Saturday I rode down to Mr. Stuyvesants, stayed there until Tuesday (Evacuation Day), then rode triumphant into the City with the Commander in Chief." The day's dramatic events culminated with a grand feast at Fraunces Tavern, at which the assembled throng of patriots and military leaders drank toast after toast to the memory of those who perished and to the brighter future awaiting the state and nation. The tavern was formerly the home of Pierre's aunt, Ann Van Cortlandt (1676–1742) and her husband Stephen De Lancey (1663–1741). Only once during his eighteen-year career as lieutenant governor did Van Cortlandt make public his ambition to assume the gubernatorial seat. In January, 1789, he announced in a public advertisement that he had been requested "by a number of my friends ... to offer myself a Candidate for Governor of the State of New York at the ensuing Election." Pierre thus added his name to the list of those who sought to unseat George Clinton, who led the New York forces opposed to ratification of the Federal Constitution of 1787. For his role in opposing the Constitution, Clinton incurred the wrath of Alexander Hamilton, who determined to unseat the long-reigning governor. Pierre apparently counted on some support from the state Federalist forces led by Hamilton, but Hamilton supported Robert Yates, and urged Pierre to withdraw, which he did. In addition to presiding over the Senate, Pierre performed other important governmental functions. From February to July, 1789, with George Clinton, Egbert Benson, John Hathorn, Peter Gansevoort, Jr., Ezra L'Hommedieu, and Samuel Jones, Van Cortlandt met with a number of Chiefs of the Cayuga Nation in an effort to legalize New York's claims to lands formerly held by the Iroquois Confederation. Political career In March 1768, Van Cortlandt was first elected to the New York State Assembly and served in that body as the representative from Van Cortlandt Manor until 1775. He emerged as a member of the more radical wing of that body, among whom were such Revolutionary stalwarts as George Clinton, Philip Schuyler, and Philip Livingston. The Van Cortlandt, Schuyler and Livingston families were related through the extensive intermarriage in which the three families had engaged. Not an orator, Pierre's strength lay in his administrative abilities and sense of detail. This was soon put to the test. Provincial Congress Van Cortlandt was not chosen as a representative to the extremely short-lived Provincial Convention