title: The Palisades of the Hudson; their formation, tradition, romance, historical associations, natural wonders and preservation,
text: -y ■^ rt^ . • • , '^■ik ^^'' ./v i^ffi^ Z^-^^. °' G^ ^b *77\.T* A V "^^ v^ »:H\^^/k^ >. c^"" -'^a^'. *e^ A^ n-iq 1, *"* >jsvs^ • <L^ •-. ^^0^ i 0^ c'-JJ'*. *o^ 4 o ^•^°<» ' " ^ "' U ^ ^*£ '^O^ 'oK .G^ "^^ ♦.-XT*' ,^ •0< iq. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/palisadesofhudso01mack ^< Copyright, 1906, by The Century Co. "The Palisades" FROM A PAINTrNG BY VAN DEARING PERRINE, THE PAINTER OF THE PALISADES, OWNED BY THE WHITE HOUSE "Amid thy forest solitudes one climbs O'er crags, that proudly tower above the deep. And knows that sense of danger which sublimes The breathless moment, when his daring step Is on the verge of the cliff, and he can hear The low dash of the wave with startled ear." — Fitz-Greene Halleck. THE PALISADES OF THE HUDSON THEIR FORMATION, TRADITION, ROMANCE, HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS, NATURAL WONDERS AND PRESERVATION ARTHUR C. MACK PTTBLISHED BY THE PALISADE PRESS Edgewatee, New Jerset COPYRIGHT NOTICE. The title, text matter, illustrations, maps and cover design of this book have been duly copyrighted, accord- ing to law, and their unauthorized use will be vigorously prosecuted. Copyright, 1909, by The Palisade Press. ^ . 24J521 sip 2 1909 CONTENTS Alpine 23-23 Altitude of the Palisades 2 Area of the Palisades Interstate Park 47, 48 Bergen, Ancient Town of 9 Birds of the Palisades 53 Block House Point 10 Burdett's Ferry 13, 14 Burr-Hamilton Duel 10 Bull's Ferry 1 1 Boundaries of Palisades Interstate Park 48 Campers Along the Palisades 48-49 Castle Point 9 Closter Landing 28 Cornwallis' Headquarters 27-28 Commissioners Palisades Interstate Park 50 Chevaux-de-Frise 15 Desecration of the Palisades 39 Englewood 26-27 Englewood Cliffs 35 Englewood Creek 26 Elysian Fields 10 Fort Lee, Historic Old 15-23 Fort Washington, Battle of 18-21 Flowers of the Palisades 52-53 Ferry Routes to Palisades Interstate Park 56 Geology of the Palisades 3-5 Gifts to the Palisades Reservation 44 Hamilton-Burr Duel and Monument 10-11 Half-Moon 7-9 History, Palisades in 7 Hudson, Henry 8 Henry Hudson Drive 55 Huyler's Landing 27-28 Hoboken 9 Indians of the Palisades 7 Jeffrey's Hook 17, 18 Lee, Gen. Charles 26 Lee, Fort -. 1 3-23 Map of Sneden's Landing 32 Map of the Forts 15 Path Through Palisades Interstate Park 48 Park, Palisades Interstate 47 Palisades, Town of 31-32 Police Patrol of Palisades Interstate Park 49 Roads of the Palisades 35 Springs of the Palisades 49 Saving the Palisades 39 Sneden's Landing 29-33 Sneden, Mollie 32 Trees of the Palisades 52 Undercliff Settlement 27 Washington, Fort 15-23 Washington, Gen. George 15-23 Washington, Lady Martha 33 Washington, Battle of Fort 18-21 Weehawken 10 Women's Work for the Palisades 40, 48 WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. Acknowledgments are hereby made to the following persons for assistance in the preparation of this book: Charles P. Berkey, B. S. Ph. D., Instructor in Geology, Columbia University, New York; Winthrop S. Gillman, author of "The Story of the Ferry" (A History of Palisades and Sneden's Landing) ; Francis E. Halsey, late editor New York Times Saturday Book Revieio; Edward Hagaman Hall, Secretary American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society; J. Du Pratt White, Sec- retary, and Leonard Hull Smith, Assistant Secretary, Commissioners Palisades Interstate Park; J. Howard Wilson, Van Dearing Perrine, the painter of the Pali- sades; and for some of the historical facts to the works of Asher, Bancroft, Broadhead, Cooper, Fiske, Green, Irving, Lossing, O'Callaghan, Yates and Moulton, Paine, Schoolcraft, etc. Most of the photographs and initials, not credited specifically, were made by John P. Fritts. The Palisades of the Hudson THE PALISADES OF THE HUDSON "I see the beetling Palisades Whose wrinkled brows forever In calms, in storms, in lights and shades Keep watch along the river. "Such watch, of old, the Magi kept Along the sad Euphrates; Our eyeless ones have never slept And this their solemn fate is." — Stoddard. O those who have not explored the long ridge of towering basalt that rims the northeastern edge of New Jersey, and become in tune with the spirit of its huge gray rocks, the Palisades of the Hud- son remain a closed book. Travelers by the railway on the opposite shore, or by the river ■ steamers, following the main channel, see only a nearly perpendicular wall, fringed with vegetation at its base and top. To them and to writers whose viewpoint is similar to theirs, "the great chip rocks," as the Dutch pioneers named them, are little more than natural curiosities of monotonous formation. A closer intimacy with the unspoiled portion of the ridge extending from Edgewater to Piermont unfolds unex- pected charms. Let him who would discover the wonders and beauties of these ancient cliffs paddle close to their winding base, landing here and there in the shady glades that tempt the river wanderer at frequent intervals. Near one of the cool and crystal springs that gush from crevices in the rocks, the explorer's tent should be pitched. There are a few points where the dizzy heights may be ascended, and a ramble through the wild woodland that sur- mounts the cliffs and a sight of the picturesque near and dis- tant views will richly reward the climber. As the edge of the precipice is reached, instead of a flat- faced