Home / Scharf, J. Thomas, ed. History of Westchester County, New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I. Philadelphia: L.E. Preston & Co., 1886. / Passage

History of Westchester County, New York, Vol. I

Scharf, J. Thomas, ed. History of Westchester County, New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. I. Philadelphia: L.E. Preston & Co., 1886. 323 words

The real purpose of the Committee of Safety, in the adoption and publication of this Resolution and of these several Orders, was the entire disarmament of every one who, for any reason, had neglected or declined to sign the General As-soridfion ; and, lor that reason, every class of fire-arms, whether adapted to the uses of the Army or not, was included, in every instance, in the Orders wherein the Arms to be seized were specifically described. It will be seen, also, that the Counties of Queens and Westchester were especially noticed ; and that they, alone, were selected for details of foreign troops, lor the enforcement, within each of them, respectively, of the utmost rc()uirements of the Committee's Orders -- besides the local IVIilitia, in each of the two Counties, thus honored by the Committee of Safety's malignant animosity, a large additional force of troojis, from beyond the boundaries of the County, in each instance, was placed at the disposal of those who were sent, within those Counties, respectively, for the " impressment" of the Arms, in order to ensure the most comj)letc success of the enterprise.

It must have been peculiarly galling, among those who had been accustomed to hear of the " Rights of " Man " and of the " Constitutional Rights of English- "men " and all the other catchwords and maxims in the science of government -- generally true, in theory, although, i>ractically, they had been seized and cmployed bj' demagogues, in those instances, only for the advancement of personal and partisan ends -- when a military force, no matter by whom commanded nor of what troops it was composed, was moved from farmhouse to farmhouse, failing to call only on those who were in favor with the Chairman of a County Committee, for the seizure of whatever " Muskets, Guns, " and Firelocks " the occupants of those several farmhouses owned or had in their possession.