Princeton University - Bric A Brac Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

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announced that the college would close, and the students left as rapidly as possible. Three days later Washington retreated through Princeton and the British moved into Princeton on December 7, 1776. Princeton ' s day of infamy preceded the nation ' s by 161 years, for this was the first day of the twenty days of tyranny, dur- ing which time the British forces despoiled the library and laboratory, broke the doors, and smashed the windows and furniture. However, on January 3, 1777 the Brit- ish marched off to Trenton to aid Corn- wallis. They were met by Washington on the outskirts of Princeton and completely routed. Some retreated toward Rocky Hill and New Brunswick while others barri- caded themselves in Nassau Hall. Setting a tradition for future Princeton artillery- men, the Revolutionary batteries adjusted on Nassau Hall with uncanny accuracy. The British put up a sporadic resistance, but gave up after a cannonball crashed through the chapel walls and took off the head of the portrait of King George II. That afternoon the Continental troops moved into the building. The Americans treated the college as badly as the hated British had, and com- pleted the destruction of the building. De- spite the unsanitary, demolished condition of the structure, it was later used as a hos- pital by the Continentals in 1777 and 1778. However, Nassau Hall was soon to ex- perience glories which tended to salve the wounds of war. President Witherspoon, representing New Jersey in Congress, had obtained a grant for the reconstruction of the college. Alumni and friends also gave aid. Despite the depreciation of currency by 1783 enough work had been completed so that the building became the Capitol of the United States. Congress, fleeing from a reactionary mob in Philadelphia, estab- lished the Capital in Princeton. Here, in August 1783, came Washington to report on the Army and to attend the graduation. In the Presbyterian Church, before a dis- tinguished audience, the class of ' 83 gradu- ated. Ashbel Green delivered an oration praising General Washington, and the fol- lowing day the General met Green in Nas- sau Hall and shook hands with him. Washington endeared himself to the Scotch president by presenting the college with 50 guineas as a token of my es- teem. The trustees appropriated the money to be used by Charles Peale for a portrait of Washington. The portrait now hangs in the Faculty Room in the frame which once held the decapitated picture of George II. After 1779, Samuel Stanhope Smith had played an increasingly important part in the leadership of the college. Wither- spoon was in Philadelphia representing the State of New Jersey, and could not de- vote his full time to the college. He did, however, continue to direct policy, and, under him, the library was built up, the faculty increased and strengthened, the standards raised, and the curriculum broad- ened. He showed considerable understand- ing of his students and their problems and

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and tried to fulfill too many undertakings. Princeton owes him a great debt as one of her original founders, both as a planner, and trustee, and as a strong, able president in a crucial period. Burr ' s death in 1757 was followed by a succession of three short-lived presidents- Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Davies, and Samuel Finley. All were able men who con- tinued to strengthen the young college and served as inspirations to the ever-groAving student body. The trustees were at a loss to name a successor to Finley, for the critical situa- tion within the Presbyterian Church made the selection of an unusually capable man a necessity. The conflict between the Old Sides and the New Lights could virtually be resolved if the choice fell upon a man acceptable to both factions, and who, through his ability, could bring about com- plete reconciliation. The trustees turned to John Witherspoon of Scotland, an emi- nent religious and educational leader of that country, and announced his election in 1766. However, Witherspoon, despite the enticements of a £206 salar} ' , a free house, and land for pasturage, demurred. His wife had no doubt heard of the far- famed Jersey mosquito, for she felt her hus- band might soon die, and she be left alone in a strange land. The Trustees met once again and again they elected Witherspoon. This time, however, Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton were able to persuade Mrs. Witherspoon that there would be lit- «L tie danger and she gave her reluctant con- sent. On August 7, 1768, the good ship Peggy arrived in Philadelphia, and off stepped the forty-six year old president- elect of Princeton. There he was met by many Presbyterian leaders, several students and distinguished citizens of the city. He was feted for several days in Philadelphia, and it was not until August 12 that he was met by the entire college body at the prov- ince line and escorted to Nassau Hall. Witherspoon found that his job en- compassed all phases of college life, and in his 26 years as president he worked un- tiringly as a teacher, leader, minister, ad- ministrator, author, statesman, and finan- cier. His period in Princeton ' s history is one of its most colorful and fruitfvil. The life of the college had already begun to center its interest on patriotic activities. In 1765, the graduating class ap- peared in American homespun in protest against the British Colonial Acts. It is tra- ditionally said that the twin sycamore trees still standing on the front campus were planted in this year in gratification over the repeal of the Stamp Act. As the Revo- lutionary fever spread it was reflected in the actions of the students. In 1770 they intercepted a letter from the merchants of New York which stated intention of violat- ing the Non-Importation Agreement. The students brought forth the public hang- man and he burned the letter as the bell of Nassau Hall tolled in the background. In September of that year, the seniors again giaduated in homespun. This inspired Benjamin Franklin to comment that he thought them more brilliant in their plain clothes than in . . .the borrowed plumage of the gayest butterfly in all the assembly. In 1774 the students staged their owti tea party in emulation of the larger af- fairs taking place elsewhere. They brought the tea out from the college storehouse and collected it from the local shops and taverns. Then they piled it at the foot of an effigy of Governor Hutchinson and the vhole mass was burned. Finally, the -ivar arri ' ed. Witherspoor tried to keep the college as a group, but th , enlistments and confusion made it impc sible.

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beneath a harsh exterior beat a kindly heart. This is evidenced by the three day holiday he granted the college when he re- married; his wife had died, and two years later, he wed a widow of twenty-four. This created a sensation among the Presbyte- rians, and also caused quite a celebration on the part of the students. Incidents such as these however, were rare in the life of the students, who were forced to spend long hours memorizing Greek and Latin, and learning lo ng dis- courses on religion, philosophy, and the sciences. But the teaching was sound and thorough, and the fame of Witherspoon ' s college spread through the colonies to at- tract young men from all sections. It was a sad day for the college when, on November 18, 1794, John Witherspoon was buried in the President ' s lot in the Princeton cemetery. He had died as his attendant was reading him the newspaper. Withers{X)on had rendered a great service to his college and his nation. The school of his day brought forth no less than seven Senators, seventeen Congressmen, two Su- preme Court justices, and one United Sutes attorney-general. Though these men were representatives of the Witherspoon era, the contributions of earlier presidents were esf ecially impressive; for they, too, provided many influential men, and colo- nial leaders— among them James Madison, Benjamin Rush, Oliver Ellsworth, and William Patterson. Indeed, over sixteen per cent of the members of the Constitu- tional Convention were Princeton gradu- ates. As Princeton completed her first fifty years, the founders might well have been proud of the achievements of the tiny dis- senting college which they had the vision to establish. In May 1795, Dr. Smith was elected to succeed Witherspoon, thus becoming president in name as well as in fact. An extremely capable scholar, he had many visionary plans for making Princeton America ' s leading college. Yet he failed in his aims and his administration represented the beginning of a period of decline that Avas to continue for over three decades. Smith, and his successors were thwarted in most of their plans to institute reforms by the ultra-conservative trustees. The fire in Nassau Hall was perhaps an ill omen and certainly presaged the overall difficulties that were to follow. On March 6, 1802, as the students were gath- ering for lunch, the fire was discovered. A flame had apparently worked through the chinks in the chimney and set fire to the attic. With a strong southwest wind blow- ing, the flames shortly got out of hand. The students saved what valuables they could, but the fire was too intense to re- cover very much. By ten o ' clock that night all that remained of the building were the charred walls. President Smith blamed the 13