THE TOWN OF GREENBURGH. 273. 



from Peter Post, that the Hessians had not yet passed. Enjoining se- 

 crecy upon Post, the Colonel ambuscaded his horse in the adjoining 

 cedars, which he had barely done, when the Hessians rode up and 

 demanded of Post if he had seen the rebels. The Hessians, deceived 

 by his answer, were proceeding in full gallop through the lane, when a 

 shrill whistle rang through the air instantly followed by the impetuous 

 charge of Sheldon's horse. Panic stricken, the enemy fled in every 

 direction, but the fresh horses of the Americans carried their gallant 

 riders wherever a wandering ray disclosed the steel cap, or the brilliant 

 accoutrements of a Hessian. A bridle path leading from the place of 

 ambush to the river was strewed with the dead and dying, while those 

 who sought safety in the water were captured, cut to pieces or drowned. 

 The conflict, so short and bloody, was decisive. One solitary horseman 

 was seen galloping off in the direction of Yonkers, and he alone, wound- 

 ed and unarmed, reached the camp of Col. Emmerick in safety. Here 

 he related the particulars of the march, the sudden onset and retreat. 



Astonished and maddened with rage, Emmerick started his whole 

 command in pursuit. Poor Post was striped for his fidelity, and after 

 having a sufficient number of blows inflicted upon his person, left for 

 dead. 



The late John Dusenberry, of Greenburgh, used to relate "that his 

 father lived at one time on the Edgar farm in the old stone house, which 

 was still standing in 1847. The fight between Sheldon's dragoons and 

 Wurtz's chasseurs took place in the road north of Edgar's house, and 

 between it and the old ferry house, which was afterwards occupied by 

 Livingston's farm house. The combat commenced in the road, and con- 

 tinued easterly in the fields to which the yagers or Hessians fled." a 



The lane, half a mile in length, has been since used as a race course. 

 The former residence of Van Burgh Livingston, Esq., is agreeably situ- 

 ated near the river, a short distance north of Hastings. The estate is at 

 present owned by Mr. Stephen Archer, who purchased it of Mr. Liv- 

 ingston. 



The remains of the ancient military fort at Dobb's Ferry, is situated a 

 little south-west of the Livingston residence. The form of the embank- 

 ment is somewhat in the shape of a horse shoe. From its elevated posi- 

 tion, it overlooks the ferry beneath, and the magnificent scenery of the 

 Hudson River. This fort appears to have been a post of great importance 

 during the revolutionary war ; for it not only commanded the passage of 

 the river, but also the opposite ferry to Paramus, on the Jersey shore. 



a McDonald MSS., in possession of Geo. H. Moore, Esq,, of N. Y. Hist. Soc. [Yager horse 

 probably fought in the road and retreated southerly in that direction, while the foot fled for 

 safety easterly to the hills and woods. F. McD.] 