wall the Palisades will be found in reality to consist of a The Palisades of the Hudson A Restful Retreat in the Wonderful Palisades Region. series of bold and majestic headlands, diversified by innumerable rocky battlements, often separated by tiny valleys down which dash silvery cascades. Instead of the apparently even fringe of verdure surmounting the heights, a wild and pristine forest will be found which nature has richly stocked with an endless variety of tree, shrub and flower. Here will the explorers who can read them find graven upon the stones in spite of the ravages of time, records of the earth's creation full of significance and interest. Here, too, will he who cherishes Revolutionary asso- ciations be able to visit localities made famous by the armies of Washington and Cornwallis. Standing between the Hudson and the broad sweep of low- lands now known as the Hackensack Valley, the Palisades Ridge proper extends almost due north and south (from Bergen Point, New Jersey, to Piermont, New York), for a distance of thirty miles. It varies in width from two miles to less than a mile, the average being one and one-half miles. Its altitude varies from a maximum of 550 feet near the northern end to the minimum of but a few feet at sea level at the southern termination, the mean elevation over most of the ridge being 269 feet. Its eastern face is abrupt, either vertical or slanting back slightly ; its western face much less steep, usually forming a gradual slope down to a broad and fertile valley. The Palisades of the Hudson THE STORY OF THE ROCKS ROM geological standpoints this entire formation is rich in meaning. Records of great processes in the formation of the earth's crust can be clear- ly traced by even the tyro in geology. The main body of the ridge consists of igneous rock of trappean variety, which was forced up in a semi- molten state, through a long fissure in the earth's crust during what geologists term the Jurassic Period. This process, which scientists calculate to have occurred upwards of 30,000,000 years ago, although similar to that which produced the fantastic formations of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland, the Cliffs of Kawaddy in India and Fingal's Cave in Scotland, has resulted in a configuration unlike any of those wonders and not resembling closely any other in the world. There are fewer columns than are found in other formations of the same origin and there is more rugged picturesqueness. To comprehend that vast cataclysm of nature which re- sulted in the upheaval of the Palisades centuries upon centuries ago, it is necessary to understand the character of the earth's crust over their area at that time. This crust consisted of a layer of triassic sandstone, enormously thick. Beneath this sandstone the volcanic forces opened a long crevice and forced Diagram Showing Geological Formation of the Palisades Ridge. The Palisades of the Hudson Grooves in the Palisades Rocks, Showing Glacial Action and Movement of the Ice. upwards the igneous formation. It must not be imagined that the ridge then assumed its present appearance. Indeed, the intrusion did not even reach the surface of the surrounding crust. For centuries it lay buried far beneath. It remained for processes working through following centuries to disclose the Palisades to outward view. When unexposed to outward air igneous rock in cooling shrinks and breaks off in sharp, perpen- dicular or columnar formation. This occurred along the en- tire Palisades Ridge. Then began the transformation which gave us the majestic cliffs of to-day. The deposits above and beside the ridge were worn away by erosion. North and south along the present bed of the Hudson occurred an immense "fault" or slip in the earth's crust. This caused the Hudson to flow in a veritable canyon, which recent borings opposite Thirty-second Street, New York, show to have been 300 feet deep. This gorge extended far out beyond Sandy Hook, the coast at that time being many miles southeastward of its present location. The next transformation of the ridge came with the huge ice fields of the glacial period, moving across the cliffs obliquely from the northwest. When the ice melted, millions of tons of boulders and debris borne hither by the glacial movement were deposited here and there along the sides and over the top of the ridge, forming what geologists term an intra-morianic drift. This crunching over the flat rocks of the top, ground well-de- fined grooves in the igneous rock, marking the direction from The Palisades of the Hudson 5 which the ice came and leaving the imprints of its passage clearly discernible even to this day. The drift resulted also in many rocky curiosities, conspicuous among them an isolated block of triassic sandstone, called Sampson's Rock, perched upon the flat trap directly east of Englewood. This huge boulder, measuring nearly twelve feet in diameter and weighing many tons, was lifted 160 feet up the western slope of the ridge by the ice (it is calculated), and finally dropped in its present resting place. Its under surface still retains the polish it re- ceived through the attrition of that movement. Many other isolated boulders stand in the woods, grim reminders of the ice age. Others passed over the cliffs, breaking off segments of the eastern crest, and filling up the ends of ravines. The deep gorge north of Hoboken and other depressions were choked in this way and extended originally much