The struggle continued down to the very water's edge, when a voice from the armed vessel at anchor ordered the spoilers to let go their hold. They relinquished the prize, jumped into their boats, and pulled off, and the heroine of the Roost escaped with a mere rumpling of the feathers. Shortly after the catastrophe of the Roost, Jacob VanTassel, in the course of one of his forays, fell into the hands of the British, was sent prisoner to New York, and was detained in captivity for the greater part of the war. "

..But to turn from the realm of fancy and tradition to the realism of personal experience, the following copied from the original in the archives of the Pension Office at Washington, is herewith presented :

Lieut. Jacob Van Tassel's statement made in his application for pension, April 30, 1836, in his 92c! year: 'Was then a resident of Greenwich St,, New York. He states that he was then upwards of 91 years of age. That on the breaking out of the Revolutionary War he was a farmer living on Philipse Manor, present town of Green burgh, County of Westchester, N. Y. That he first entered the service in the year 1776 in a company of Militia commanded by Capt. Glode Requa ; that as a private and Sergeant in his company he served for different periods until the resignation of Capt. Requa in 1778 ; that in June, 1778, he received the commission of Lieutenant in same company under Capt. Geo. Comb, Col. Hammond's Regt. ; that by order of said Col. Hammond he received directions to take as many men from his company as seemed advisable, and go as far.down the Hudson as he could with safety, and gather all the information he could relative to the movements and designs of the enemy, and that he selected six privates and went down, and on their return put up for the night at a private dwelling in the vicinity of Croton River ; that in the morning, as they were about in readiness to march they were surprised by a party of British soldiers of 72 foot and 9 horse, and he further learned that they had been betrayed.