At the north end of Haverstraw Bay, on the west bank, is Stony Point Lighthouse, the site of a fort which was the scene of one of the most daring exploits of the Revolutionary War. Gen. Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) had been forced, through political necessity, to relinquish his regular command, and on the recommendation of Washington, he organized a new Light Infantry Corps, with which on the night of July 15, 1779, he stormed the fort and recaptured it from the British at the point of the bayonet. This well-planned enterprise aroused the greatest enthusiasm through the country, and won for him the popular name of "Mad Anthony." Later, in war with the Indians on the frontier, Gen. Wayne further distinguished himself.
At this point is the greatest width (4 M.) in the river's course. Shortly before reaching Peekskill we pass Verplanck's Point (on the left), near which the "Half Moon" dropped anchor, Sept. 14, 1609.
40½ M. PEEKSKILL, Pop. 15,868.
(Train 51 passes 9:36; No. 3, 9:55; No. 41, 2:09; No. 25, 3:50; No. 19, 6:43. Eastbound: No. 6 passes 8:13; No. 26, 8:33; No. 16, 2:47; No. 22, 4:14.)
Peekskill means Peek's creek, and was named from the Dutch mariner, Jans Peek, who established a trading post here in 1760. It will be noticed that the Hudson turns abruptly to the left at this point, while the creek branches off to the right. According to tradition, the adventurous Jans, who had been voyaging up the Hudson, became confused and turned to the right, following the creek with the idea that it was the main river, until his boat ran aground. As a result of this accident he chose the spot to set up a trading post. During the latter part of the Revolutionary War Peekskill was an important post of the Continental Army; and in Sept. 1777, the village was sacked and burned by the British. To the north of Peekskill are Manito Mts., where the N.Y. National Guard has its summer encampment on a high cliff overlooking the river. The summer home of Henry Ward Beecher was in Peekskill, and ex-Senator Chauncey M. Depew was born here.
Peekskill on the east side of the Hudson, and Dunderberg Mt. (865 ft.) on the west, stand at the lower gate of the Highlands, so named from the steeply rising hills which border both sides of the river for the next 16 M. At the foot of Dunderberg Mt. is Kidd's Point, one of the numerous places where the notorious pirate is supposed to have concealed treasure.
Our train passes too close to the hills on the east bank to give a perspective, but on the west, where the Highlands are visible across the Hudson, the outlook is very beautiful. This part of the Hudson, often compared to the Rhine, has always been a source of artistic and poetic inspiration.
Peekskill Landing—About 1815
Close to Dunderberg Mt. the river takes a sharp turn to the left, and just beyond the mountain can be seen Iona Island (near the west bank), now occupied by the U.S. Government as a naval arsenal and supply depot. Between the island and the eastern shore the river is so narrow that this stretch is spoken of by boatmen as "The Race." A short distance farther on the west bank is Bear Mt. Park, originally the gift of Mrs. E. H. Harriman, which has been set aside by the Interstate Palisade Park Commissioners as a vacation resort for the poor. Our train presently passes by tunnel under the mountain known as "Anthony's Nose" (900 ft.), so named, according to Diedrich Knickerbocker, from the "refulgent nose" of Anthony van Corlear, Peter Stuyvesant's trumpeter. Across the river is visible the mouth of Poplopen creek, on the north side, Ft. Clinton.