less the winter was one of great military activity,
especially among the organized militia of Orange County, in which (in
the town of New Windsor) was the sub-district of Little Britain, the
home of the Clintons;[15] the menacing attitude of the enemy under Lord
Howe, who had approached as near as Hackensack, and the protection of
the passes of the Highlands, requiring frequent calls upon the yeomanry
to take the field. The inhabitants of Hanover Precinct, which precinct
joined on New Windsor, had from the first shown great spirit; their
Association, dated May 8th, 1775, in which they pledge their support to
the Continental Congress, &c., in resisting "the several arbitrary and
oppressive acts of the British Parliaments," and "in the most solemn
manner resolve never to become slaves," is signed first by Dr. Charles
Clinton and presents 342 names. The Precinct in the winter of 1776-7,
contained four militia companies, under Captains Matthew Felter, James
Milliken, Hendrick Van Keuren and James McBride, and these were attached
to a regiment of which that sterling patriot, James McClaughry, of
Little Britain, brother in law to the Clintons, was lieutenant colonel
commandant.[16] Tunis and John Van Arsdale lived in Capt. Van Keuren's
beat. The Captain was a veteran of the last French war, and it gave him
prestige, in the command to which he had been recently promoted. He had
"warmly espoused the cause of his country, and evinced unshaken firmness
throughout the whole of the contest." Col. McClaughry had taken the
field with his regiment early in the winter, proceeding down into
Jersey, and of which, on his return, Jan. 1st, he gave a humorous
account to Gen. Clinton; but though highly probable, we have no positive
evidence that John Van Arsdale went into actual service till the spring
opened.

Forts Montgomery and Clinton, begun in 1775, stood on the west side of
the Hudson, opposite Anthony's Nose, at a very important pass, where the
river was narrow, easily obstructed, and from the elevation which the
forts occupied, was commanded a great distance up and down. Fort Clinton
was below Fort Montgomery, distant only about six hundred yards, the
Poplopen Kill running through a ravine between them; the fortress was
small, but more complete than Fort Montgomery, and stood at a greater
elevation, being 23 feet the highest, and 123 feet above the river.
These posts were distant (southeast) from the Clinton mansion only about
sixte