Richard Varick

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Eight months into his career in private practice, the American Revolutionary War began. At the influence of his employer, John Morin Scott, Varick suspended his studies and enlisted in the militia. On June 28, 1775, he was appointed captain of the 1st New York Regiment and after only three days as field officer, was appointed military secretary under General Philip Schuyler who was in command of the Northern Army It was thought that Scott, understanding the administrative and intellectual value of his young partner, secured the appointment. Varick departed New York City with Schuyler on July 4, 1775, to head north to Fort Ticonderoga and launch the campaign to drive the British out of Canada. En route, the traveling party stopped in Albany briefly where Varick would first meet General Benedict Arnold, who would become a good friend, also played a significant role in Varick's life until Arnold's treason in 1780.

By the summer of 1776, Schuyler had been felled by multiple illnesses and was reeling from a series of losses on the battlefield. Varick, by this juncture, in part out of necessity, and in part by appointment, was performing three jobs at once: private secretary to Schuyler, quartermaster for all the northern forts held by the Continental Army, and the Northern Army's deputy muster master general. Laterally, actual battlefield commands had been outsourced to Arnold and General Horatio Gates. Schuyler, recognizing the burden Varick was carrying, promoted him to Lieutenant Colonel. Varick's almost total control of the administration for the Northern Army lead to an even closer friendship between Arnold and Varick.

That same summer, Arnold was planning his attack effort to stop the British advance down Lake Champlain in what would be one of the first battles in the history of the U.S. Navy. With a dearth of available ships, the armada was largely built from scratch by Varick who solved the crisis by contacting his wide network in New York City and the surrounding area to send materials and coastal men who were qualified for such work. While the Battle of Valcour Island ended in defeat for the navy, it succeeded in slowing the British advance for the winter as they retreaded to their Canadian bases.

Varick also faced run-ins with fellow officers who were not part of Schuyler's faction. General Anthony Walton White, who had briefly served at Washington's aide-de-camp, was accused by Schuyler of looting a private home on the frontier. After denying the charges, White barged into Varick's offices and challenged him to a duel, under the impression that Varick had spoken negatively to his character. Varick, unarmed, narrowly escaped White's attempt to murder him after Varick declined the challenge.

After the disastrous loss of Fort Ticonderoga, Schuyler was removed from duty by the Continental Congress in August 1777 and replaced by General Gates. With factionalism rife within the Northern Army, Varick was aligned with Arnold which pitted him against Gates, whom he disliked regardless. Varick and Arnolds circle of friendship had also grown to include Henry Brockholst Livingston and Matthew Clarkson. Their camaraderie was rudely defined as "The New York Gang" by James Wilkinson, a partisan of General Gates'.

Varick would quietly and capably continue in his role as the Northern Army's deputy muster master general, though not as Gates' aide-de-camp or private secretary, until January 12, 1780 when the department was abolished by the Continental Congress in a larger reorganization.

Varick briefly resumed his law in private practice, which proved challenging in his politically volatile hometown of New York City—which was under occupation by the enemy. In August 1780, Benedict Arnold approached Varick about joining his staff at his newly appointed position as commanding officer of West Point (then an active military instillation) as his aide-de-camp and inspector-general.

Within three months, Arnold's treason was discovered and he fled to British territory. Varick, along with David Franks, were arrested. Varick had been ill in bed when informed both of Arnold's treason and his own arrest. Contemporary reports described Varick as spending several days on the edge of madness about Arnold's defection. Despite Arnold writing to Washington personally to say that his aides were not complicit, both Varick and Franks were detained by Washington as a precautionary measure. After a court of inquiry completed its investigation, they found Varick not guilty, and delivered the following:

A by-product of the above was the introduction of Varick to George Washington, which would lead to the two working together for the rest of their careers, and lives. This relationship began in 1781 when Washington petitioned the Continental Congress to establish team of writers to record and preserve all of his, and the army's, papers, planning, and correspondence for use by future generations. This would be under the supervision “of a Man of character in whom entire confidence can be placed”. Washington appointed Varick in this role, which made use of his highly respected administrative skills, and would fully rehabilitate his name after the Arnold scandal. Establishing his office at Poughkeepsie, Varick and his assistants spent more than two years in compiling the forty-four folio volumes known as the Varick Transcripts. Varick served under Washington solely until Washington retired his commission in 1783.

Upon completing the assigned duties after years or work, General Washington wrote:

After he retired from his service in the Continental Army, Varick would remain in service as a colonel in the New York State Militia until 1801.