farther northward than at present. It is known that, with the melting of the glacial masses, water surrounded the ridge to a depth of about 200 feet. The higher portion of the Palisades thus formed a long, rocky island. When this sea subsided, the Hudson began filling up its gorge with silt. This process is still going on, so that the present depth of the stream is comparatively shallow and geol- ogists term it a "drowned river." Until recently the theory was advanced by some authorities that the main channel of the Hudson in pre-glacial times de- flected at Piermont, flowed through the Piermont valley and down the western side of the Palisades, joining the ocean by way of Newark Bay. Recent comparison of the depth of the Pier- mont Valley with the depth of the Hudson's original bed oppo- site this point completely disproves this belief. The Palisades rock is dark gray and blue-black in color, exceedingly hard and heavy. It is remarkably impervious to the action of the elements. Under the microscope it discloses myriads of geometrical crystals, the feldspars, pyroxine, and magnetite predominating. Chemically the rock consists of 50 per cent, to 60 per cent, silica. It is estimated the ridge has a perpendicular thickness of 800 feet at Fort Lee Bluffs and 1,000 feet at Alpine. Photograph by Brown Bros. A Palisades Promontory Standing Boldly Forth Like a Sentinel Guarding His Treasure. The Palisades of the Hudson THE PALISADES IN HISTORY iHROUGHOUT their course the Palisades are rich in historical associations of either local or Na- tional interest and importance. Of the pre-historic dwellers upon the ridge we have no trace, but of the Indians and the first white men to visit them there are clear records. The Sanhikan, Hackensack, Raritan and Tappan Indians, belonging to the great Delaware Nation, found here excellent hunting, fishing and dwelling places. Those whose wigwams nestled under the Palisades cliffs looked southward through the blue haze that hung over the Hudson on the after- noon of September 12th, 1609, and beheld a strange vessel in the river. Slowly she drifted in upon the flood tide, a thing of wonder to the savages. Squaws and braves gazed in silent amazement upon the ship of the white man. From her lofty deck a sturdy Englishman scanned for the first time the bold rocks of the Palisades, and the green, wooded island opposite, daring to hope he had found the long-sought gateway to the Northeast Passage, wondering whether the dream of his life was about to be realized. There was little or no wind on the river that day, and the last rays of the setting sun, sinking behind the Palisades, left the "Half-Moon" abreast of Indian Head, the highest elevation of the ridge, and almost di- rectly opposite the present village of Hastings. Here was lowered the first anchor in the waters of the Ma-hi- can-ittuck River, as the local In- dians called the Hudson. Peace- fully the little ship rested that night under the shelter of Wee-awk- e n , "rocks that look like trees" a jutting Headland. 8 The Palisades of the Hudson as the Indians termed the PaHsades. At daybreak tiny columns of blue smoke arose from the camps of the Red Men. Scores of black eyes peered riverward from behind the thick forest. Canoes made of "single hollowed trees" began to glide out from the bank. TEST OF NEW WORLD HOSPITALITY. "This morning," wrote Master Robert Juet, who kept Hudson's journal, "at our first rode in the river there came eight and twentie canoes full of men, women and children to be- tray us, but we saw their intent and suffered none of them to come aboard of us." Juet was evidently mistaken in his first impression of the visitors' intentions for he goes on to add : "They brought with them oysters and beans whereof we bought some. They have great tobacco pipes of yellow copper and pots of earth to dresse their meate in." In this connection it may be of interest to the present gen- eration to remark here that for nearly two centuries after this historic transaction, the river flats bordering the Palisades pro- duced the largest and most delicious oysters found near New York. Later in that September day, the breeze freshening from the southeast, the "Half Moon" weighed an- chor, and passing the north- ern end of the Palisades stood out across the broad waters of the Tappan Zee. Henry Hudson little imagined how soon fate would bring him again to these waters. On the 2nd day of October the "Half Moon," sailing south- ward after a futile search for the Northeast Passage, was attacked by the Indians near what is now Fort Washing- ton Point. Her commander, after dispersing the warriors of "Manna-hata" with a fal- a Palisades Brook in Winter. The Palisades of the Hudson 9 con shot, sought the shelter of the great rocks on the western shore, and the protection of the Sanhikans, "deadly enemies of the Manhattans and a much superior people." All of the next day the vessel lay at anchor in the cove north of what is now Castle Point, Hoboken. From her decks Hudson pointed out a huge rock upon the Palisades of "white-green" hue, which he took for silver ore, but his ship sailed away without giving him an opportunity for discovering his error. This peculiar rock, long a point of interest, has been since obliterated by dynamite. THE WHITE man's ONWARD MARCH. As the years passed on the ship of the white man became less and less a curiosity to the Indians of the Palisades. Dutch farmhouses replaced leathern tents, and settlements