The Livingston Lions

They are one of the most identifiable and iconic images of Clermont. Thousands of school children have posed with them, and maybe heard the legend of how they take turns guarding the house. Hundreds of couples have had engagement or wedding photos taken with them looming in the back ground.

I am of course talking about the lions mounted on the front porch of Clermont.

They have become so identified with the house its tough to imagine the site without them and yet most people would be shocked to find out that they are among the last decorations added to the house. Not only do they not date back to the building of the house but the last man of the house, John Henry Livingston never saw them in place on the house.

One of the lions in Italy 

From 1921-1926 John Henry and his wife Alice took their daughters to Italy for a European education.The lions were originally part of the decor at a house the family rented in Florence. the girls, Janet and Honoria really liked the lions as did John Henry's grandchildren from his first daughter Katharine so John Henry and Alice did the only thing they could do. They bought the lions and had them shipped back to America.

Th family returned to America in 1927 and unfortunately John Henry died at the family's South Carolina house before he returned to Clermont.

When Alice and the girls returned to Clermont later that year, Alice had the west side of the house relandscaped, and the porch and patio installed so that the lions could be mounted in their new homes.

The lions on their perches in 1936

So as iconic as the lions have become they have only been guarding over Clermont since the last three residents of the house lived here.

"perhaps true wisdom would distinguish happiness and riches" Louis Otto

Nancy Shippen

            Anne Hume Shippen, better known as Nancy, was all but forced by her father to marry Henry Beekman Livingston because of Livingston’s wealth and prestige. Prior to that marriage though she was head over heels for a young member of the French Legation to America, Louis-Guillaume Otto.

            Otto’s origins are a bit murky. He was either born in 1753 in Strasbourg, Alsace, France or in 1754 in Baden in what would become southwest Germany. He was educated at the University of Strasbourg before entering the diplomatic service

Louis Otto

            He arrived in Philadelphia in 1779 as a member of the French delegation to the United States. He met Nancy and they exchanged frequent visits and romantic letters. She also began courting Henry Beekman Livingston at this time, much more to her father’s liking. Otto once wrote: “Your papa knows that my fortune cannot be compared with that of Livingston therefore he prefers him, perhaps true wisdom would distinguish happiness and riches.” Nancy married Livingston anyway.

            In March of 1787 Otto married his own Livingston, Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Van Brugh Livingston. Unfortunately, she died in December of that same year.

            Otto’s diplomatic career was on the ascent though. In 1785 he had replaced Francois Barbe-Marbois as Secretary (leader) of the French delegation in America. When he returned to Revolutionary France in 1792, he was made head of the Political Division for Foreign Affairs.

            A year later turbulence in the government led to a slight hiccup in Otto’s career. He was dismissed from the service, arrested and scheduled to be executed by guillotine. Somehow though he talked his way out of the execution though and was made a member of the diplomatic delegation sent to Berlin.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Marie Louise

            In 1800 Otto was sent to Great Britain as the Commissioner for Prisoners of War. He was in charge of negotiating prisoner exchanges and supplying French prisoners taken by the British. Soon though he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain. He spent the year 1801 hammering out a peace treaty with his British counterparts which was signed in 1802 by Joseph Bonaparte and Charles Cornwallis. The French Revolutionary Wars were over. The Treaty of Amiens, as the treaty was called after the town in which it was signed, would be the only peace between Britain and France from the beginning of the fighting in 1793 and Napoleon’s abdication in 1814. The treaty lasted a year until May of 1803 when the British seized a bunch of French ships in British ports and the French responded by seizing more than 1,800 British citizens in France and Italy. The Napoleonic Wars had begun.

            In 1803 Otto was sent to Bavaria as ambassador where he greatly impressed Napoleon. To honor his service Napoleon named him to the Conseil d'État and honored him as Grand officier of the Légion d'honneur. He also created him the Comte de Mosloy in 1810.

            In 1810 Otto was sent to Vienna as the ambassador to Austria. He was responsible for negotiating Napoleon’s second marriage to the archduchess Marie Louise. She was empress of France until Napoleon was forced to abdicate and sent to Elba in 1814.

