Hercules Mulligan Writes about Alexander Hamilton as a Soldier, ca. 1810
Alexander Hamilton on the battlefield (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)
Years after Hamilton’s death, Hercules Mulligan wrote about his friendship with Alexander Hamilton. In this section of his narrative, Hercules Mulligan describes Hamilton’s early military experience. In 1776, Hamilton received a commission as a captain in the New York Provisional Company of Artillery and fought in the Battle of Brooklyn. It was during this campaign that Hamilton came to the attention of General George Washington. Historians have noted that some of Mulligan’s dates and events do not match other reports from the time.
The Narrative of Hercules Mulligan of the City of New York, ca. 1810-15
[Excerpt]
. . . While in Colledge he joined a volunteer uniform company which was commanded by Capt. Fleming. It having been determined by the Committee of Safety that the Cannon which were the Battery should be removed to a place of greater safety, this Company with others were engaged in making the removal (28 Augt 75) the Asia fired upon the City and I recollect well that Mr. Hamilton was there, for I was engaged in hauling off one of the Cannons, when Mr. H came up and gave me his musket to hold, & he took hold of the rope. The punt of the Asia had before approached the Battery and was fired upon and a man was killed, she returned to the ship and the fire was then opened upon us. Hamilton at the first firing was away with Cannon. I left his musket in the Battery & retreated, as he was returning I met him and he asked for his piece. I told him where I had left it, and he went for it, notwithstanding the firing continued, with as much unconcern as if the vessel had not been there.
About the 10 or 12 July 1776 Mr. Hamilton being desirous to enter the Army a Commission as a Capt. of Artillery was promised to him on the Condition that he should raise thirty men. I went with him that very afternoon and we engaged 25 men. The next day a report was made to the Committee & a recommendation was unanimously passed and the Commission was obtained. Hamilton recruited his men and with his own funds equipped them. He attended to their drill and his other duties with a degree of zeal and diligence which soon made his Company conspicuous for their appearance and the regularity of their movements. About the time the first division of the British Army arrived at Sandy Hook, Capt. Hamilton went on the Battery with his Company and his piece of artillery and commenced a Brisk fire upon the Phoenix and Rose then passing up the river. When his Cannon burst and killed two of his men who I distinctly recollect they were buried in the Bowling Green.
Previously to the skirmish on Long Island Mr. H, the Revd. John Mason, father of the present Dr. Mason, were at Dinner at my House, and after others (perhaps Mr. Rhinelander & Col. Troup) had retired from the table they were lamenting the situation of the army on Long Island and suggesting the best plans for its removal when Mr. Mason and Mr. Hamilton determined to write an anonymous letter to Genl. Washington pointing out their ideas of the best means to draw off the Army. I saw Mr. H writing the letter & heard it read after it was finished. It was delivered to me to be handed to one of the family of the General and I gave it to Col. Webb then an aid de Champ and I have no doubt he delivered it because my impression at that time was that the mode of drawing off the army which was adopted was nearly the same as that pointed out in the letter.
When the enemy came in the City on Sunday at 8 o’clock Capt H commanded a post on Bunker’s Hill near New York and brought up the rear of our army, and in retiring he lost as he afterwards told me his baggage and one of his Cannon which broke down. After the British crossed the Hudson at fort Lee I went to see my young friend and found him encamped near fort Washington having the Command of his Company. I afterwards saw him when he came to New York with a flag to see Sir Guy Carleton. He evinced his gratitude for the attentions of my brother & myself by his attentions to us thro’ life & by taking one of my sons to study law with him & refusing the least compensation.
While Mr. Hamilton was at Colledge he wrote several Political essays, in June 1776 he wrote the Westchester Farmer refuted in my house and in part in my presence and read some of the pages to me as he wrote them, at the time this publication was attributed to Governor Livingston. Mr. H used in the evening to sit with my family and my brothers family and write dogrel rhymes for their amusement; he was allways amiable and cheerful and extremely attentive to his books.
When Rivington’s Press was attacked by a Company from the Eastward, Mr. H indignant that our neighbours should intrude upon our rights (although the press was considered a tory one) he went to the place addressed the people present and offered if any others would join him to prevent these intruders from taking the types away.
