Romer, John
John M. McDonald interview — 1848-11-30
John Romer (1764-1855) was a son of Jacob Romer and Frena Haerlager. The family resided near the present Tarrytown Reservoir during the Revolutionary War. He recalls that the captors of British Major John André stopped at his family’s home on the morning of the capture, and took with them a meal prepared by Romer’s mother in a pewter basin. The captors left the basin at the capture site after they departed with André, and Romer was sent to retrieve it. When the captors arrived at the Romer house with André, John Paulding warned Frena Romer to be careful about what she said in front of him. Romer also indicates his belief concerning the route that André took through Mount Pleasant to the site of his capture. Romer also describes the Revolutionary War activity of Abraham Martling, who was wounded in the naval battle involving the HMS Phoenix and HMS Rose off Tarrytown on August 16, 1776, and who participated in the raid that burned Loyalist General Oliver DeLancey’s home in Manhattan. He then recounts his own participation in an action in which Colonel Charles Armand, whose men were posted on Kykuit, attempted to ambush a landing party from a British frigate in the Hudson River. Romer also attests to the bravery of John Paulding, and describes his escape from a force of Hessian Jager cavalry. He concludes by describing a raid on Tarrytown that took place on May 26, 1779.
Manuscript page facsimiles
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Transcription
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November 30th Capt. John Romer “The three captors of André stopped at my fathers in the morning before day and took breakfast, and took with them a dinner prepared by my mother and deposited in a pewter basin. After the capture they forgot the basin and the dinner which I was sent for and found it where they had left it on the knoll east of the road and north of the brook. They soon left our house, not waiting for my return. Paulding returned from the capture in advance of the rest. My mother was a very warm whig. Paulding said to her: “Aunt Fanny, take care what you say now. I believe we’ve got a British officer with us, and if you take on badly it may be an injury to you.” My mother was careful then, and they departed with the prisoner. Part of the dinner was eaten, and the rest I brought back tied up snug in the basin with the
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napkin, as it had been prepared by my mother. There was a cart road through the fields leading from James Requas to Isaac Read’s Tavern; though I think Andre went on by Requa’s to where Peter See’s store is and so on [towards?] [X] Tarrytown. I believe Paulding was the youngest of the three captors. The others were about half a mile (or there abouts) off to the east on the hill. Abraham Martling who kept Tammany Hall in New York, was wounded on board one of the American galleys in the battle with the Phoenix and Rose lying off Tarrytown. These galleys were down as low nearly as Dobbs Ferry when the battle began, and then they gradually approached the British. He (Abraham Martling) was with the party that burnt General
[X] See origl. page 88
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DeLancey’s house. He lived at NewYork at the commencement of the Revolutionary war, and was a very warm whig. I don’t know who commanded when they took and burnt General Delancey’s house at Bloomingdale, but I believe it was Captain Buchanan of the water guards. – There were several boats. The fire of the house caused a great alarm among the British shipping and they were forced to return by way of New Jersey after burning the boats A British frigate once came up and was lying off Tarrytown. She sent a boat which rowed towards Beekman’s Point. Colonel Armand who was scouting about asked me to guide him. He had been lying on the hill and saw the boat. He meant to fire upon them from a wall piece he had with him loaded with slugs and which he said would reach them (halfway across the river). Armand
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had been posted on Davis’s Hill or Sugar Loaf Hill (Kakeout?) [X] His intention was to cut them off by going down the Beekman’s Point with his wall piece while they were in the cove by the mill, at which place they used
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a swamp where they could not follow him. On the 26th of May 1779, a party of Refugees suddenly came upon Tarrytown. The inhabitants dove their cattle in great alarm into the woods north of Pocentico? Brook(?) on
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the road leading from Rossell’s corner to Tarrytown.