20 THE BOROUGH OF THE BRONX 



tobacco, he got a thick quid, and, after taking his bite, he sent the 

 remainder back. 



The little semi-circular redoubt still stands in the southeast 

 corner of Woodlawn Cemetery, and is pointed out as having been 

 erected under the personal direction of General Heath. Its guns 

 once commanded the crossing over the Bronx River at Williams's 

 Bridge where the original Boston Post Road, laid out in 1672, 

 wound up from King's Bridge and extended on thru Eastchester 

 and New Rochelle, and so on to Boston. 



Major Henly, a promising young officer of General Heath's 

 staff, lost his life in an attack on the British garrison on Mont- 

 resor's Island, September 24, 1776. Colonel Jackson, the com- 

 mander of the party, led the way in his boat, under cover of dark- 

 ness, not heeding the firing of the pickets. The officers and their 

 men jumped ashore and rushed upon the camp; but, overpowered 

 by superior numbers, they were obliged to retreat to their boats. 

 The Americans lost twenty-two men, including Major Henly. The 

 attack failed because the officers of the remaining boats did not 

 follow the boat of their commander. For this cowardice, they 

 were afterwards court-martialled and cashiered. 



Pending its decision during the session of 1790 as to the loca- 

 tion of a permanent seat of government, Congress received a 

 petition headed by the signature of Gouverneur Morris, which 

 strongly urged the selection of Morrisania as the national capital. 

 Many excellent reasons were submitted for the adoption of this 

 site — the well-drained condition of the land, and consequent free- 

 dom from swamps; and the proximity to so great an industrial 

 and political center as New York. But the proposal at once aroused 

 all the political prejudices and petty jealousies of various sections 

 of the country. In order to quiet this feeling and restore har- 

 mony thruout the land, Philadelphia was picked as a compro- 

 mise, since it was thought that the selection of this site would 

 cause least friction. 



Various efforts were made to induce people to settle in The 

 Bronx. In 1841, Jordan L. Mott, a pioneer from Manhattan, 

 bought a small tract of land, bounded by Third Avenue, One 

 Hundred and Thirty-fourth Street and the Harlem River. Here 

 he erected a foundry and built an attractive residence. He then 

 extended his possessions and encouraged others to settle there. 

 He called the section owned by him Mott Haven, and the canal 



