The Parks and Cemeteries 295 



relics. These ladies have gathered together a most interest- 

 ing collection of Dutch and Colonial household furniture and 

 utensils, as well as of ancient arms and documents. An old 

 four-post bedstead with steps to reach the lofty mattress is 

 authenticated as having been slept in by Washington. The 

 mansion is very frequently and wrongly referred to as the 

 manor-house; but this is a great mistake, as the only Van 

 Cortlandt manor-house is that near the mouth of the Croton 

 River. 



To the east of the mansion is a barred window with its 

 stone framing, taken from the Cuyler-Rhinelander sugar- 

 house, which formerly stood at the corner of Rose and Duane 

 streets, in which, so it is alleged, so many of the imprisoned 

 Americans met sickness and death during the Revolution. 

 The window was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on 

 May 26, 1903. On each side of the entrance to the mansion 

 lies an old gun in the grass; these were among those dug up 

 at the site of Fort Independence when Mr. Giles built his 

 house there; they were probably used by both Americans 

 and English. 



Frederick Van Cortlandt died in 1749 and was succeeded 

 by his son Jacobus, or, as he is better known, Colonel James 

 Van Cortlandt. Like so many of the colonists, he was with 

 the movement for redress of grievances from King and Parlia- 

 ment; but when it came to the question of independence, his 

 loyalty to the crown prevented him from going further with 

 the patriots, though he does not appear to have been a very 

 active loyalist. He was a man of kindly heart and was well 

 esteemed by his neighbors. It was no unusual thing for him 

 to mount his horse and take the long ride into the city to 

 intercede with the British authorities for some unfortunate 

 neighbor whose property had fallen into their hands, or to 



