Well today I had to ride the Tappan Zee bridge across the Hudson as mom had a bazillion things to get done before the Seder (she is hosting 2nd nite Tues nite we are hosting tomorrow nite) so I took advantage of the nice weather and crossed the river on the Valkyrie at 9am to Orangeburg
1.5 million troops were quartered in Camp Shanks in Orangeburg and embarked from Piermont's pier in WWII The town is rich in history,
By 11am I had whittled the list near the end and so we went to breakfast at Hogan's Diner, a local landmark run by some friendly family I have known for 50 yrs, and then the supermarket where she filled up the wagon and then some.
After returning Ma home and helping her move furniture and put everything away I said see ya ma and took off for Tappan
Tappan is one of the most historic towns in the area
When Major Andre was captured near Garrison NY he was taken to the 76 house
http://76house.com/gallery/and there was confined before his execution by hanging
Washington did not want to hang the major who was out of uniform when captured but because the British took no prisoners without killing them his hand was forced.
The story of his chapter is a spy tale and rather than mess it up here is a link to the story of agent 355 You can make up your own minds
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_355Andre was magnificent in facing death and the colonists including Washington were sad to have to execute him. A prisoner who was captured was granted clemency in return for acting as hangman as Washington as said did not want to be the one to execute an officer doing his duty. The prisoner ended up moving near where Bonzo now lives, but thats another story for another day.
So a stoic Major Andre was hung at noon from a tree in what is now Andre hill not even one click from the 76 house as the NY NJ border runs right behind the 76 house and the DeWint house.
About 100 yds in the opposite direction from the Hill following Sparkill Creek's
slow meander to the hamlet of Piermont and the Hudson River lies the DeWint house which was several times Washington's HQ
http://dewinthouse.com/History
The DeWint House History
George Washington’s temporary Headquarters at Tappan on four separate occasions during the American Revolutionary War.
Known as the De Wint House, after the family who owned it during Washington’s visits, it is the oldest surviving structure in Rockland County, New York, and an outstanding example of Colonial Dutch architecture in the Hudson Valley.
Washington’s first stay at the House was from August 8 to 24, 1780, while he was inspecting a redoubt on the Hudson. Major Frederickus Blauvelt, the son-in-law of Johannes and Antje DeWint, who owned the house at the time, invited Washington to stay with the family.
Later, when the American Army had moved to Orangeburg, (my mom still lives in Orangeburg and loves the Valk, its been a few years tho since we have ridden together.
) Washington returned on September 28, through October 7, 1780, for the trial and subsequent hanging of the British spy, Major John André. André had been captured after a meeting with American General, Benedict Arnold, at which they made plans to betray the fortifications at West Point.
three years later – May 4 through 8, 1783 – while negotiating the final withdrawal of British troops from New York City with British General, Sir Guy Carleton, Washington and his key staff again headquartered at the De Wint House. Samuel Fraunces (owner of Fraunces Tavern in New York City) came up to prepare the dinner Washington hosted for the British General.
That winter (November 11-14, 1783) on his trip to visit West Point, and later to New York City where he tendered his resignation, Washington was forced to stay again at the DeWint house during a terrible snowstorm. During the War he had forbidden his soldiers to play cards because it took time away from the pursuit of the war. Now, with the fighting over, a much more relaxed Washington took off his boots and played cards.
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x89c2eeae4025d57d%3A0x6bb200de735068c6!2m19!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m13!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Flh%2Fsredir%3Funame%3D116825111053445137492%26id%3D6388986826253611458%26target%3DPHOTO!5sde%20windt%20house%20-%20Google%20Search&imagekey=!1e3!2s-S2ZMgEneLd8%2FWKo-HTZFMRI%2FAAAAAAAABaM%2F2QDg4mtqWtszGEVzSRJzW640A7C8c9myACLIB&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSsbbFgZjTAhXFMGMKHb2UDL4QoioIdjAOToday was probably close to 70 degrees bright sun and no real wind
Motorcycles were out in great numbers but State Troopers were not seen this day by me
Here is a link with pics of the construction on the new twin bridges over the river pretty cool
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/tappan-zee-bridge/2016/06/30/tappan-zee-bridge-construction-primer/86001004/Hope y'all got out to ride this weekend Taking Bonnie to dinner tonite for her birthday with the two girls. Corey is out in Seattle and wont be flying in for the holiday
Oss
