The Mansion

What Mansion Would That Be?

To be more specific, the Morris mansion, also known later as the Morris-Jumel mansion. Readers of The Patriot Spy might remember that the mansion hosted a secret planning session between Jeremiah Creed and General George Washington. In fact, Washington made the Morris mansion his headquarters in the fall of 1776. During the time of the Battle of Harlem Heights, it served as the Continental Army headquarters, as mentioned in The Patriot Spy.

A National Landmark: the Morris-Jumel Mansion

Who Built it?

The house was built eleven years before the revolution, in 1765, by British Colonel Roger Morris and his American wife, Mary Philipse. Known as Mount Morris, this northern Manhattan estate stretched from the Harlem to the Hudson Rivers and covered more than 130 acres. Morris was the nephew of a prominent architect and designed the mansion in the Palladian style. It features a monumental portico supported by grand Tuscan columns and a large, two-story octagonal addition at the rear. Because they remained loyal to the crown, the Morrises were eventually forced to return to England. The Continentals often used the homes of Loyalists, whether abandoned or not, as headquarters, and the British did the same to the Patriots. In this case, the home was large enough to accommodate staff activities and served as a residence for the commander in chief.

Why Headquarters?

Washington recognized the advantages
of establishing a headquarters on Morris Hill

The location was ideal because it was on high ground where Washington vainly hoped to destroy a British attack similar to Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill). The Battle of Harlem Heights was at best a draw. However, the position offered access to the lower island if a chance for a counterattack arose. It also protected the only American retreat route—King's Bridge. With views of the Harlem River, the Bronx, and Long Island Sound to the east, New York City and the harbor to the south, and the Hudson River and Jersey Palisades to the west, Mount Morris proved to be an excellent strategic military headquarters. Soon after the Battle of Harlem Heights, Washington and his troops left the mansion, and for some time, it was occupied by British and Hessian forces.

Post Bellum Shenanigans

Eliza Jumel

In the summer of 1790, Washington returned to the Mansion and dined with members of his cabinet. Among those at the table were Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Henry Knox. However, the mansion rekindled the public's interest (and ours) because of another (notorious) First Patriot. In 1810, the mansion was bought by wealthy French wine merchant Stephen Jumel. As a result, the name was changed to Morris-Jumel Mansion. Jumel and his American wife, Eliza, purchased the mansion and spared no expense refurbishing it.

In 1828, they returned from Paris with crates of furniture and paintings, much of which they claimed had belonged to Napoleon. In 1832, Stephen died, ostensibly of "natural causes." He fell on a pitchfork and bled out. However, there was speculation that Eliza had a role in the death, as she had carried on a torrid affair with the now disgraced former Vice President of the U.S. and killer of Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr. 

A year after Stephen Jumel died in 1832, Eliza married Burr. However, the union ended after three years in divorce, as Burr only wanted her money, most of which he managed to spend. Burr died in near poverty. Eliza became a recluse, and the once-renowned beauty turned into a frightening sight with unkempt hair, false teeth, and dirty clothing. Although rumors said she went mad, she clearly had dementia and drove away even her closest relatives and friends. She lived alone in the house until her death in 1865.

Aaron Burr

Post Shenanigans Hauntings?

A stately old home, soldiers, sex, murder, and madness come together in a toxic mixture filled with stories of ghost sightings and hauntings. The mansion is now considered not only the oldest house in New York City but also the city's oldest haunted house. A tour of New York's haunted sites wouldn't be complete without a visit to Harlem. Many people, including curators and tourists alike, have reported sightings over the years. These sightings include Eliza, Stephen, and Aaron, as well as Revolutionary War soldiers and servants. One of the latter was a jilted maidservant. I first learned of the Morris-Jumel mansion as a boy. A friend of my father, who later became a history professor, visited the mansion and shared stories of ghost sightings—both civilian and military. He insisted that some of these sightings were made by inner-city youth touring with their schools, who described "soldiers walking through the walls." He also claimed that they accurately described some of the uniforms despite having no knowledge of 18th-century military or civilian dress. Today, the mansion is owned by the New York City Parks Department and is open to visitors, both the living and the dead.

The Easter Parade

A broad-brimmed tricorne - well worn!

The famed New York fashion procession has little to do with this blog other than timing...but I thought I would spend some time discussing headgear worn during the times of the Yankee Doodle Spies. So what actually made Yankee Doodle Dandy...a dandy?  For one thing, his hat!

Until recent times, hats were a universal part of any one's wardrobe, rich or poor.  They kept the head warm and the elements in check.  In the days before umbrella's and the like became affordable, a hat or hood was the only thing to protect a person who had to be out in the weather - rain, snow, sleet...or burning sun. Hats were much more common and played an important role in the culture of the 18th century.  Its adornment with braid, cockade, and feather (or not) could make a social or political statement. And how the hat was used could make an equally important statement.  For example, taking off (doffing) one's hat could evoke respect. A hat thrown in the air evinced joy and a hat brought to one's chest, reverence.

Hats could be broad-brimmed, short-brimmed or conical.  Farmers often wore the simple broad-brimmed hat, which looks a little like a floppy version of today's cowboy hat. Many of the American militias can be seen in broad-brimmed hats but sometimes they wore conical headgear. For military usage, the conical hat often had a large shield affixed to the front, giving it a more martial appearance.  The shield could bear an emblem distinguishing the unit or bearing a numeral or motto.  Some light infantry affected this type of hat, especially among British troops.


Some infantry and most cavalry wore helmets, usually of leather.  The helmet was practical but it cost much more than a simple felt hat or even the finely crafted "beaver." However, the helmet displayed a martial look and provided maximum protection from blows to the head from saber, sword, musket butt, or bayonet. Helmets sometimes had a tail, a tassel, or plume made from cloth or even feathers.
Bearskins were worn by British grenadiers and sometimes highland infantry wore the floppy beret-like bonnet adorned with plumes. German grenadiers wore the impressive-looking miter hats.  Sometimes light infantry wore smaller versions.

Traditional working man or farmer's cocked
hat /tricorne

The most famous hat of the American Revolution was, of course, the three-cornered hat...the tricorne. Now the term tricorne was not widely used during the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies. That name came after the hat went out of style. It was generally referred to as a cocked hat. At the peak of its popularity, the tricorne was worn as a civilian dress and as part of the military and naval uniforms. As I stated above, its distinguishing characteristic was practical: the turned-up portions of the brim formed gutters that directed rainwater away from the wearer's face, depositing most of it over his shoulders. Before the invention of specialized rain gear, this was a distinct advantage.

The cocked hat/tricornes were broad-brimmed, but with the brim pinned up on either side of the head and at the back.  This triangular shape gave the hat its name. Normally it was worn with the point facing forward, but often times soldiers wore the tricorne pointed to the left to allow better clearance when firing their musket. Tricornes ranged from the very simple and cheap to the extravagant, occasionally incorporating gold or silver lace trimming and feathers. In addition, military and naval versions usually bore a cockade or other national emblem at the front or on the side.



By the 1790s the tricorne fell out of use and a new style cocked hat, the bicorne style evolved. The bicorne offered less protection from the elements but its flatter shape made for easier handling when "doffed." However, over the course of history, few hats were so closely associated with a Cause, a Nation, or a Sentiment like the famed three-cornered hat of the American Revolution.

The late 18th-century bicorne was certainly no tricorne!