New York

One of the Middle States of the United States, and one of the thirteen of the original confederation. The earliest explorations of New York by Europe ans were in 1609, by Hendrik Hudson, who took po e ion of the country on the river which bears his name for the Dutch, and by Cham plain, a French man, who explored Lake Cham plain from Canada. The English, however, claimed the right of prior discovery, which led to frequent conflicts. The first white settlements were made in the State in 1713, and the early settlers suffered greatly from Indian depredations. In 1690, Schenectady was taken and burned by the savages, and many of the inhabitants ma acred. The ma acre of the garrison at Fort William Henry by the Indians in 1757 will long be remembered in the annals of New York. The State took an active part in the war of independence, and was the theatre of many important military events. The defeat of Washington at Long Island and at White Plains in the autumn of 1776, the surrender of Burgoyne in October, 1777, and the taking of Stony Point by Wayne in July, 1779, are the most important actions that took place here during the Revolutionary contest. The sanguinary naval battle of Lake Cham plain in the war of 1812, in which McDonough defeated the British after a hard-fought action, and several other minor engagements, took place within the limits of New York in the last struggle with Great Britain. During the civil war New York took an active and prominent part in aiding the government in the suppre ion of the rebellion; her quotas of troops were promptly filled, $40,000,000 being paid in bounties to her volunteers.