Horizon

Plundering Hackensack

I haven't stumbled across any howlers about American tea plantations or the medium-build George Washington, so here's the first detailed instance of plundering I've found in Johann Conrad Döhla's diaries:

22 March, 1780 During the evening, after tattoo, I went with a strong command. It was drawn from all the regiments which lay here in New York and consisted of four hundred men under the command of the Scottish Major Kleevlington and Captain Tannenburg of the Hessians. We were carried in boats across the North River to the province of New Jersey. then we marched almost the entire night, at the quickest pace and as silently as possible, mostly through forests. Toward three o'clock in the morning we reached Hackensack, a large and beautiful settlement consisting of about two hundred houses. This village was attacked and all houses were immediately broken into and everything ruined; doors, windows, boxes, and chests, everything lumped together and plundered. All the males were taken prisoners, and the townhall and some other splendid buildings were set on fire. We took considerable booty, money, silver pocket watches, silver plate and spoons, as well as furniture, good clothing, fine English linen, good silk stockings, gloves and neckcloths, as well as other expensive silks, satins, and other materials. This village of Hackensack lies sixteen English miles from New York and has rich inhabitants.

23 March, 1780 At daybreak we again marched out of Hackensack. We wished to proceed two miles further to Pollingtown, a small city where we hoped to capture a rebel command of two hundred men. However, because we were betrayed by spies and the rebels came against us from all sides, we had to begin the return march. They would have taken all of us prisoners, because they were five or six times stonger than we were, if Colonel Emmerich of the English had not joined wiht us four hundred light infantry and jaegers. On the previous day they had been transferred across the North River beyond Kingsbridge and were to have supported us during the attack on Pollingtown. He covered our flank as soon as he had joined us, and we slowly pulled back under a steady fire, which lasted more than six hours. During this time we threw away or discarded most of our furniture booty. At eight o'clock in the evening we again arrived at New York, after the enemy had followed us to the water of the North River. From this expedition we had dead three Scots, eleven English and Hessians, and Private Bär, of our regiment, made prisoner.

On this day my life was exposed to many hundreds of bullets. My booty, which I had been fortunate enough to retain, consisted of two silver pocket watches, three silver buckles, one pair of women's white cotton stockings, one pair of men's summer stockings, two men's and four women's shirts of fine English linen, two fine tablecloths, one silver food and tea spoon, five Spanish dollars, and six York shillings in money, eleven complete mattress covers of fine linen, and more than two dozen pieces of silk fabric, as well as six silver plates and one silver drinking cup, all tied together in a pack which, because of the hasty march, I had to throw away.