COVER NOTES:

Smallsword of Colonel Marinus Willett (1740 1830) Lies in the foreground of the American Stars and Stripes
This sword is one of the first sixteen "Elegant Swords" awarded by the Continental Congress to various officers for meritorious action against the British during the American Revolution. Owing to lack of funds, the first ten swords were not executed until 178586. They were made not by an American or British craftsman but by one of the finest fourbisseurs (sword makers) in France. The decoration, in part prescribed by Congress, includes the coat of arms of the United States on one side of the grip and an appropriate presentation inscription on the other. This example is inscribed: "Congress to Col. Willett, Oct. 11, 1777." These congressional swords are the first in a long tradition of specially designed presentation swords that would be awarded to America's military leaders throughout the next century. The balance of the original sixteen remaining swords were made by different artisans based in France. Made by: C. Liger (recorded ca. 17701793), French (Paris) Steel, golf, silver and shagreen; Sword, L. 39 5/8 in. (100.63 cm) Sheath, L. 33 1/4 in. (84.46 cm) Col. Marinus Willetts sword was a Bequest of George Willett van Nest, 1917 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and is on permanent display. George was the Colonels great grandson and had inherited the sword but recognized it was meant for the people to enjoy. The Willett name carried enough clout in New York City at the time that George van Nest had Willett legally added to his name as he married into the Willett family. There is some confusion on many websites and books as too the first number of swords awarded by Congress. My exhaustive research at the Library of Congress uncovered a total of sixteen recipients. Many sources claim there were only ten swords awarded. The confusion arises from the fact that the first ten swords were all hand crafted by Liger; the other six swords were awarded after the Liger order and consequently made by different fourbisseurs in France. You have to remember; during that period there were no sword makers in the New World and the United States of America certainly would not have the swords made in Britain.

Col. Marinus Willetts Sword on Display at the Metropolitan Museum, NYC Photo courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

DEDICATION
To my mother Helen Marie Willett, nee Crouse, who is dearly missed, she was always in my corner, a better life coach no man could ever have, and to my children; Jason, Melissa and Ashley who make me proud every day they walk this earth.

Gothams Patriot

FORWARD

FORWARD
I am no historian or scholar by any means. I am simply a person who got excited by a man with such great character that he earned the respect and love of his fellow man; Im sure he motivated all that had the privilege of getting close to him to be the best they could be, to give their all. This book would never have happened if it werent for the tireless work of a relative, Monique Willett, nee Favreau (1925 1996). I was surfing the net in the summer of 2009 when I stumbled across her piece The Willett Family History. She had spent countless hours in libraries in the States, Canada, Brittan and France researching the families history. This was done long before the advent of the internet. Her daughter Nikki remembers vividly having to quietly sit as a young child in big old stuffy libraries while her mom poured over books and records. I became fascinated with one ancestor in particular; the subject of this book; Colonel Marinus Willett because of Moniques work. Also worthy of mention is the work of Glenn Atchison whose work on the Willett Family History in 1967 also proved invaluable during my research and was originally responsible for me delving into the Willett Family History. I once had the opportunity to attend a meeting where Lou Holtz was the keynote speaker. For those of you that dont recognize the name, hes a former NFL and NCAA football coach and a great motivational speaker. Mr. Holtz is the only coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to the final top 20 rankings. I can still hear his drawl and I can quote him to this day; I still remember that the formula for the area of a circle is Pi times the radius of the circle squared. In the past 25 years, nobody has brought that up! The crowd laughed hard and when the laughter died down he went on to say my point is this, we dont go to school to learn information, and we go to school to learn how to think! Those words are so very, very true. Now when I sat down to write this book, think was exactly what I had to do there was no end to the material, much of it with dead ends or outright confusion, but it all had to be thought through, to be put together. I had to read between the lines, to pull it all together, to try and walk that proverbial mile in the shoes of men who had died hundreds of years ago. I can only imagine that in the not too distant future, the lives and history of people and events will be recorded in maximum detail all on a chip to be hashed and rehashed at the click of a mouse anywhere, anytime the world over. As I raced to the end of my story on the Colonel I would always be pulled into your chair, you the person sitting there reading this book right now, trying to imagine what you were thinking, was what I had to say going to stir you in anyway? I hope you will enjoy this book, and I hope it will in some small way pay tribute to an American hero, to Gothams Patriot, Colonel Marinus Willett. I would have dearly loved to have shared time and space with the Colonel for even for one day of his life. Please, enjoy.

Gothams Patriot

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: A Time to Die .................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Military Blood ...............................................................................................................14 Chapter 3: Frontier Warfare French and Indian War ..................................................................37 Chapter 4: Lets Rock The Sons of Liberty .................................................................................50 Chapter 5: Revolutions Are Not Made, They Come ......................................................................71 Chapter 6: America the Great........................................................................................................77 Epilogue ........................................................................................................................................100 Reference: Narrative of Marinus Willett 1831...........................................................................101 Reference: Col. Marinus Willett The Hero of Mohawk Valley, an address before the Oneida Historical Society by Daniel Wager 1891 ...............................................................261 Reference: Isaac Lost At Sea ......................................................................................................312 Reference: Early Five Boroughs History ....................................................................................316 Reference: French and Indian War .............................................................................................320 Reference: War Pension Application of Marinus Willett ..............................................................339 Reference: Marinus Willett Center Brochure ...............................................................................345 Reference: Fort Stanwix Brochure ..............................................................................................351 Endnotes/Footnotes .....................................................................................................................361