clustered on both sides of the ridge. Many of these original homesteads still stand, thick of wall, huge of beam, their broad gambrel roofs and quaint gables still forming picturesque monuments of those pioneer days. Peace rewarded the early settlers for over a century save for occasional outbreaks from hostile Indians. Then came the dark daj'^s of the Revolution. The shades and glades of the Palisades became the scenes of war. From one of their rocky promontories the Commander-in-Chief of the American Army saw his force defeated in one of the most tragic hours of his career. Up their precipitous sides two of England's great generals took their armies. The ancient town of Bergen was located on the southern end of the ridge upon the present site of Jersey City Heights. It was laid out in 1660 by Jacques Cortelyou, a surveyor of Manhattan, under direction of Governor Peter Stuyvesant. Im- portant fortifications were maintained here during the Revolu- tion. On October 5, 1776, the Americans abandoned the Ber- gen defenses and the British occupied and held them until the close of the war. On the present site of Hoboken was an Indian village called "Hobock." At Hoboken, Castle Point projects into the river. Here the original Stevens' homestead stood, built by John Stevens, member of the Continental Congress, inventor of the screw propeller and associate of Robert Fulton. The present house, or "castle," a conspicuous landmark, was built in 1835 and is still occupied by members of the Stevens family. 10 The Palisades of the Hudson SOME TRAGEDIES OF THE PALISADES. Just above Hoboken were the Elysian Fields, New York's great play-ground three-score years ago. Here was committed the murder of the beautiful Mary Rogers, upon which Edgar Allan Poe based his famous story "The Murder of Marie Roget." In the year 1804 the natural beauties of Weehawken had not been despoiled by the upward march of population, and Fitz Greene Halleck, who loved to walk down to this spot from a friend's home at Fort Lee, where he was a frequent visitor, wrote: Hamilton Monument at Weehawken. "Weehawken ! In thy mountain scenery yet All we adore of Nature and her wild And frolic hour of infancy is met." Here upon a grassy shelf of the Palisades there met on the morning of July 11th, 1804, two of the most prominent men in American history — Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. In this secluded retreat, a favorite dueling ground, the two men raised their pistols and here Hamilton fell mortally wound- ed. When the seconds picked up the stricken man they rested his head against a sandstone boulder. A monument was after- ward erected on this spot, but it was almost entirely chipped away by relic hunters, and the remnants were finally removed. A railway now obliterates this historic place, but the boulder upon which the statesman's head rested, has been taken to the top of the cliff, surmounted with a bronze bust and provided with a memorial tablet. It is interesting to note that one of Hamilton's own sons fell in a duel at the same place prior to his father's death. THE OLD BLOCK HOUSE POINT. At a point almost directly opposite Seventy-second Street, New York, is Block House Point, scene of one of the lighter events of the Revolution. In 1780 the British had fortified a block house here for the protection of a large herd of cattle and other supplies. "Light 2%e Palisades of the Hudson 11 Horse" Harry Lee and General Anthony Wayne were de- spatched from the north to capture these necessities. Their force was insignificant in numbers, but rich in bravery. There was a sharp attack, a stiff defense, and a somewhat hasty re- treat, the incident prompting Andre's satirical poem, "The Cow Chase," among the many cantos of which may be quoted these typical lines : "Sublime upon his stirrups rose The mighty Lee behind, And drove the terror-smitten cows Like chaff before the wind." On the river bank a short distance north of Block House Point is Bull's Ferry, called after a family named Bull. This was an important landing place during the Revolution. A Winter's Twilight Along the Palisades. Drawn by E. Hagamau Hall, L.H.D , for the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. A LANDMARK MAP OF FORT LEE, N. J. (See key at foot of opposite page.) The Palisades of the Hudson IS HISTORIC OLD FORT LEE ^E come now to the Fort Lee region of the Palisades, which played an important part in the Revolu- tion. Long before the outbreak of the great struggle Etienne Burdett, a Manhattan merchant of Huguenot parentage, built his home in a forest clearing at the foot of the gorge Intersecting the Palisades below Fort Lee Bluff. The precise site of his house was directly east of the River Road, Edgewater, at a point where it turns sharply at the base of the Fort Lee Hill. Etienne's holdings included several hundred acres of the adja- cent country. The Hackensack turnpike wound down the valley to a landing almost opposite the Burdett home, known as Bur- dett's Ferry. Periougas, the small sailing vessels then much in use, carried passengers and freight from here to Blooming- dale, on the Manhattan shore. During the Revolution Bur- dett's Ferry offered the only communication between Forts Washington and Lee. Troops, ammunition and supplies were brought and sent from here, Etienne Burdett's brother, Peter, having at that time inherited the place. Peter ■vfas an ardent patriot and the present T. Fletcher Burdett, a resident of Fort Lee, is proud to narrate how his great grandmother, who was Peter's wife, cooked flapjacks for General Washington and other KEY TO LANDMARK MAP OF FORT LEE Reference: 1. Site of the Redoubt which commanded the sunken obstructions between Fort Lee and Fort Washington. 