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WASHINGTON REALLY DID SLEEP HERE - 11 September, 2005
By Deborah J. Botti
For the Times Herald-Record
I have a confession to make.
I'm not a big history buff. Yes, I love old houses and enjoy stories of days gone by. But you won't find me dressed as a Civil War re-enactor or rushing off to visit a battlefield while on vacation. Not that I don't believe in the lessons of the past, but military history is just not something I'm passionate about.
This is probably why for the 20-some-odd years that I've been living in the mid-Hudson a trip to Washington's Headquarters was not high on my to-do list.
"More people know about us all over the nation than in our own backyard … which is pretty typical," says Kathleen Mitchell, the interpretative program assistant and second in command at the site.
She and the rest of the folks over at Headquarters, including the new site manager, Donald Fraser, and Karen Monti, a historic interpreter, made it a point to invite me for a visit after reading my column on Olana. It was high time I saw the nation's first historic site, they thought.
And they were right.
"We do our share of Martha-promoting too," says Kathleen, who is also a very big fan of the very first first lady.
THE NEWBURGH SITE was home to Washington for 16½ months, from 1782-83. Although Lord Charles Cornwallis had surrendered in Yorktown in 1781, there were some 13,000 British soldiers in New York City. An attempt to gain control of the Hudson was not out of the realm of possibility, so the commander-in-chief needed to position himself in a key location.
"He had to come here while negotiations were ongoing. The Hudson was the jugular vein of the Revolution," Kathleen says.
The stone house that Col. Jonathan Hasbrouck built, with its front door facing the Hudson River, was just right. But that meant that his widow and their five children had to leave.
It is said she received the news in "sullen silence." Nonetheless, in our era of magnetic car ribbons, imagine the patriotism that she exhibited. As Kathleen retells the story, she is clearly in awe of this woman's sacrifice – made not long after losing her husband, followed by the deaths of two children.
The Hasbrouck house (and yes, he was related to the Hasbroucks of New Paltz) is interesting in itself. The original home met the needs of Jonathan Hasbrouck as a bachelor in the 1750s, although it must have taken his 6-foot-4 frame some adjusting to negotiate the low doorways. As he prospered, married, and seven children came along, the house expanded and the ceilings grew higher.
I COULDN'T HELP THINKING about seven children and the Dutch-style jambless fireplace – meaning it had no sides – coupled with a huge chimney without a damper and lots of stone to reflect back the heat. That fire had to be kept going constantly in the winter … talk about safety worries.
"Today, the house reflects a military headquarters, not Dutch family life," Kathleen says. "It is very stark. You can pack quickly and put it on the back of a wagon. … The seagrass mats on the floor of the aides-de-camp room became packing material."
It would be the former dining room where Kathleen envisions a steady stream of people passing through.
"If you had the commander-in-chief in your backyard, wouldn't you try to get right to the source to find out when the war was going to end, when the soldiers were coming home? Times change, but people don't," Kathleen says.
Kathleen also imagines the very important public relations role that Martha would have played, lending a sympathetic ear when a pass was refused or other disappointing decisions were made by her husband.
It is clear to Kathleen that Martha was vital to George. She was with him at least during the winter months at his various headquarters (in about 125 private homes, as was the custom at that time); she spent 12 months in Newburgh. A fireplace was added to their bedroom in the Hasbrouck house, and Kathleen believes they had breakfast there together – although George's day began hours earlier – one of the few private times they could share.
They shared the home with between two and six aides-de-camp, whose office by day was the busiest and whose bedroom at night was the coldest. There were servants in the home as well, and at least 15-18 guests for dinner.
Weather permitting, historic site staff members don period costumes on weekends and do their utmost to bring the past to life. Washington's Headquarters is closed Tuesdays until October. After October, it is open by appointment only until it reopens in April, with the exception of a special event in December and the three-day birthday celebration in February. For more information, call 562-1195.
Deborah J. Botti is travel editor for the Times Herald-Record. She can be reached at anybotti@hvc.rr.com or via the Times Herald-Record, 40 Mulberry St., Middletown 10940.
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