Dr. Cooper, President’s of King’s Colledge, was a tory and an obnoxious man and the mob went to the Colledge with the intention of tarring & feathering him or riding him upon a rail. Mr. H got on the stoop of the President’s House and harangued them in order to give him time [to] escape out of the back of the House which he did & went on Board a Frigate Lying in the North river.
Document Source: William and Mary Quarterly
Narrative of Hercules Mulligan of the City of New York, ca. 1810-15
. . . About the 10 or 12 July 1776 Mr. Hamilton being desirous to enter the Army a Commission as a Capt. of Artillery was promised to him on the Condition that he should raise thirty men. I went with him that very afternoon and we engaged 25 men. The next day a report was made to the Committee & a recommendation was unanimously passed and the Commission was obtained. Hamilton recruited his men and with his own funds equipped them . . .
Previously to the skirmish on Long Island Mr. H, the Revd. John Mason, father of the present Dr. Mason, were at Dinner at my House, . . . had retired from the table they were lamenting the situation of the army on Long Island and suggesting the best plans for its removal when Mr. Mason and Mr. Hamilton determined to write an anonymous letter to Genl. Washington pointing out their ideas of the best means to draw off the Army . . . It was delivered to me to be handed to one of the family of the General . . . he delivered it because my impression at that time was that the mode of drawing off the army which was adopted was nearly the same as that pointed out in the letter . . .
While Mr. Hamilton was at Colledge he wrote several Political essays, in June 1776 he wrote the Westchester Farmer refuted in my house . . . Mr. H used in the evening to sit with my family and my brothers family and write dogrel rhymes for their amusement; he was allways amiable and cheerful and extremely attentive to his books . . .
Dr. Cooper, President’s of King’s Colledge, was a tory and an obnoxious man and the mob went to the Colledge with the intention of tarring & feathering him or riding him upon a rail. Mr. H got on the stoop of the President’s House and harangued them in order to give him time [to] escape out of the back of the House which he did & went on Board a Frigate Lying in the North river.
Document Source: William and Mary Quarterly,
Background
Years after Hamilton’s death, Hercules Mulligan wrote about his friendship with Alexander Hamilton. In this section of his narrative, Hercules Mulligan describes Hamilton’s early military experience. In 1776, Hamilton received a commission as a captain in the New York Provisional Company of Artillery and fought in the Battle of Brooklyn. It was during this campaign that Hamilton came to the attention of General George Washington. Historians have noted that some of Mulligan’s dates and events do not match other reports from the time.
Transcript
The Narrative of Hercules Mulligan of the City of New York, ca. 1810-15
[Excerpt]
. . . While in Colledge he joined a volunteer uniform company which was commanded by Capt. Fleming. It having been determined by the Committee of Safety that the Cannon which were the Battery should be removed to a place of greater safety, this Company with others were engaged in making the removal (28 Augt 75) the Asia fired upon the City and I recollect well that Mr. Hamilton was there, for I was engaged in hauling off one of the Cannons, when Mr. H came up and gave me his musket to hold, & he took hold of the rope. The punt of the Asia had before approached the Battery and was fired upon and a man was killed, she returned to the ship and the fire was then opened upon us. Hamilton at the first firing was away with Cannon. I left his musket in the Battery & retreated, as he was returning I met him and he asked for his piece. I told him where I had left it, and he went for it, notwithstanding the firing continued, with as much unconcern as if the vessel had not been there.
About the 10 or 12 July 1776 Mr. Hamilton being desirous to enter the Army a Commission as a Capt. of Artillery was promised to him on the Condition that he should raise thirty men. I went with him that very afternoon and we engaged 25 men. The next day a report was made to the Committee & a recommendation was unanimously passed and the Commission was obtained. Hamilton recruited his men and with his own funds equipped them. He attended to their drill and his other duties with a degree of zeal and diligence which soon made his Company conspicuous for their appearance and the regularity of their movements. About the time the first division of the British Army arrived at Sandy Hook, Capt. Hamilton went on the Battery with his Company and his piece of artillery and commenced a Brisk fire upon the Phoenix and Rose then passing up the river. When his Cannon burst and killed two of his men who I distinctly recollect they were buried in the Bowling Green.