The Varick Transcripts are deposited in the Library of Congress. The value of these documents has been noted throughout their lifetime as invaluable to the understanding of the formation of the United States.

As originally provisioned by Congress, the stated duties by General Washington to Colonel Varick as Recording Secretary would include categorizing, transcribing, and assembling all Washington's papers. The resulting 44 letterbooks contain copies of all documents dating from May, 1775 to June, 1785. Categories of papers, records, and correspondence are organized as follows;

In 1783 the Society of the Cincinnati was founded of which Varick was an original member and president of the New York chapter from 1783 until his death in 1831. Membership was generally limited to officers who had served at least three years in the Continental Army or Navy. The first meeting of the Society was held in May at a dinner at Mount Gulian (Verplanck House) in Fishkill, New York, before the British evacuation from New York City. The meeting was chaired by Varick's friend Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton. The Society has three goals: "To preserve the rights so dearly won; to promote the continuing union of the states; and to assist members in need, their widows, and their orphans."

Varick would also be responsible for maintaining the legacy of George Washington. From 1790 to 1836, celebrations of Washington's birthday in the City included Tammany Hall dinners, Washington Benevolent Society parades, and an intimate open house held each February 22 by Mary Simpson (c. 1752 - March 18, 1836), at her John Street grocery.

Political career

Varick was the Recorder of New York City from 1784 to 1789. An office that no longer exists, it is equatable to 'Chief Legal Officer.' In this office, along with Samuel Jones, he codified New York State's first statutes after Revolution in the Laws of New York (2 vols., 1789). This body of work laid the foundation for the Law of New York, the New York City Administrative Code, and the Rules of New York City.

Concurrently to the above, he was a member of the New York State Assembly from New York County from 1786 to 1788. During his term as a member of the New York State Assembly, he was Speaker during the sessions of 1787 and 1788. Varick was appointed the New York State Attorney General from 1788 to 1789.

Remarkably, due to the elitist nature of the New York State Constitution of 1777, almost all government positions in the city and state of New York were appointed by the Council of Appointment. Few, if any, general elections or other democratic functions would exist until 1802. Thus, in the year 1788, Varick was simultaneously the Recorder of New York City, a State Assemblyman representing New York City, the Speaker of the House of the State of New York, and the Attorney General of the State of New York. Though Varick is on record protesting the egregious nature of his occupying multiple offices, it was rationalized at the time that as both an expert administrator and lawyer, he was an ideal choice to fill these myriad offices and to build swiftly the various mechanisms of government. And, that the subsequent laws were codified quickly in the nascent days of an independent New York City and State to ensure the function, and growth, of both entities.

Varick would peak politically as the Mayor of New York City for twelve years during the formative post-Independence era from 1789 to 1801. While Mayor, he would continue his establishment of the technocratic structure that would ensure New York City’s place as the commercial capital of the United States, despite the political capital moving to Philadelphia, then Washington D.C. At this time in history, there was no precedent of commercial and political leadership split between two cities.

In 1791, the major financial crisis would hit the United States in New York due to a scheme to manipulate the financial markets, which had no formal structure of any kind. Varick would have to increase officers to protect the guilty parties from mobs gathering outside the prison. This would lead to a group of merchants making the "Buttonwood Agreement” in 1792 which was the seed of the New York Stock Exchange.

In the summer of 1793 a yellow fever epidemic sent New Yorkers "fleeing north" to nearby healthful Greenwich Village. This epidemic would lead to the creation of what would become the New York City Department of Health. This was timely as there were further epidemics in 1795, 1796, 1798, 1799, and 1800.

In 1794, public anger at Federalist political ideals spilled into the streets with Varick’s support of the Jay Treaty. An angry mob would almost physically run him out of the city.

Varick ran into more trouble when he tried to pressure the city’s 1,000 or so licensed workers — tavern keepers, grocers, butchers and cartmen, all of whom had licenses to work for the city — to vote for Federalist candidates. “This went completely contrary to the egalitarian sentiment of the time,” Dr. Hodges said. Varick’s heavy-handed ways, Dr. Hodges said, pushed many of the workers away from the Federalists, represented by Alexander Hamilton, and into the opposing Democratic-Republican faction, represented by Thomas Jefferson. In 1797, after losing his seat representing New York State in the U.S. Senate, Aaron Burr took control of Tammany Hall and used it to assail Varick for his use of marketing and tax-licensing fees. Burr would win the state's electoral vote in the 1800 presidential election leading to a wide sweeping rout of Federalist politicians across New York, including Varick in 1801.

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