Several years ago I was up in Sleepy Hollow with Michele. The area gets a lot of visitors in the Fall because of its most famous resident, Washington Irving. His story of the Headless Horseman has made Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow destinations around Halloween. Whenever I head up there, I stop at the Old Dutch Church and visit the cemetery. The church was built in 1687 by the Dutch settlers in the region, and its cemetery is rugged lovely and always holds surprises. As you can see from the photo below, the church still looks much as it did three hundred years ago.
Even its New York State historical marker looks ancient!
As we were strolling the graveyard, Michele spotted an old tombstone and asked if I knew who Adam Badeau was. She saw markers that he was a Civil War veteran and she is better at spotting these than I am.
Badeau had no military experience before the Civil War. He was thirty years old when he joined the Union Army and he was commissioned as a captain. Although he was from New York, he initially served in the Western Theater. Badeau participated in actions at New Orleans, Corinth, Mississippi, and Port Hudson, Louisiana. At Port Hudson he was badly wounded in 1863. The following year, Ulysses S. Grant’s aide John A. Rawlins suggested that Grant, now commander of the armies, bring Badeau onto his staff. Grant agreed and Badeau served on his staff until Grant became president in 1869. The two men became quite close over those five years.
During Grant’s presidency, Badeau took on diplomatic responsibilities for the Department of State, including serving as the American consul in London. After Grant left the presidency, Badeau accompanied him on part of his “trip around the world.” Badeau also wrote a three volume biography of Grant and assisted Grant in preparing his own memoirs. The two men had disagreements prior to publication and Badeau left the project, suing the Grant Estate later successfully for compensation.
Badeau died on March 19, 1895 in New Jersey, but his body was brought back to Sleepy Hollow.
On many day, the church is open and visitors can go inside.
You are not allowed to walk about, however. There is a small viewing area from which visitors can look through glass at the colonial interior of the church.
The cemetery is open daily and you are free to explore it during daylight. Please be courteous when visiting because others are visiting the graves of loved ones. Badeau’s grave is near the church in Section D.
Badeau is not the only famous person buried here. Among others, Washington Irving rests here, of course.
Other well-known “permanent residents” are: Andrew Carnegie, Samuel Gompers, Walter Chrysler, William Rockefeller, Elizabeth Arden, and Brooke Astor.
As the day grew long, the cemetery where scenes from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow were set took on a haunting character.
Down the block south of the church is the site of the Headless Horseman Bridge.
Keep your eyes open for Hessians on chargers.
Sleepy Hollow and nearby Tarrytown have a good variety of moderate and inexpensive restaurants to dine at. These include Italian, Salvadoran, French cafes, and regional cuisine. There are also a number of nearby historical sites operated by Historic Hudson Valley as well as several art centers. My dining choice when I am in the area is the Headless Horseman Diner at 276a N Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591 where you can park on the roof! OK, its official name is the “Horseman Diner” but that is not what it is called.
To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE
Nicely written. Also in the cemetery is the Civil War Monument for the towns of Mt Pleasant & Greenburgh. Carl Schurz is also buried on the far side of the cemetery.
Oh my, I will check them out next time.