Previously to the skirmish on Long Island Mr. H, the Revd. John Mason, father of the present Dr. Mason, were at Dinner at my House, and after others (perhaps Mr. Rhinelander & Col. Troup) had retired from the table they were lamenting the situation of the army on Long Island and suggesting the best plans for its removal when Mr. Mason and Mr. Hamilton determined to write an anonymous letter to Genl. Washington pointing out their ideas of the best means to draw off the Army. I saw Mr. H writing the letter & heard it read after it was finished. It was delivered to me to be handed to one of the family of the General and I gave it to Col. Webb then an aid de Champ and I have no doubt he delivered it because my impression at that time was that the mode of drawing off the army which was adopted was nearly the same as that pointed out in the letter.
When the enemy came in the City on Sunday at 8 o’clock Capt H commanded a post on Bunker’s Hill near New York and brought up the rear of our army, and in retiring he lost as he afterwards told me his baggage and one of his Cannon which broke down. After the British crossed the Hudson at fort Lee I went to see my young friend and found him encamped near fort Washington having the Command of his Company. I afterwards saw him when he came to New York with a flag to see Sir Guy Carleton. He evinced his gratitude for the attentions of my brother & myself by his attentions to us thro’ life & by taking one of my sons to study law with him & refusing the least compensation.
While Mr. Hamilton was at Colledge he wrote several Political essays, in June 1776 he wrote the Westchester Farmer refuted in my house and in part in my presence and read some of the pages to me as he wrote them, at the time this publication was attributed to Governor Livingston. Mr. H used in the evening to sit with my family and my brothers family and write dogrel rhymes for their amusement; he was allways amiable and cheerful and extremely attentive to his books.
When Rivington’s Press was attacked by a Company from the Eastward, Mr. H indignant that our neighbours should intrude upon our rights (although the press was considered a tory one) he went to the place addressed the people present and offered if any others would join him to prevent these intruders from taking the types away.
Dr. Cooper, President’s of King’s Colledge, was a tory and an obnoxious man and the mob went to the Colledge with the intention of tarring & feathering him or riding him upon a rail. Mr. H got on the stoop of the President’s House and harangued them in order to give him time [to] escape out of the back of the House which he did & went on Board a Frigate Lying in the North river.
Document Source: William and Mary Quarterly
Excerpt
Narrative of Hercules Mulligan of the City of New York, ca. 1810-15
. . . About the 10 or 12 July 1776 Mr. Hamilton being desirous to enter the Army a Commission as a Capt. of Artillery was promised to him on the Condition that he should raise thirty men. I went with him that very afternoon and we engaged 25 men. The next day a report was made to the Committee & a recommendation was unanimously passed and the Commission was obtained. Hamilton recruited his men and with his own funds equipped them . . .
Previously to the skirmish on Long Island Mr. H, the Revd. John Mason, father of the present Dr. Mason, were at Dinner at my House, . . . had retired from the table they were lamenting the situation of the army on Long Island and suggesting the best plans for its removal when Mr. Mason and Mr. Hamilton determined to write an anonymous letter to Genl. Washington pointing out their ideas of the best means to draw off the Army . . . It was delivered to me to be handed to one of the family of the General . . . he delivered it because my impression at that time was that the mode of drawing off the army which was adopted was nearly the same as that pointed out in the letter . . .
While Mr. Hamilton was at Colledge he wrote several Political essays, in June 1776 he wrote the Westchester Farmer refuted in my house . . . Mr. H used in the evening to sit with my family and my brothers family and write dogrel rhymes for their amusement; he was allways amiable and cheerful and extremely attentive to his books . . .
Dr. Cooper, President’s of King’s Colledge, was a tory and an obnoxious man and the mob went to the Colledge with the intention of tarring & feathering him or riding him upon a rail. Mr. H got on the stoop of the President’s House and harangued them in order to give him time [to] escape out of the back of the House which he did & went on Board a Frigate Lying in the North river.
Document Source: William and Mary Quarterly,