The Battle of Waterloo

            Otto was not part of the restoration government as he was viewed as far too much of a Napoleon supporter. During Napoleon’s return in 1815, known as the 100 Days, Otto was made Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs. Napoleon’s second reign effectively came to an end at Waterloo. Otto took the opportunity to retire from public life, living another two years before dying in 1817. He was buried in Paris.

The Court Martial Of Henry Beekman Livingston: The Legal Action That Helped Win The Battle of Saratoga

On March 23, 1777 a body of British soldiers were brought out of New York City on transports, sailed up the Hudson River and landed at Peekskill. There they burned store houses full of supplies and barracks where American soldiers were supposed to sleep. (Washington 1777)

           

Henry Beekman Livingston

Henry Beekman Livingston, colonel of the 4^th New York Regiment and Colonel Van Cortlandt’s regiments were present but received no orders and could only watch as the British landed. Livingston estimated them at only about 500. The American regiments faced the British force at about 400 yards, and it seemed that they were poised for battle when suddenly the Americans received orders from their brigadier general Alexander McDougall to retreat. They carried away what supplies they could, but the British were able to destroy the rest, burn their store houses and barracks. The following day Marinus Willet attacked their advanced guard and the British retreated to their ships, sailing away the next day. (Livingston 1777)

            McDougall had a slightly different recollection of the event. He said the enemy greatly outnumbered him and he had to retreat. Most of the supplies that were destroyed were destroyed on his orders to prevent the enemy from carrying them off. The skirmish on Monday with the advanced guard supposedly threw the British into confusion and led to them sailing away. (McDougall 1777)

            This event was the last straw for any kind of civil

Alexander McDougall

relationship between Livingston and McDougall. Livingston thought McDougall was below him, the son of a dairy farmer and a common merchant before the war started it rankled Livingston to no end to have some one of lower social rank promoted above him in the army. McDougall thought Livingston was haughty, overly aggressive and we can only assume the blatant classism that Henry displayed must have annoyed him some.

            Livingston began to talk to other officers about McDougall. He indicated that McDougall was a coward for retreating from the enemy at Peekskill. Word got back to McDougall, possibly from Henry’s own regimental paymaster who was also McDougall’s son-in-law. When Major General Israel Putnam arrived in the Highlands in June to take command, he found Livingston under arrest and awaiting a court martial for “Traducing” the character of General McDougall in ordering the retreat and for using language unbecoming the character of an officer and a gentleman.

            While Henry was under arrest, an unsigned letter began to circulate in the American camp calling McDougall “a poor contemptible mean half starved Scotchman who didn’t have the courage or class to give satisfaction (to duel) with someone he had offended. McDougall was sure Livingston had written the letter but could not prove it. If he had been able to he intended to charge Livingston with mutiny as well.

Not that George Clinton

            Putnam ordered the court martial held with George Clinton as president. Livingston was found not guilty of everything except breach of respect for a senior officer-but not to the degree that was unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. He was rebuked in general orders and the matter should have been dropped. It also seems to indicate that at least some officers agreed with Henry in that McDougall had been to quick to retreat that day.

That's the guy

            Except it was not. Livingston called McDougall out and although he originally agreed to the duel McDougall would never fight Livingston. (Putnam, To George Washington from Major General Israel Putname, 10 June 1777 1777)

            Putnam soon found himself on the outs with Livingston as well. He had ordered Livingston south to White Plains, but hearing that the British were moving on Morrissania he sent Colonel Philip Van Cortlandt to take command of the two regiments. Livingston was the senior to Van Cortlandt at the time and took great offence at being told to submit himself to the command of another inferior. He actually returned to camp rather than carry out Putnam’s orders and wrote to Washington to demand his rank be clarified to those who didn’t seem to understand. He also found himself desirous of being out of the Hudson Valley and requested a transfer. (Putnam, To George Washington From Major General Israel Putnam, 4 July 1777 1777)

          

Israel Putnam

  McDougall was not sorry to see Livingston go although he thought he could make a good soldier with more experience. His greatest problem was the chain of command probably because to that point all his commands had been intendent. He was in charge when he was stationed at Fort Constitution and he was in command on the east end of Long Island.

