With a Multi-Media Display

DUTCHESS COUNTY TELLS ITS STORY WITH A MULTI-MEDIA DISPLAY By Chris Farlekas (From the Times Herald Record, Middletown, N.Y.) Friday, September 29, 1979

POUGHKEEPSIE - America celebrated its bicentennial birthday in 1976 with all the hoopla and fireworks the great day demanded. But the matter of independence didn't begin - or end on that day. The Revolutionary War continued several years past the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Last year, Kingston had its moment in the sun as it remembered itself as the birthplace of the state legislature. Plans are being drawn up for a bicentennial celebration next year of Joseph Brant's raid on Port Jervis and Deerparkand following that, the New Windsor Cantonment will reenact Washington's last gathering of troops. His refusal of the crown and the creation of the Order of the Purple Heart will be prominently portrayed. Into this triple-decker patriotic sandwich, there is a little heralded - but excellent - display at the Mid-Hudson Arts and Science Center in downtown Poughkeepsie at 228 Main Street. It's titled "Dutchess County 1778: Year of Trial, Year of Transition." In a carefully presented series of displays, both behind glass and out in the open, the Dutchess County Historical Society has focused on this crucial year in the county's history. There are six, life-sized exhibits which incorporate painted figures and actual objects of that time, each showing an aspect of life in Poughkeepsie in 1778. Against the wall, enclosed in glass and well lit, are pistols, newspapers and other artifacts of 200 years ago, when Poughkeepsie was the state capital. But what makes the exhibit really come alive is a slide show that tells the history of that year. In 1777, the British burned Kingston, forcing the legislature to find another home. Poughkeepsie was picked, and on Jan. 9, 1778, a sufficient number of legislators arrived to make up a quorum and get business under way. It was a hard winter. Washington and his men were suffering at Valley Forge, reduced as one said to drinking soup "full of burnt leaves and dirt." Many of the insights in the 20-minute slide show are augmented by an excellent booklet on the subject given each visitor, written by Jonathan Clark of the nearby Vassar College history department. Together, the words and pictures paint a familiar story that graphically illustrates the adage, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Two hundred years ago - just as today - there were heroes and villains. People complained that taxes were too high. While soldiers were suffering at Valley Forge, fat cat merchants made a killing in the market. There was even a strike. Ships' carpenters had been brought to Poughkeepsie to build two frigates authorized by the Continental Congress. According to Prof. Clark, "They

went on strike, demanding that their pay be raised from eight to 11 shillings and a half-pint of rum per day (rum being the major fringe benefit for 18th Century working men). Their demands were met." Clark says Poughkeepsie was an over-crowded, boisterous village of 2,000 during the Revolution. In the years before the Revolution, a major tenant riot occurred and hundreds of farmers marched on Poughkeepsie, overwhelmed the sheriff, and released one of their fellow rioters from jail. In the aftermath, Clark says the sheriff advertised for men to assist in the execution of one Samuel Prendergast, who had been condemned to death for his part in the riot. But no one came forward to help - and Prendergast never did hang. Clark adds the people of Dutchess were factious people. When the break with England came, it also broke many families. Father and sons (sometimes daughters too) stood on opposite sides of the freedom question. Here's one example Clark gives. Bartholomew Crannel was an outspoken Tory; his two daughters stood just as firmly for independence - and they let it be known where they stood. He said tradition has it they affronted their father by wearing aprons embroidered with the slogans "Liberty" and "No Tea" in his presence. Clark writes, "Col. Graham discovered that his regiment simply refused to march. Zephaniah Platt reported he managed to raise three companies of militia, but that none of the privates were willing to fight. . . many of them would rather farm." An interesting character of the period is Melancton Smith, the 34-year-old sheriff. He was in charge of law and order and on June 3 was paid 15 pounds to hang three men. He also ordered secret ballots for the first time. Before this, voting was normally done by voice. Clark said voice voting meant everyone standing around the sheriff knew how each person voted. To land the office, he says candidates resorted to various kinds of inducement. "In Virginia, the most common kind was liquid refreshment. When George Washington ran for a seat in the House of Burgesses in 1758, he supplied 160 gallons of liquor for 391 voters. Washington won."