Row to Kingston – General Information – October 16 to October 19, 2007
Also known as ‘The Big Row, 2007’
Last update of this document, October 6, 2007.
by David Manthey, Bateaux DeSager and Bobbie G, Captain
General Information
Overview
We will be rowing and sailing two bateaux, plus possible a dory, from Verplanck, New York to Kingston, New York starting on Tuesday, October 16 and arriving Friday, October 19. On October 20th and 21st, we will participate in the reenactment of the “Burning of Kingston”, a
commemoration of the British destruction of the town in 1777. The trip is roughly 53 miles long. It will be done in replica 18th century bateaux (flat-bottomed cargo boats) owned by the Mabee Farm Historic Site and crewed by the Revolutionary War reenactors from the Second Albany County Militia and other groups. The crew will stay in 18th-century clothing and use
period equipment and gear throughout the entire trip.
Schedule
General notes:
Arrival and transit times are very difficult to predict, as our speed is very much the subject of tide, current, wind, and crew. If there is a consistent north wind, our times will be slow. In practice, the average rowing speed we can expect is around 2 to 2.5 mph. Because of crew limitations, we will be taking the Bobbie G from the Mabee Farm. We will be joined by the Black Sheep, and possibly by the dory Codpeace.
Preliminaries, Monday, Oct. 15: Moving the boats to Verplanck
A few of us will be trailering the bateaux from the Mabee Farm to a marina in Verplanck, most likely King Marine or Viking Marina. We have used Viking Marina in the past, and know that they provide good service. The boats will be launch by sling and moored at docks at the marina for the evening. The marina is a short walk from the river front park where we will camp
(subject to town approval). We will leave boats trailers and other vehicles at the marina. Similarly, King Marine is the winter berth of the Half Moon, and will likely provide us with excellent service as well.
Camping will be in the town park on Riverview Avenue. I think this is the Steamboat Riverfront Park.
First day, Tuesday, Oct. 16: Verplanck to Bear Mountain State Park
We will be launching from the boat launch at George’s Island Park. This is a Westchester County Park that has what appears to be a decent ramp. Based on tides, we’ll depart sometime around noon. This means that many rowers don’t
have to arrive until that time. We will have acceptable tidal conditions until around 7 p.m.
Today is the shortest day – only about 7.5 miles. Our docking spot will be at Bear Mountain State Park on the west side of the river a short distance before the Bear Mountain Bridge. The Park has a large public dock with a floating dock at the south side. We have a permit to camp at this site. I have reserved a portajohn, which will be placed in the parking area a short walk along
a path under the railroad tracks.
Second day, Wednesday, Oct. 17: Bear Mountain State Park to Chelsea
Based on tides, we’ll depart around noon again today. The distance for the day is about 18.5 miles. We will pass West Point and Bannerman Castle en route.
Camping will be at the Chelsea Yacht Club in Chelsea. This is a nice looking private yacht club that is allowing us to camp and dock there under the conditions that we don’t have charcoal fires near any structure and don’t camp in the way of ordinary club activities.
Third day, Thursday, Oct. 18: Chelsea to Poughkeepsie
Based on tides, we want the earliest possible departure. The tides become contrary around 9 a.m., at which point we’ll make a layover until 2 p.m. One possible layover spot is Wappinger Creek or the marina in New Hamburg. The distance is about 12.5 miles. Camping will be at the Marist rowing club, docking in front of the Cornell Building. I have reserved a portajohn for our use.
Fourth day, Friday, Oct. 19: Poughkeepsie to Kingston
Another early start as the tides are favorable until around noon. If we need to, we can layover until late afternoon and proceed then. Our final destination is Kingston Point Park where there is a small artificial tidal lagoon. Distance is about 15.5 miles. Camping will be at the park. Note that this is the one spot where we will not have a dock, and therefore must take appropriate precautions against the tide.
Reenactment, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 20-21:
We will continue to camp at Kingston Point Park. Much of the reenactment will take place here. I am placing our bateaux at the convenience of the event organizers for these two days, and we will serve in whatever capacity is most useful for the event. I know on Sunday we will be participating in a battle reenactment along Rondout Creek and the Kingston waterfront.
When the time comes, we will row the boats up the Rondout Creek to the Esopus boat launch (around a mile and a quarter away).
A note about the weather: We will be proceeding with the trip unless the weather is actually dangerous. Remember, there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.
About the Bateau
The bateau DeSager is a replica of a 1792 bateau, similar to that used by Philip Schuyler for the survey of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers that was done in that year. The design is similar to a scaled drawing of a bateau recorded by the British admiralty sometime between 1750 and the late 1770s. The boat is 23’ long, 5’ of beam, and is capable of hauling a ton of cargo along
with a crew of 5 men. The boat is the size of an original Albany Boat, as would have been frequently used on the upper Hudson River or used for small, express cargoes on the Mohawk River in the late 18th century.
The bateau is a flat-bottomed vessel, allowing it to have a very shallow draft. With a full crew, it only draws five or six inches of water. With a one-ton load, crew, and a month of supplies, it would draw twelve or thirteen inches of water. This shallow draft made the bateau an
excellent river craft prior to the navigational improvements that were made on both Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. The principal motive power of the bateau is oars. It is generally crewed by a steersman and from two to four rowers, though we have occasionally had as many as six rowers, and have occasionally maneuvered the boat by a single crew member. When there is a following or side
wind, the bateau can be sailed to good effect. With a head wind, the bateau can make some progress, but rivers and narrow lakes are not generally conducive to tacking upwind. Historically, the bateau would have also been poled when in the shallows. As the lower Hudson River is quite deep, poling is not a useful means of propulsion to us on this trip.