            Eventually Livingston, who had hoped to have his regiment transferred to the army of George Washington would be assigned to the Northern Army under Horatio Gates. They fought at both battles of Saratoga. At the second battle Livingston once again took his own initiative and followed Benedict Arnold on his unapproved attack on the Hessian works. Livingston would claim to be the second man into Breymann’s redoubt behind Arnold but only because Arnold was on a horse.

This action won the October 7, 1777 battle for the Americans and eventually led to the surrender of General John Burgoyne’s army. The Court Martial of Henry Beekman Livingston led eventually to his regiment being removed from the Hudson Valley and moved to the Northern Army. Its very possible that without that court marital the Battle of Saratoga could have ended differently.

           

           

Works Cited

Livingston, Henry Beekman. 1777. "To George Washington from Henry Beekman Livingston, 29 March 1777." Founders Online. March 29. Accessed May 12, 2020. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-09-02-0017.

McDougall, Alexander. 1777. "To George Washington from Alexander McDougall, 29 March 1777." Founders Online. March 29. Accessed May 12 , 2020. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-09-02-0018.

Putnam, Israel. 1777. "To George Washington From Major General Israel Putnam, 4 July 1777." Founders Online. July 4. Accessed May 12, 2020. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-10-02-0187.

—. 1777. "To George Washington from Major General Israel Putname, 10 June 1777." Founders Online. June 10. Accessed May 12, 2020. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-09-02-0660.

Washington, George. 1777. "From George Washington to Major General William Heaat, 29 March 1777." Founders Online. March 29. Accessed May 12, 2020. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-09-02-0015.

Margaret Beekman Livingston and the Essential Workers Needed To Rebuild Clermont

Margaret Beekman Livingston, not a woman to be denied

Margaret Beekman Livingston spent the winter following the destruction of her house in a house owned by her cousin, Robert Livingston, the Third Lord of Livingston Manor. What she really wanted though was to be back in her own house.

In the spring of 1778, she moved back to Clermont’s land and had, what she called a hovel, built in the shadow of the ruins of Clermont. Looking at the north and south walls and the rubble in between them Margaret decided to rebuild Clermont as it was.

To do this she needed experienced workmen to do the construction. Most importantly they though must not have their work interrupted by the war. New York State required every man between the ages of 16 and 60 to respond to militia calls In the case of Margaret’s workers, they would have to lay down their tools and go if called.

One of many letters to George Clinton

Although we now know that there would be no more big battles in New York after the Battle of Saratoga, Margaret and her workers had no way of knowing this. The British still occupied New York City and Canada with Clermont sitting almost directly in between. The British could have attacked the Hudson River again at any time and in fact the militia was called out several times in response to raids and attacks by small parties of British soldiers and their loyalist and native allies.

To alleviate this situation Margaret Beekman Livingston bombarded New York governor George Clinton with letters requesting workers for her house be released from their militia obligations so they could focus only on her house.

Her essential workers included Conrad Lasher Jr. as a stonebreaker, Henry Timmerman as a limemaker and Phil Shultis as a laborer. Lasher and Timmerman were both in Diel Rockefeller’s company of militia from Germantown and Shultis was in Philip Smith’s company of militia from Livingston Manor.

Not that George Clinton 

That George Clinton 

Initially Clinton refused to give Margaret special treatment but her constant line of correspondence combined with the family’s influence finally made him relent. Lasher, Timmerman and Shultis, joined by other laborers when they were available had Clermont rebuilt in less than four years, during the war. Not only was Margaret living in the house again by 1782 it had enough fit and finish to host George and Martha Washington. 

UnderWhere 1905

In this video Educator Kjirsten Gustavson shows all the layers that went under a woman's dress in 1905 to create the ideal silhouette. This is the sort of outfit that Alice Livingston would have worn when she was engaged to John Henry Livingston.