Knickerbocker's History of New York Vol. 1 Book IV Chapter IV

In which the irate Governor William the Testy, vexed by the Yankee capture of Fort Goed Hoop, busies himself with fanciful defensive measures—chiefly the erection of windmills on the city’s ramparts—and relies on the boisterous trumpet-playing of Anthony Van Corlear, much beloved by the city's ladies, to bolster the spirits of New Amsterdam. Amidst the agitation and whispered fears of invasion, surprising calm descends as the Yankees prove innocuous traders, leaving the windmill to stand as both a symbol of governance and a curious portent of the city’s future fortunes.