Col. Richard Varick (1753-1831)

He was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. He served in the Revolutionary War as private secretary and Aide-de-Camp to General George Washington from 1781 to 1783. Prior to that, he was an aide to Major General Benedict Arnold at the time when General Arnold tried to turn over West Point to the British. Colonel Varick was falsely rumored to be involved in the scheme, and was for a time an ostracized member of the army until Washington exonerated him and made him his aide. After the war, he served as the 15th Recorder of New York City (1784-89); 6th Speaker of the New York State Assembly (1787-88); 2nd Attorney General of New York (1788-89); and, 46th Mayor of New York City (1789 to 1801). He was one of the co-founders of the Society of the Cincinnati.