2. Site oi the abattis enclosing the worlcs on Bluff Point. 2 and 3. Site of works on Bluff Point. 4. Site of the main fortification of Fort Lee. 5. House here stands on site of old butcher shop. Just south of house a few years ago, there was about twenty-five feet of the embankment of the fort. 6. Here George Beucler dug up a dozen cannon balls. 7. George Hook dug up nine bullets in a cluster in June, 1901. 8. C. W. Dubois dug up bullets and bullet moulds when he exca- vated a cellar and well about 1898. 9. JVlrs. JVlary Federspiel dug up part of exploded shell. 10. iVlrs. Federspiel dug up cannon ball in 1861. 11. James Sullivan dug up thres ■cannon balls in 1885. 12. Site of army oven. 13. Washington's well. 14. Michael Tier- ney dug up three cannon balls in 1875. 15. Site of old pine tree which sheltered the platform for the celebration July 4, 1873. The late James F. Tracey said that four or five soldiers' graves were once pointed out to him in that vicinity. 16. Site of old pond, Icnown as Parker's Pond Lot. The Fort Lee Monument was erected here in 1908. 17. When Hook's Ice Pond was widened in 1898, the workmen dug up along the east sid; quantities of lead, bullets, bullet moulds, cannon balls, a sabre, bayonets, bombshells, shoebuckles, a saddle pommel and stirrups, shovels, a pickaxe and other tools. 18. On west side of Ice Pond, there were formerly heaps of stone, the remains of the fireplaces of the soldiers' huts. Here in 1875-6, George Hook dug up bars of lead, bullet moulds, cannon balls, bayonets, etc. In the remains of a camp fire he found guns with their stocks burned. 19. Traces of breastworks visible as late as 1901. They probably ex- tended north of Whiteman Street. 20. Heaps of stone, the remains of the fireplaces in the .soldiers' huts, some still recognizable. 14 The Palisades of the Hudson of the Continental officers. The original Burdett home- stead, a picturesque gambrel- roofed structure, was stand- ing up to a decade ago. Burdett's Ferry has the distinction of having two miniature engagements of its own. Early on the morning of August 18, 1776, the British ships Phoenix and Rose, which had previously passed up the river, stood down stream. When abreast of the ferry the Rose was hulled by a shot from Gen- eral Mercer's Battery locat- ed there, firing grape shot in return. Again on October 27, at seven o'clock in the morning, two British frigates moved up the river and anchored off Burdett's Ferry, apparently to cut off communication be- tween the forts. The barbette battery on Fort Lee Bluff opened fire and two 18-pounders brought down to the ferry landing from Fort Lee and planted opposite the ships repeatedly hulled and partially disabled one of the vessels (Irving). "Had the tide been flood one-half hour longer," wrote General Greene, "we should have sunk her." A Rocky Chaos on the Surnmit. THE DARK DAYS OF '76. In order to appreciate the dramatic events that occurred in and about Fort Lee while the struggle for Independence was at its height, it is necessary to bear in mind the status of the oppos- ing forces in early November, 1776. The Colonial cause was in a critical condition. Forced to retire from Long Island and Westchester, and driven northward from southern Manhattan Island, that portion of the Continental forces east of the Hudson now found itself on the heights between the Harlem and the Hudson, hemmed in on all sides by the great army of Sir William Howe The troops were battered, ragged and discouraged, and discontent had begun to develop in their ranks. The Palisades of the Hudson 15 THE KEY TO THE HUDSON t' ONGRESS had already instructed Washington to "by every art and whatever expense obstruct ef- fectually the navigation between Fort Washing- ton (on the east bank of the river) and Mount Constitution (on the Palisades whereon Fort Lee stood) as well to prevent the enemy's frigates lately gone up, as to hinder them from receiving succor." In accordance with these plans General Nathaniel Greene had fortified the two defenses that thus held the key to the Hudson Valley, Fort Washington and Fort Lee. Colonel Rufus Putnam had constructed an elaborate chevaux-de-frise, across the river between the forts. This obstruction consisted of two sunken sloops, two sunken brigs, two large ships mounted with heavy guns and swivels, "two hundred iron fraise of 400 weight each," besides sundry logs and other impedimenta. Fort Lee must be connected inseparably with its sister for- tification, Fort Washington on the opposite shore. In- deed, as Greene wrote Wash- ington, "it was of no conse- quence except in conjunction with Fort Washington." Fort Lee was constructed by General Hugh Mercer and was originally called Fort Constitution, but on October 18, 1776, was rechristened in honor of General Charles Lee. Its main works were lo- cated on the crest of a precipitous bluff of the Palisades, 250 feet above the river, on the left-hand side of the present road that ascends to the little village named in honor of the fort. Immediately below the fort is the deep gorge through which this road winds and a stream named Dead Brook. To the northeast on Fort Lee Bluff, directly overlooking the river, there were constructed