat when we move into our new house.  At a recent meeting, the governors of the Club decided to raise the initiation fee from $50 to $100, to go into effect the first of March next, the yearly dues remaining the same as now, namely, $50.  This new rule will not affect those whose names are proposed for membership before March 1.  

'In speaking of the house there were a few things I forgot to mention.  One is that it will be lighted by gas, and there will be running water on the first floor.  Heat will be supplied by three furnaces, and there will also be fireplaces in nearly all the rooms.  We propose to have an impressive entrance to the grounds from the avenue, probably a large gateway, with high and elaborately carved stone posts.  The walks will be covered with the white, pebbly Long Island gravel.'"

Source:  THE COUNTRY CLUB -- ITS NEW HOUSE AND GROUNDS ON PELHAM BAY, The Evening Post [NY, NY], Jan. 26, 1889, p. 12, cols. 1-2.  



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I have written extensively about the Country Club of Pelham and events that were held on its grounds in the 1880s.  Below are a few examples of such postings.

Bell, Blake A., The Pelham Steeplechase Races of the 1880s, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIV, Issue 12, March 25, 2005, p. 10, col. 2.













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Thursday, February 26, 2015

The Use of Pelham's Town Hall on Shore Road as a Public Schoolhouse During the 1880s


During much of the nineteenth century, most of Pelham’s population lived on City Island, Pelham Neck and along the mainland on Long Island Sound. There were few homes on Boston Post Road or in the areas that came to be known as Prospect Hill, Pelham Manor, and Pelhamville. 

The Town of Pelham decided in 1857 to build its first Town Hall and Post-Office building.  Construction began a year later on today’s Shore Road near today’s Pelham Bit Stables / Bronx Equestrian Center in Pelham Bay Park.  The building was constructed on the mainland near City Island in recognition of the fact that, although most Town residents lived on City Island, there were pockets of Town residents on the mainland as well.  To learn more, see:  Wed., Dec. 03, 2014: Pelham Proposed To Build A Town Hall and Post Office in 1857.

In about 1882, both the Town Supervisor (James Hyatt) and the Town Clerk of the Town of Pelham had offices in the tiny little Town Hall building.  Both, however, were residents of City Island and found the office on the mainland inconvenient.  One day the Town Clerk could take it no more and packed up the Town's records and moved to a corner of a Town "lock up" maintained by the Town on City Island.  Soon, the Town Supervisor followed the records and the Town Clerk and moved to another part of the Town lock up on City Island.  The Town Hall building was virtually empty.  I have written about this state of affairs before.  See Tue., May 11, 2010:  Mystery Solved - Pelham Town Hall That Once Stood On Shore Road Was Used as a School.


Undated Photograph Showing Pelham Town Hall on Shore Road.


Detail from 1868 Beers Map of Town of Pelham with
Red Circle Indicating Location of Pelham Town Hall. 
Note: Click Image to Enlarge.

Rather than leave the Town Hall building virtually vacant, it was used temporarily as a public school building.  By the spring of 1883, there were twenty pupils who studied in the tiny school.  All were overseen by a single teacher, Miss Mary A. Denton.  See PELHAM, The Chronicle [Mt. Vernon, NY], Apr. 13, 1883, Vol. XIV, No. 708, p. 3, col. 3 (stating "PELHAM.  The Bartow school has about 20 pupils.  Miss Mary A. Denton is the teacher, and the Town-hall is used temporarily as its headquarters.").  

With the opening of the school in the Town Hall building at Bartow, the Town of Pelham was operating at least four public schools at the time:  (1) the school at Bartow; (2) the school on City Island; (3) the Prospect Hill School; and (4) the Pelhamville School.  See BARTOW, The Chronicle [Mt. Vernon, NY], Jun. 15, 1883, Vol. XIV, No. 717, p. 3, col. 4 (stating "By a resolution of the Board of Education of District No. 1, the school at Bartow is to be closed from June 29th until November 5th.  This action on the part of the Trustees from the upper part of the district, has created a bitter feeling on the part of the inhabitants of Bartow, and the next meeting of the Board is likely to be a stormy one."); CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mt. Vernon, NY], Jun. 15, 1883, Vol. XIV, No. 717, p. 3, col. 4 (stating "Last Tuesday, Mr. W. L. Ginnel and Miss Ella A. Stearns, daughter of Mr. Isaac Stearns, principal of the City Island public school, were married in Brooklyn.").

