Join author and longtime New York Times editor Mark Bulik and Untapped New York Irish history tour guide Ashley Cathaláin for a thrilling virtual discussion!
Spies! Loyalists! Tories! Conspiracy! Strange messages? Codes in invisible ink? The American Revolution was first and foremost a civil war that tore at the very fabric of families as well as society. Patriots were determined to separate from England; while Loyalists were just as determined to defeat what they saw as a rebellion. Many do not know that during several critical periods, the war was almost fatally undermined by English sympathizers or in some cases opportunistic Patriots like Cornelius Hasbrouck.
The (Nearly) Lost Story of Cornelius Hasbrouck and Washington's Headquarters: Virtual Talk
March 5th at 5pm ET: Join history teacher and award-winning author AJ Schenkman for a virtual deep dive into the story of Cornelius Hasbrouck and his family's ties to George Washington! Free and open to all
A member of the noted Patriot family who hosted none other than General George Washington, Habrouck’s story was almost lost in the devastating fire in the New York State Archives of 1911 which destroyed many manuscripts. However, the story of Cornelius Hasbrouck survived to be told.
Newburgh, located on the Hudson River, was hardly an anonymous town. The town was the supply depot for the Continental Army, situated above the Great Chain at West Point and at a junction of roads that branched off towards New England. In 1779, George Washington ordered the army’s winter supplies to be sent to Newburgh because of its convenient location. This was for troops stationed on “the North River and Danbury.” Quartermaster Timothy Pickering oversaw the operations while lodging with his family in the Hasbrouck house, a residence that stood strategically on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River. It was close to both the Continental Ferry and the Continental Dock.
In the waning days of the Second Continental Congress and the start of the Confederation Congress, New York Assembly Secretary John McKesson corresponded generally about the town of Newburgh with the Congress and specifically about the late Colonel Jonathan Hasbrouck’s son Cornelius Hasbrouck. The year was 1781, and the subject was Cornelius’s theft of Continental cattle. The theft occurred in the fall of the previous year in Newburgh. Hasbrouck was the ringleader and he managed to convince his neighbors to become accomplices.
Cornelius Hasbrouck had been enticed by money to become what some referred to as a Cowboy. Although usually reserved for Loyalists who stole cattle in the neutral area of Westchester County, the term Cowboy is sometimes used to refer to Hasbrouck. Once caught, Cornelius attempted to use his family connections—namely his father’s friend Governor George Clinton of New York State—to seek mercy.
In January 1781, Cornelius was in a county jail in Kingston. Letters speak of him being branded for his crime. Once freed, Cornelius disappeared. Family diaries leave him out, family members ignore him, and local history books tell of him fleeing Newburgh for Nova Scotia “espousing the cause of the king.” However, his story is much more complex. He was “hiding” in plain sight.
Hasbrouck eventually resurfaced in Canada after an exhaustive search by lawyers no less prominent than John Sudham. But he disappeared again. He was not in Nova Scotia, and he did not flee. The story of Cornelius Hasbrouck is intrigue at its best.
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AJ Schenkman is an award-winning NYS author who has written several books and publications on various historical topics. His most recent publication is a children's book on Franklin Roosevelt.