outworks for the purpose of guarding the river and commanding the chevaux-de-frise. Diagram of Forts Lee and Washington. The Palisades of the Hudson 17 MILITARY VALUE OF FORT LEE. The strategic value of Fort Lee lay in its ability to bom- bard any hostile fleet in the river beneath, and to supply re- inforcements to the opposite shore. Fort Washington lay on the heights of Manhattan Island almost directly opposite, with long outworks running down to Jeffrey's Hook, as Fort Wash- ington Point was then named. With his keen foresight Washington saw the futility of en- deavoring to hold the fortification named in his honor, writing Governor William Livingston, of New Jersey : "That they will invest Fort Washington is a matter of which there can be no doubt." The Americans holding Fort Washington were out- numbered by the enemy almost three to one. General Charles Lee had in- solently disregarded the Commander's orders to bring the 7,000 men under him at North Castle to reinforce the forts. Colonel Putnam's elaborate obstruction had been proved vulner- able, for on the morning of October 9th the British men-of-war Roebuck, Phoenix and Tartar, with all sail set to a fresh south wind, got under way from their anchorage in the lower river, and swept through the obstruc- tions in gallant style, notwithstand- ing bombardment from the two shore defenses. Later, on the night of November 14th, a fleet of the enemy's flat boats passed In spite of the obstructions, and proceeded into the Harlem River. The Commander-in-Chief, therefore, ordered General Greene to evacuate Fort Washington, and withdraw from Fort Lee. The orders were of a somewhat discretionary nature, how- ever. Greene and Putnam were both sanguine of their ability to hold the forts successfully and decided to remain. Congress, then sitting at Fishkill, and fearful of an invasion of the Hud- son Valley, further complicated matters by transmitting in- structions not to evacuate the forts except in case of "direst necessity-" Picturesque Foreground of Dense Foliage and High Rocks. 18 The Palisades of the Hudson WASHINGTON AT FORT LEE. The Ice Floes' Silent Course. On the 13th of November Washington, anxious concerning the forts, arrived at Fort Lee from Stony Point, traveling by the road that follows the western slope of the Pali- sades. Here he found Greene reinforcing Fort Washing- ton. After a brief visit the Commander left for the headquarters at Hackensack. Stirring events now fol- lowed in rapid succession. On the 15th Colonel Robert Ma- g a w , commanding Fort I Washington, received an im- perative order to surrender from General Howe. The order threatened severe measures should it be refused. In ringing terms Magaw threw down the gauntlet in his stirring message containing the memo- rable words, "actuated by the most glorious cause that mankind ever fought in, I am determined to hold this fort until the last extremity." At four o'clock in the afternoon of the same day Greene sent a hurried message requesting the presence of Wash- ington at Fort Lee. The General galloped over the Hacken- sack turnpike and reached the fort at nine o'clock in the even- ing. Greene had already crossed the river. Down the gorge road Washington hurried, and, boarding a boat, was rowed across toward Jeffrey's Hook. When half-way across, as Washington himself puts it in his journal, "I met Generals Put- nam and Greene, who were just returning from thence (Fort Washington) and they informed me that the troops were in high spirits and would make a good defense, and it being late at night, I returned." That night Washington slept at the Burdett house, of which we have already heard. THE FAIiL OF THE FORTS. Early on the next day, after the morning mists had cleared away, the boom of cannon and crack of musketry announced the opening of hostilities. From the lofty eminence of Fort Lee the entire scene of battle was visible. Beneath the anxious The Palisades of the Hudson 19 A Wind-Swept Crag. watchers at that point, flowed the Hudson, the foreground of a vast panorama stretch- ing far to the north among the Westchester hills, to the blue hills of Long Island be- yond the Sound and to the south as far as Staten Island. Across on the heights of the opposite island these watchers could now clearly see the beginning of the greatest battle ever fought upon Manhattan Island; a battle in which love, patriotism, daring and even treason, were all strangely intermixed. Brave Robert Magaw, with scarce 3,000 men, faced over 8,900 British pressing him on three sides and with the man-of-war Pearl threatening his riverward earth- works. Through the woods from the north came the first column under Von Knyphausen, 3,000 strong; from the south charged two brigades under Percy together with Maxwell's forces, over 5,000 men all told ; from the east moved Sterling with over 900 men in line. It was a bewildering attack for the little garrison to meet. Nearer and nearer came the crack of the muskets. Again and again an opening was made in the defenses. Again and again it was resolutely closed. The little force of Americans fought shoulder to shoulder, as men only fight when desperately pressed. For an hour and a half Cadwallader's 800 Pennsyl- vanians held back 5,000 British. Among these 800 stood Cor- bin, a Pennsylvania gunner. Behind him crouched his wife, Margaret. A shot mortally wounded him. His wife instantly took his place at the gun and fired it steadily till a grape-shot prostrated