Miss Mary A. Denton remained the teacher at the little school at least until 1886 and, likely, thereafter until the school closed.  Cf. PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND, The Chronicle [Mt. Vernon, NY], Mar. 19, 1886, Vol. XVII, No. 864, p. 1, col. 5 ("PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND.  The school at Bartow has closed a part of this week, on account of the illness of the teacher, Miss Denton.").

The tiny little school at Bartow operated until 1889 when it was closed "on account of that part of the town of Pelham having been taken by the city of New York, for a public park."  See LOCAL NEWS, New Rochelle Pioneer, Sep. 14, 1889, p. 3, cols. 1-2.  Although the building continued to stand in Pelham Bay Park for many years, it was vandalized repeatedly and, eventually, converted into a storage facility for the Park Department.  It was razed during the 1950s.  


Undated Photograph of Pelham Town Hall on
Shore Road Not Long Before it Was Razed.



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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Where Were the Stone Walls Used by American Troops During the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776?


On October 18, 1776, American troops led by Colonel John Glover of the Marblehood Mariners fought British and German troops in the Battle of Pelham.  Four days later, Colonel Glover wrote a letter from Mile Square describing the progress of the battle.  At the outset of his letter, Glover described how the opposing troops deployed on an "eminence" and how he placed his troops behind three stone walls and had additional men and artillery pieces bringing up the rear.  The pertinent excerpt of the letter reads as follows:

""Mile Square, October 22, 1776.

You no doubt heard the enemy landed all their army on Frog's Point, the 11th instant, leaving only twelve hundred men in York, and there remained until the 18th, which was Friday.  I arose early in the morning and went on the hill with my glass, and discovered a number of ships in the Sound, under way; in a short time saw the boats, upwards of two hundred sail, all manned and formed in four grand divisions.  I immediately sent off Major Lee express to General Lee, who was about three miles distant, and without waiting his orders, turned out the brigade I have the honor to command, and very luckily for us I did, as it turned out afterwards, the enemy having stole a march one and a half miles on us.  I marched down to oppose their landing, with about seven hundred and fifty men, and three field pieces, but had not gone more than half the distance, before I met their advance guard, about thirty men; upon which I detached a captain's guard of forty men to meet them, while I could dispose of the main body to advantage.  This plan succeeded very well as you will hereafter see.  The enemy had the advantage of us, being posted on an eminence which commanded the ground we had to march over.  However, I did the best I could, and disposed of my little party to the best of my judgment:  Colonel Reed's on the left of the road; Colonel Shepard's in the rear, and to the right of him, Colonel Baldwin's in the rear and on the right of Shepards, my own regiment, commanded by Captain Courtis.  (Col. Johonnot being sick and Major Lee being Brigade Major), bringing up the rear with three field-pieces of artillery.  Thus disposed of, I rode forward . . ."

Source:  Sanborn, Nathan P., Gen. John Glover and his Marblehead Regiment in the Revolutionary War - A Paper Read Before the Marblehead Historical Society May 14, 1903, pp. 47-50 (Marblehead, MA:  Marblehead Historical Society, 1903).

A critical issue in trying to understand the progress of the battle is the lack of information regarding the layout of the countryside at the time of the battle.  Where were the stone walls?  Where was the "eminence which commanded the ground we had to march over" on which the British and Germans placed their troops?

There are two maps from the period that shed light on the Battle of Pelham and what the countryside may have looked like at the time.  The first is a map created by Joseph Claude Sauthier in 1776 entitled "A plan of the operations of the King's army under the command of General Sir William Howe, K.B. in New York and east New Jersey, against the American forces commanded by General Washington from the 12th of October to the 28th of November 1776, wherein is particularly distinguished the engagement on the White Plains the 28th of October."  The accuracy of the map with regard to the area of the Manor of Pelham in question has been thoroughly discredited both with respect to the improper placement of local roads and the improper placement and relationships among locally-known landmarks.  In any event, a detail from the map of the area in question shows that it does not reflect the placement of stone walls.



