Beneath these cliffs, Henry Hudson’s Half-Moon was welcomed by the Lenni Lenape Indians on September 3, 1609. Nearly 167 years later, this giant Bluff Rock became a strategic stronghold in the American War for Independence as the conflict raged within view of this spot from early July through November 20, 1776. Around this fortification, first called “The Mountain,” then “Fort Constitution” and later “Fort Lee,” the American defense fought for control of the Hudson River. General Washington laid out the emplacements on this site to delay British plans to crush the American rebellion. Fort Lee, furnished with heavy artillery and paired with Manhattan’s Fort Washington, located across the river, served as a formidable obstacle to British warships attempting to sail along the Hudson River.
