[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 150 (Wednesday, November 28, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H6483-H6484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       BRIGADIER GENERAL NATHANIEL WOODHULL POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3912) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 110 Mastic Road in Mastic Beach, New York, as the 
``Brigadier General Nathaniel Woodhull Post Office Building.''
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3912

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. BRIGADIER GENERAL NATHANIEL WOODHULL POST OFFICE 
                   BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 110 Mastic Road in Mastic Beach, New York, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Brigadier General 
     Nathaniel Woodhull Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Brigadier General Nathaniel Woodhull 
     Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Gosar) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3912, introduced by the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Bishop), will designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 110 Mastic Road in Mastic Beach, New York, as the 
Brigadier General Nathaniel Woodhull Post Office Building. The bill is 
cosponsored by the entire New York State delegation and was favorably 
reported by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on June 
27.
  Mr. Speaker, Brigadier General Woodhull was a great Revolutionary 
hero. He was a leader of the New York Provincial Congress and a 
brigadier general of the New York militia during the American 
Revolution. Woodhull fought gallantly for the freedom that we know 
today. Despite hardship, never did he stray from his dedication to a 
free United States of America.
  Mr. Speaker, Brigadier General Woodhull is a very worthy designee of 
this postal facility naming, and I urge my colleagues to join me in 
strong support of this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield as much time as my 
colleague would like to consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Bishop), who is the sponsor of this legislation.
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. I thank Mr. Clay for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of an American Revolutionary War 
hero, Brigadier General Nathaniel Woodhull, and I urge my colleagues to 
support my legislation to name the post office in Mastic Beach, New 
York, the Brigadier General Nathaniel Woodhull Post Office Building.
  I thank all of my colleagues in the New York delegation for 
cosponsoring this bill and the Oversight and Government Reform 
Committee for reporting it to the full House.
  I also wish to thank the community of Mastic, an area of my district 
that was hit very hard by Hurricane Sandy and has since demonstrated 
tremendous strength and resiliency. This bill is a tribute to a 
favorite son of Mastic and to a community that deserves recognition.
  Born in 1722 to a prominent farming family in Mastic, New York, 
Nathaniel Woodhull entered the British military in 1758 and quickly 
achieved the rank of major. After experiencing battlefield success as 
an officer in the French and Indian War, Woodhull rejected the Crown's 
repressive colonial policies. Entering politics, Woodhull was elected 
to represent Suffolk County in the Province of New York Assembly in 
1769. Six years later, he was selected to lead the rebellious New York 
Provincial Congress in its attempt to break free from British 
colonialism and establish New York as an independent State.
  In 1775, Woodhull was named brigadier general of the militia of 
Suffolk and Queens Counties due to his vast experience as a former 
British officer. General Woodhull was ordered to undertake the tactical 
role of removing imperative American materiel from Jamaica, Queens, 
during the Battle of Long Island by General George Washington.
  Overwhelmingly outmanned and outmaneuvered, the Continental Army was 
issued a calamitous defeat by the British at the Battle of Long Island, 
leaving General Woodhull and his troops vulnerable to capture by the 
advancing British army. General

[[Page H6484]]

Woodhull was captured by the 17th British Regiment on August 28, 1776. 
Woodhull peacefully tendered his sword to the British and accepted his 
detainment.
  Though the details surrounding Woodhull's capture remain imprecise, 
legend purports that the British were unwilling to accept Woodhull's 
diplomatic surrender and ordered him to exclaim ``God save the King'' 
as punishment for his loyalty to the colonies. Woodhull refused, 
instead uttering ``God save us all'' when pressed by his captors.
  Furiously, one British officer lashed out at General Woodhull and 
slashed him across the head and arm with his saber. The wounds to 
General Woodhull were debilitating. General Woodhull was incarcerated 
aboard a prison ship docked in New York Harbor, where he was neglected 
and contracted gangrene due to his untreated wounds. Woodhull's 
agonizing demise and the apparent refusal of the British to allow 
medical care galvanized the colonists, reinforcing the stigma of 
brutality surrounding their enemies. Nathaniel Woodhull died on 
September 20, 1776, the first high-ranking colonial officer killed in 
action during the American Revolutionary War.
  Mr. Speaker, Nathaniel Woodhull embodied the patriotism and sacrifice 
of the early revolutionaries in the struggle for American independence. 
I hope you agree that naming the post office in Mastic is an 
appropriate honor given General Woodhull's service and ultimate 
sacrifice to the United States.
  I urge a ``yes'' vote on this legislation.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I also urge my colleagues to pass this bill to 
continue to promote the legacy of Brigadier General Nathaniel Woodhull, 
and having no further speakers, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of 
H.R. 3912, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3912.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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