Detail from 1776 Map by Claude Joseph Sauthier Showing
Area Around the "Skirmish of the 18th of October".
Source:  Sauthier, Claude Joseph, A plan of the operations of the
King's army under the command of General Sir William Howe, K.B.
in New York and east New Jersey, against the American forces
commanded by General Washington from the 12th of October
to the 28th of November 1776, wherein is particularly distinguished
the engagement on the White Plains the 28th of October (1776)
(Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington,
D.C. 20540-4650 USA; Digital Id g3804w ar105400;
Library of Congress Catalog Number gm71000649).
NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

The second map, created at about the time of the Battle of Pelham, was prepared by British Engineer Charles Blaskowitz and is entitled "A survey of Frog's Neck and the rout[e] of the British Army to the 24th of October 1776, under the command of His Excellency the Honorable William Howe, General and Commander in Chief of His Majesty's forces, &ca, &ca, &ca."  The map is considered by most historians and experts to be a far more accurate depiction of the area in October, 1776 as well as a more accurate depiction of the progress of the Battle of Pelham.

A detail from the so-called Blaskowitz map showing the area where the skirmish began contains a number of dotted lines that may be Blaskowitz's effort to depict stone walls in the area.  A detail from the map appears immediately below.




Detail from 1776 Map by Charles Blaskowitz Showing
Area Around the Skirmish of October 18, 1776.
Source:  Blaskowitz, Charles, A survey of Frog's Neck and
(1776) (Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington,
D.C. 20540-4650 USA; Digital Id g3802t ar115200; Library of
Congress Catalog Number gm71000648).
NOTE:  Click to Enlarge Image.

It appears that Blaskowitz depicts stone walls as dashed lines, most extending perpendicular from the roadway later known as Split Rock Road, although there are a few that appear to be parallel to the roadway.  It is, of course, impossible today to know whether the dashed lines accurately depict the location of stone walls at the time of the engagement on October 18,1776.  Today much of the area is covered by the Split Rock Golf Course and the Pelham Bay and Split Rock Golf Courses Clubhouse.  Additionally, I-95 now cuts across the upper portion of the map and, near Split Rock, the Hutchinson River Parkway and the entrance ramp from the Hutchinson River Parkway to I-95 North cut across the left side and upper portion of the map.  However . . . . much of the area is within today's Split Rock Golf Course which, though landscaped, has remained undeveloped for the most part since the Battle of Pelham 239 years ago.


Interestingly, in 1905 the Topographical Bureau of the Office of the President of the Borough of the Bronx created a topographical "Map of Pelham Bay Park City of New York."  A low resolution image of the entire map appears immediately below, followed by a citation to its source.



1905 Map of Pelham Bay Park.
Source: Office of the President of the Borough
of the Bronx Topographical Bureau, Topographical
Survey Sheets of the Borough of the Bronx Easterly
Bronx River" (1905) (Lionel Pincus and Princess
Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library).
NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

A high resolution detail from the Map of Pelham Bay Park showing the area in which we are interested is fascinating.  It shows stone walls as they existed at the time the map was created, 129 years after the Battle of Pelham.  There is, of course, no way to know whether any of the walls depicted in the early 20th century map existed at the time of the Battle of Pelham.  It is, however, at least possible that some of the walls did exist at the time of the battle, particularly since the area was very sparsely populated throughout the 19th century, remained relatively undeveloped, and landowners knew as early as the 1880s that New York City was working to acquire the area and turn it into Pelham Bay Park (so they refrained from further improvements).  For purposes of discussion, for now it will be interesting to consider the possibility that some or all of the stone walls depicted in the map detail below existed at the time of the Battle of Pelham.  Moreover, I have rotated the detail from the map to place it in essentially the same direction as the detail from the Blaskowitz Map set forth above.


Rotated Detail from 1905 Map of Pelham Bay Park.
Source: Office of the President of the Borough
of the Bronx Topographical Bureau, Topographical
Survey Sheets of the Borough of the Bronx Easterly
of the Bronx River, Sheet 29 "Map of OPelham Bay Park
Bronx River" (1905) (Lionel Pincus and Princess
Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library).
NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.

When the detail from the Blaskowitz Map is placed next to the detail from the 1905 Map of Pelham Bay Park, things become even more interesting.  The scale of the maps, of course, is slightly different.  Moreover, the more recent map is far more accurate and a far better depiction of the area.  There are, however, interesting similarities in the number of and placement of many of the stone walls depicted in both maps.


Juxtaposition of Detail from the Blaskowitz Map
on the Left and Detail from the Map of Pelham
Bay Park on the Right.  Source:  Created by the Author.
NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Near the top of both map details, there is a slight bend in the road later known as Split Rock Road.  Split Rock sits just to the left of that bend in the roadway.  Indeed, if you enlarge the detail sufficiently, you will barely be able to see in the map detail on the right the words "Split Rock" and a tiny circle with a line that depicts split rock.  In that immediate area there appear to be four stone walls perpendicular to the roadway in both map details, although one of the four in the map detail on the right is very short compared to what may be its counterpart on the left.  