her. She was the first woman to fight in the cause of American liberty, and the first woman to receive a pension from the Government in recognition of her services. WASHINGTON VIEWS THE DISASTER. While the din was at its height a silent and Impressive scene was being enacted at Fort Lee on the opposite side of the river. Upon the crest of the Palisades stood Washington and his officers gravely watching the tide of battle. As the attack- The Palisades of the Hudson 21 Ing columns worked nearer and nearer to the defenders a look of anguish overspread the Commander's strong face. Taking paper and pencil he hastily wrote a message to Magaw. Wash- ington had already seen that the defense was hopeless, but he believed that the little army might still be rescued. He im- plored Magaw to hold on till night when a rescuing force from Fort Lee would attempt to bring his men across the river. Captain Gooch, of Boston, took the message from the Gen- eral's hand, and dashed down to the river bank with it. Here he leaped into a boat and rowed across to Jeffrey's Hook. He landed, leaped up the rocky bank, rushed into the fort and in person handed the message to Magaw. Then the messenger ran out from the fort, reached his boat and rowed across to the western shore, which he regained in safety. Washington's urgent instructions reached Magaw too late. He had found his position untenable before they had reached his hands. He had fought a battle against odds of three to one, but he had a still more serious handicap, William Demont, one of his own adjutants, the first traitor in the American Army, having supplied the enemy with the complete plans of Fort Washington. In despair the Commander-in-Chief watched the last act in the tragedy being enacted before his ej^es. Finally the firing ceased, and he saw the white flag flutter from the flagpole of Fort Washington. He dropped his field glass, and in the agony of his soul "wept with the tenderness of a child." But in this, the hour of grief and discouragement, Washington never lost sight of the immediate danger to the force about him. He saw that further holding of Fort Lee was hopeless, that at any hour the British might cross and capture it. The British losses were 500, the American losses 150. The British captured 3,000 men, besides valuable stores and ammunition. "The fall of Fort Wash- ington," sa3'-s Fiske, "was the greatest disaster of the war, and came within an ace of overwhelming the American cause in irretrievable ruin." Along an Ancient Road. 22 The Palisades of the Hudson GENERAL GREENE S HASTY FLIGHT. The evacuation of Fort Lee, which now followed, was ac- complished with desperate haste. "Greene took flight," says Bancroft, "leaA'ing blankets and baggage, except what his few wagons could bear away, more than three months' provisions for 3,000 men, camp kettles on the fires, above 400 tents standing and all his cannon except two twelve-pounders." An interesting account of the evacuation Avas written by Thomas Paine, the celebrated author, who as aide-de-camp to Greene, was an eye- witness. He says: "As I was with the troops at Fort Lee, and marched with them to the edge of Pennsylvania, I am well acquainted with many circumstances which those who lived at a distance knew little of. Our situation there was exceedingly cramped, the place being on a narrow neck of land, between the Hackensack Where Grim Winter Rules in Solitary Grandeur. The Palisades of the Hudson 23 and North Rivers. Our force was inconsiderable, being not one- fourth as great as Howe could bring against us. We had no army at hand to have relieved the garrison, had we shut ourselves up and stood on the defense. Our ammunition, light artillery and the best part of our stores had been removed upon the ap- prehension that Howe would endeavor to penetrate the Jerseys, in which case Fort Lee could be of no use to us. * * * Such was our situation and condition at Fort Lee on the morn- ing of the 20th of November, when an officer arrived with in- formation that the enemy with 200 boats had landed seven or eight miles above. Major-General Greene, who commanded the garrison, immediately ordered them under arms, and sent an ex- press to his Excellency, General Washington, at Hackensack, distant six miles. Our first object was to secure the bridge across the Hackensack. General Washington arrived in about three-quarters of an hour and marched at the head of his troops. * « « "\Yg brought off as much baggage as the wagons could contain. The rest was lost. * * * The simple ob- ject was to bring off the garrison and march them on till they could be strengthened by the Pennsylvania or Jersey militia." The Palisades Fort was soon to fall into the hands of the British. On the evening of November 19th Lord Cornwallis crossed the Hudson from the east bank with a force of 6,000 men, including the first and second battalions of light infantry ; two companies of chasseurs, two battalions of guards and the 83rd and 42nd regiments of the line. This formidable army was landed at Closter Landing, now known as Alpine. The dif- ficult task of getting men and arms up to the crest of the Pali- sades over the rough and steep road was at once begun. On the following morning the British army and its gear of war had gained the crest, and after a two hours' march, it was se- curely ensconced within the works of Fort Lee. Two years after Cornwallis had taken his men up the road from Closter Landing (Alpine) General Earl Grey, of