The bateau Bobbie G is very similar to the bateau DeSager, except that it is 5’ 8” of beam (somewhat wider) and a bit deeper. Both the bateau DeSager and the bateau Bobbie G are owned by the Mabee Farm Historic Site, which is a property of the Schenectady County Historical Society.
The boat is crewed by volunteers, mostly from the 2nd Albany County Militia / Schuyler’s Company of New York Provincials, which is a group dedicated to historical reenacting in the Revolutionary and French and Indian wars.
The bateau DeSager was built in 2002-2003 by the Capital District Maritime Center in Alplaus along the Mohawk River, which is a BOCES school for grades 6 to 9. It was constructed under the direction of shipwright Greg Patterson. The bateau Bobbie G was built in 2003-2004, also by the Capital District Maritime Academy.
All of the rigging, the rope fenders, and the sail were constructed by David Manthey, who is the captain of the bateaux. Various iron work, pennants, and other items were made by a wide range of volunteers.
The DeSager has been in use for the last four and a half years. Its longest voyage so far was a trip from Rotterdam Junction to Kingston. This was a 92 mile, 4 day trip down the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The bateau has also made numerous voyages from its home dock down the Mohawk River to Schenectady, and also been as far afield as Vergennes, Vermont on Lake Champlain, and Oswego, New York on Lake Ontario.
Information on the Reenactment
Copied directly from the website maintained by the 1st Ulster County Militia
(http://www.firstulster.org/page/5_2_1_burning.html)
The Burning of Kingston – Background
In October 1777, the war of the Revolution was on the verge of a major shift. After two years, the British army had not succeeded in subduing the American rebellion which had spread from New England to every other province. General John Burgoyne, putting into effect a new strategy, had maneuvered his army of 6,000 to a situation twenty miles above Albany, NY, on the west side of the Hudson River. This was to be the northern spear of a three-prong attack on
Albany, intended to sweep the length of the Hudson River and choke off New England from the rest of the continent. However, the second prong, which had been marching eastward along the Mohawk, was stopped 200 miles short of its goal by a rebel army at Oriskany and Fort Stanwix, and Burgoyne found his own progress south blocked by the appearance of a massive force of 20,000
Americans, a large part of which was militia, commanded by General Horatio Gates. To turn back was not an option – he had to break through, outnumbered though he was. Burgoyne's hope was in the third prong of the attack, to come from New York City, the British headquarters. General Sir Henry Clinton, British commander there, feared leaving the city vulnerable to attack by Washington's army, and didn't wish to jeopardize its security by sending a large part of his force all the way north to help Burgoyne. As a compromise, he sent a fleet of ships and about 2,000 men part of the way up river to "create a diversion", in hopes that this would force General Gates to divide his army in front of Albany and send part of it south to save the lower Hudson
Valley.
On October 6th, the diversion began with attacks on the two American forts guarding the riverway, Montgomery and Clinton. Both fell to the British. The fleet, under the direct command of General John Vaughan, continued northward, and on October 15th arrived opposite Kingston, the rebel capital of New York and seat of the New York Assembly.
Here, on October 16th, the troops landed and proceeded to set fire to the village, house by house. By the end of the day, every house but one was destroyed – the Van Steenbergh House on Wall Street – and the soldiers had returned to their ships to continue their trek further north to
create more diversions at Rhinebeck and the Livingston manor on the east side of the river.
It was too little, too late: the day before Kingston's destruction, General Burgoyne, defeated in two battles and a long standoff, had given up hope of rescue and signed his surrender to General Gates' army at Saratoga.
Kingston's Defense
When the Crown Troops entered Kingston, they found a largely deserted city. The approach of the fleet had allowed time for residents to gather their most valuable belongings, and flee to Hurley and other neighboring towns. Resistance within the city was scattered, as most of the local militia were with the American army at Saratoga, or deployed in other theaters of the war.
Further up the Rondout, however, a larger militia force was able to assemble and harry the British. General George Clinton, in command of Fort Montgomery until its fall, anticipated a possible attack on Kingston and attempted to reach the city with what troops he had, but was unable to move fast enough to intercept the British.
This left the citizens of Kingston with the burned-out shells of their homes, and little choice for many but to make what shelter they could to get through the winter. As many of the buildings in Kingston at that time were stone-walled, the structures survived the flames, and were eventually rebuilt, surviving (with some changes over the years) to this day.
Interestingly, the Burning of Kingston was regarded as an atrocity of war by many in Britain, as well as in America. Two British political cartoons of the day, "The Closet" (1778) and "Mr. Trade & Family, or the State of ye Nation" (date unknown) show "Esopus" (as Kingston was
commonly called) in flames in the background. General Gates deplored the destruction of the town, castigating General Vaughan directly by letter: "With unexampled cruelty you have reduced the fine village of Kingston to Ashes, and most of the wretched Inhabitants to ruin... Is
it thus your King's General thinks to make Converts to the Royal Cause?"