The upper three stone walls nearest split rock and closest to the New York City line appear to be prime candidates for debate and consideration as to whether they may be the three stone walls referenced in Colonel Glovers letter from Mile Square.  A rise (or "eminence" as Glover's letter indicates) appears in front of the three walls when viewed from Glover's perspective.  Moreover, Glover's letter says he placed "Colonel Reed's on the left of the road; Colonel Shepard's in the rear, and to the right of him, Colonel Baldwin's in the rear and on the right of Shepards".  

It is possible to imagine the placement of American troops behind stone walls that appear on the map details (particularly the detail from the Pelham Bay Park Map), in such a way so as to fit Glover's description of how he placed his men.  The Pelham Bay Park map detail immediately below depicts one interpretation of Glover's description of his placement of troops, assuming stone walls depicted in that map detail existed at the time of the battle.  Interestingly, Glover's description of his troop placement and my imagined placement below both depict a type of military formation known as a "right echelon" where each unit is stationed behind and to the right to form a diagonal series of steps.  Typically the right or left echelon formations are used because of the excellent range of vision they offer to each individual of each unit that together make up such formations.  



Detail of 1905 Map of Pelham Bay Park Proposing
One Possible Placement of American Troops
Consistent with Glover's Description in His Letter from Mile Square.
NOTE:  Click to Enlarge.

Of course, it is not possible to know what stone walls existed at the time of tne Battle of Pelham, nor where such walls were located.  Nor is there any way to know if the stone walls depicted in the Map of Pelham Bay Park created nearly 130 years after the battle were remnants of walls that existed at the time of the battle or were walls that had been built at some point after the battle.  Yet, the purpose of today's posting is to propose one possible theory as to how Glover may have placed his troops during the battle in the hope that it will prompt additional creative thinking about such issues, will promote knowledgeable debate about these issues, and eventually will promote work that will further our understanding of the battle.

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I have written before about work by the Park Department of the City of New York to restore and preserve a potion of the ancient roadway once known as Split Rock Road and a section of an ancient stone wall that stood alongside the roadway in 1938.  See Fri., Jan. 09, 2015:  The Closing of Split Rock Road in December, 1937.

During the week that began on Monday, December 27, 1937, work to tear up the asphalt pavement of the roadway started. The then-historian of the Town of Pelham, William R. Montgomery, immediately began lobbying the Park Department of the City of New York to restore and preserve a portion of the ancient roadway as well as stone walls that stood along the same portion of the roadway. He argued that a portion of the roadway with walls should be restored and preserved because they marked the site where a portion of the Battle of Pelham was fought on October 18, 1776 with Americans using such stone walls to slow the advance of British and German troops attempting to cut off the Continental Army's retreat toward White Plains. 

The Park Department agreed and restored a potion of the roadway within the Split Rock Golf Course and associated stone walls. On October 18, 1938, The Park Department also erected a Historic Marker dedicated to the “Old Indian Path” long known as Split Rock Road. 

Today the area restored by the Park Department is overgrown and difficult to access because it lies along one of the fairways of the Split Rock Golf Course.


Portion of Ancient Split Rock Road Sunken
from Surrounding Land Through Extensive Travel;
Part of the Roadway Restored by the Park Department
of the City of New York in 1938. Photograph Taken by the Author in 2005.
NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.


Portion of Stone Wall Along Ancient Split Rock Road Restored
by the Park Department of the City of New York in 1938. Photograph
Taken by the Author in 2005. NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.


*          *          *          *          *

I also have written extensively about the Battle of Pelham fought on October 18, 1776.  See, for example, the following 37 articles:  


Bell, Blake A., The Battle of Pelham:  October 18, 1776, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 41, Oct. 15, 2004, p. 10, col. 1.  

Bell, Blake, History of the Village of Pelham:  Revolutionary War, HistoricPelham.com Archive (visited May 9, 2014).  


Mon., Feb. 28, 2005:  Glover's Rock on Orchard Beach Road Does Not Mark the Site of the Battle of Pelham.  

Mon., Apr. 18, 2005:  Restored Battle of Pelham Memorial Plaque Is Unveiled at Glover Field.  

