The Iron Chain

by Jim DeFelice

  The patriot spy had no doubt he would meet Dr. Keen again. At that point he might be able to retrieve his Segallas, stolen by the villain and worth ten times more to Jake than the lost money had been to van Clynne.

  There would be time for that in the future. Now he had to ride north as quickly as possible to meet Schuyler.

  And then get some sleep. Even his iron constitution needed rest eventually.

  They reached a turn in the Post Road and the river suddenly came into sight, illuminated by the light pink of early dawn. From this distance, the Hudson was a peaceful lake, quiet in her majesty, silent and sure. The iron chain rocked against her restraints many miles to the south, protecting the upper reaches of the valley, and the nation.

  The British would undoubtedly try again. Jake had seen that there were many vulnerabilities to the local defenses, and even such an accomplished soldier as Old Put might not be able to fix them. Yet this morning he was filled with an optimism that the country would endure no matter what the British did, and that the Revolution would succeed. So beautiful a river could flow only for free men.

  "I don't think I've eaten a decent meal since Prisco's,'' declared Jake as the road turned away from the water."Perhaps you can lead us to a good place for breakfast."

  "There is a housewife who makes the most excellent cakes you have ever tasted but a short distance away," said van Clynne. "She will be happy to feed us, as long as you compliment her on her garden as soon as you meet her. She will talk nonstop," added the squire, "but it is the price we must pay for her excellent food."

  "She's Dutch?"

  "Could there be a question?" answered van Clynne, kicking his horse to pick up the pace.

  An Historical Note

  The question of historical veracity of the manuscripts upon which this series is based was addressed in The Silver Bullet, and hence won't be repeated here. A few points of note that apply specifically to this tale, however, may prove to be of interest.

  No mention of the attack on the chain detailed in this book appears in any history that I know of, but then again, Jake Gibbs doesn't either. An iron chain did span the Hudson above Peekskill approximately where the Bear Mountain Bridge stands today, and it was intact during the period covered by this book. For a description of it, as well as the more famous barrier that spanned the river at West Point, interested readers should examine Lincoln Diamant's excellent book, Chaining the Hudson.

  The first iron chain's strategic importance was every bit as vital to the American cause as the old manuscript indicates; alas, it was breached later that autumn under a flanking attack aided by a local Tory. Sir Henry Clinton led a small but fierce party of British soldiers northward; they burned Kingston and perhaps with reinforcements might have succeeded in rending the young nation in two. Fortunately, upper New York had been secured by that time, thanks to the defeat of Burgoyne north of Albany. The Americans were able to turn aside Clinton's threat, though not without considerable misery.

  A galley called the Dependence operated on the Hudson during the time span covered by this story, as both American and British documents show. Even General Putnam complained that his forces were impotent against it.

  One of the best existing narratives of the Revolutionary War, and indeed the most complete by a "common" soldier, is the book published under the title of Private Yankee Doodle. Its author is Joseph Plumb Martin—which would seem to match the name of the soldier who assists Squire van Clynne and Lieutenant Colonel Gibbs in their operation. According to Martin's narrative, he was under quarantine for small pox inoculation at the time—exactly the condition of this book's Martin when he is called to greater duty by Claus van Clynne.

  He does not mention the operation against the chain or the related adventures in his narrative. An oversight?

  Perhaps further clues as to the authenticity and purpose of this private history of Jake Gibbs lie in the manuscripts I have left to work on ― including the upcoming , The Golden Flask, which is Book III in the Jake Gibbs saga.

  One last thing: as I said in The Silver Bullet, once you start reading accounts from the Revolutionary days you quickly discover that it's best to take everything with a large grain of salt. It would probably be wise to follow that same spirit here.

  -JD

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