Lord Howe's Army, disembarked his forces at the same point and marched across to Hackensack, where he fell upon Colonel Bay- lor's patriots. The key to the Hudson was thus completely in the hands of the British, but it did not prove so valuable from a strategic point of view as had been supposed. The Sloping Crest of the Palisades. Photograph by John P. Fritts. The Palisades of the Hudson 25 Ruins of the Old Mountain House at Englewood Cliffs. MARKING HISTORIC LOCALITIES HE remains of Fort Washington can still be seen, and on the 125th anniversary of the battle, Oc- tober 16, 1901, a bronze tablet was placed on the site by the American Scenic and Historic Preser- vation Society, Until 1908 no monument or tablet marked the site of Fort Lee. On September 26 of that year, however, through the efforts of the Fort Lee Revolutionary Monument Association, the Palisades Interstate Park Commis- sion, acting as custodians of the funds, an appropriate monu- ment was erected. This monument is the work of Carl E. Tefft, whose design was selected in a competitive con- test. The base of the mon- ument consists of an im- mense boulder of Palisade rock, climbing up one side of 'which heroic bronze figures of two Continental soldiers are represented. The artist's and sculptor's idea is to show the soldiers scaling the crest of the Palisades. Few traces of the de- fenses themselves now remain. Traces of the south bastion of the fort west of the quaint little stone Episcopal Church may still be seen, also the soldiers' ovens cut out of the rock. Almost opposite the church is the "Washington Spring," which supplied water to the troops. All traces of the redoubt on Fort Lee Bluff have now Revolutionary Monument at Fort Lee. 26 The Palisades of the Hudson disappeared, although J. Fletcher Burdett, of Fort Lee, told the writer that a few years ago, in constructing a building there, the stone wall thrown up by the Continental soldiers was clearly disclosed. A TUAITOU'S NAME PERPETUATED. It is unfortunate that the name of the Palisades fort was changed from Fort Constitution to Fort Lee. It now perpetu- ates the memory of one whose disloyalty and treachery to the American cause were manifested on many occasions. The career of Charles Lee was repugnant alike to the Continental and Brit- ish armies. We have seen his supreme disregard of Washing- ton's orders. After tardily bringing his forces across the Hudson, he was captured by the British and taken to New York for confinement. He immediately set about to purchase his liberty by treachery. In prison he elaborated a plan to his captors for conquering the American Army. But his perfidy was not well received by Sir William Howe. Instructions were received from the King to send Lee to England for trial. Washington held six Hessian officers as hostages for Lee's safety, however, and Howe fearing to send his prisoner home, in May, 1778, exchanged him for Major General Pres- cott. Lee was reappointed to Second in Command, but further treachery at Monmouth and subsequent disloyalty led to his per- manent dismissal from the army. His later days were given to venomous attacks upon Washington. Finally, despised by all decent men, he died in a public house at Philadelphia, his re- mains being interred in Christ Church Cemetery. A few miles above Fort Lee Bluff a white edifice surmounts the cliffs. This is St. Michael's Villa, a prominent Roman Catholic Convent. Just beyond this point are the remains of the old Englewood pier, long since dis- used. North of the pier Englewood Creek winds through a narrow meadow of salt grass to the base of the Palisades. To the north of St. Michael's are the vine-covered ruins of the Palisades Moun- Old Undercliff Settlement. The Palisades of the Hudson 27 tain House, burned in 1884*. Opposite here, on the western slope of the Palisades, lies the city of Englewood. The little set- tlement from which the present city had its origin was called Liberty Pole. During the Revolution it stood in the thick of military activities. A PICTURESQUE HAMLET. A mile north of the old Englewood pier a pic- turesque hamlet of scarce half a dozen houses nestles under the brow of the great rocks. This is known as UnderclilF Settlement. F. . J , • Old Burying Ground at Undercliff Settlement. o r generations, datmg back to Revolutionary days, members of the Van Wagoner fam- ily have dwelt here. In two of the houses still live venerable members of this family. Back of the settlement from a tangled undergrowth rise the headstones of an ancient burying ground. Here lie the remains of the Van Wagoners, all the gravestones bearing dates at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Easily distinguishable from the river by its two long, white houses is Huyler's Landing, a short distance north of this ham- let. Its former name was Lower Closter Landing. The two houses, with a tiny cottage almost hidden behind the trees, are of The Cornwallis Headquarters at Alpine. This House, Which Is Over 150 Years Old, Is Being Carefully Preserved by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. 28:. The Palisades of the Hudson great age. An old road, now dis- used, winds down from the cliffs. Decades ago Huyler's Landing was a shipping point for the back coun- try. Directly opposite the city of Yonkers is Alpine Landing, which in Revolutionary days was called Clos- ter Landing. We have already seen its historical importance as the point at wliich Lord Cornwallis, and later. 