Fri., May 27, 2005:  1776, A New Book By Pulitzer Prize Winner David McCullough, Touches on the Battle of Pelham.  

Thu., Jul. 14, 2005:  Pelham's 1926 Pageant Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Pelham.  

Wed., Oct. 26, 2005:  Remnants of the Battlefield on Which the Battle of Pelham Was Fought on October 18, 1776.  
Fri., May 19, 2006:  Possible Remains of a Soldier Killed in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 Found in 1921.  

Fri., Aug. 11, 2006:  Article by William Abbatt on the Battle of Pelham Published in 1910.  

Thu., Sep. 21, 2006:  A Paper Addressing the Battle of Pelham, Among Other Things, Presented in 1903.  

Mon., Oct. 30, 2006:  Brief Biographical Data About Sir Thomas Musgrave, British Lieutenant Colonel Wounded at the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Wed., Nov. 1, 2006:  Two British Military Unit Histories that Note Participation in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Tue., Jan. 16, 2007:  Brief Biography of British Officer Who Served During the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Fri., Feb. 09, 2007:  Extract of October 23, 1776 Letter Describing British Troops in Eastchester After the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.  

Mon., Feb. 12, 2007:  Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site Opens New Exhibition:  "Overlooked Hero:  John Glover and the American Revolution."  

Thu., Jan. 18, 2007:  Three More British Military Unit Histories that Note Participation in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Mon., Jul. 16, 2007:  Mention of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 in Revolutionary War Diary of David How.  

Tue., Jul. 17, 2007:  Mention of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 in Writings of Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Aide-de-Camp to British General Clinton.  

Wed., Jul. 18, 2007:  Another British Military Unit History that Notes Participation in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.  

Tue., Aug. 7, 2007:  An Account of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 Contained in the McDonald Papers Published in 1926.  

Wed., Aug. 8, 2007:  A Description of an Eyewitness Account of the Interior of St. Paul's Church in Eastchester During the Revolutionary War.  

Thu., Sep. 6, 2007:  Information About St. Paul's Church, the Battle of Pelham and Other Revolutionary War Events Near Pelham Contained in an Account Published in 1940.  

Mon., Oct. 8, 2007:  American Troops Who Guarded Pelham's Shores in October 1776.  

Fri., Oct. 12, 2007:  Images of The Lord Howe Chestnut that Once Stood in the Manor of Pelham.  

Fri., Oct. 27, 2006:  Orders Issued by British Major General The Honourable William Howe While Encamped in Pelham After the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Thu., Jan. 22, 2009:  Another Brief Biography of Sir Thomas Musgrave, a British Officer Wounded at the Battle of Pelham on October 18 1776.  

Wed., Feb. 17, 2010:  British Report on Killed, Wounded and Missing Soldiers During the Period the Battle of Pelham Was Fought on October 18, 1776.  

Fri., Apr. 23, 2010:  Charles Blaskowitz, Surveyor Who Created Important Map Reflecting the Battle of Pelham.  


Thu., Feb. 06, 2014:  A Description of the Revolutionary War Battle of Pelham Published in 1926 for the Sesquicentennial Celebration.

Mon., May 19, 2014:  Biography of British Officer Who Fought in the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Wed., Jun. 04, 2014:  An Account of the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776 Presented and Published in 1894.  

Fri., Jun. 27, 2014:  Newly-Published Account Concludes Colonel William Shepard Was Wounded During the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Mon., Jun. 30, 2014:  A British Lieutenant in the Twelfth Foot Who Fought at the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Fri., Sep. 19, 2014:  Abel Deveau, An American Skirmisher on Rodman's Neck as British and Germans Landed Before the Battle of Pelham.

Wed., Sep. 17, 2014:  References to the Battle of Pelham in 18th Century Diary of Ezra Stiles, President of Yale College.

Fri., Oct. 17, 2014:  First-Hand Diary Account of Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Mon., Oct. 20, 2014:  American Diary Account of Events Before, During, and After the Battle of Pelham on October 18, 1776.

Tue., Oct. 21, 2014:  November 1, 1776 Letter Describing the Battle of Pelham and Events Before and After the Battle.

Fri., Oct. 24, 2014:  October 21, 1776 Report to the New-York Convention Regarding the Battle of Pelham.

Wed., Feb. 18, 2015:  Young American Hero James Swinnerton, Badly Wounded in the Battle of Pelham.

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