Fort Washington (New York)
Encyclopedia
Fort Washington was a fortified position near the north end of Manhattan
Island (now part of New York City
) and was located at the highest point on the island. The Fort Washington Site is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
.
's defense of New York
, during the American Revolution
, Fort Washington and Fort Lee
(on the New Jersey
side of the Hudson River
) were created both to prevent the British from going up river and to provide a secure escape route. General Washington realized he would have to defend New York but did not think he could hold it against the British.
, commanded.
, who refused to surrender the fort to the British
. He informed the British that he would fight to the last extremity.
In the Battle of Fort Washington
, British General William Howe
ordered Hessian mercenaries under Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen
, and other British soldiers, totaling around 8,000 men, to capture the fort from the Patriots
. They did so on November 16, 1776, taking 2,818 prisoners and a large store of supplies. The British renamed it Fort Knyphausen.
The English had been materially assisted by one of Magaw's officers, William Demont, who on November 2 had deserted and furnished Howe with detailed plans of the American works. The American losses were 53 killed and 96 wounded in addition to the rest of the garrison taken prisoner. The British and Hessian troops suffered 132 killed and 374 wounded.
At this battle was Margaret Corbin
of Virginia, who is recognized as the first female soldier to fight in the American Army. Married to John Corbin of the First Company of the Pennsylvania Artillery, Margaret cleaned, loaded and fired her husband’s cannon when he was killed during the assault on Fort Washington. Although severely injured, Margaret survived the battle but never fully recovered from her wounds, leaving her unable to use her left arm. She is at least one of the candidates as the woman, or women, who inspired the legend of Molly Pitcher
.
The modern day location of Fort Washington is marked by Bennett Park
on Fort Washington Ave. between West 183rd and West 185th Sts. in the Hudson Heights neighborhood of the Washington Heights
section of New York City
. The location of the fort's walls are marked in the park by stones, along with an inscription. Nearby is a tablet indicating that the schist outcropping nearby is the highest natural point on Manhattan Island, one of the reasons for the fort's location.
The park is a few blocks north of the George Washington Bridge
. Along the banks of the Hudson River
below is Fort Washington Park and the small point of land alternately called Jeffrey's Hook or Fort Washington Point, which is the site of the Little Red Lighthouse
.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
Island (now part of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) and was located at the highest point on the island. The Fort Washington Site is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Establishment
During George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's defense of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, Fort Washington and Fort Lee
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
(on the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
side of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
) were created both to prevent the British from going up river and to provide a secure escape route. General Washington realized he would have to defend New York but did not think he could hold it against the British.
Evacuation
When Washington was forced to abandon New York, he crossed from Fort Washington to Fort Lee where its namesake, General Charles LeeCharles Lee (general)
Charles Lee was a British soldier who later served as a General of the Continental Army during the American War of Independence. Lee served in the British army during the Seven Years War. After the war he sold his commission and served for a time in the Polish army of King Stanislaus II...
, commanded.
Battle of Fort Washington
Fort Washington was held by American forces under the command of Colonel Robert MagawRobert Magaw
Robert Magaw was a lawyer from Carlisle, Pennsylvania who served as a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.Robert was born in Philadelphia, PA, in 1738...
, who refused to surrender the fort to the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He informed the British that he would fight to the last extremity.
Battle of Fort Washington
The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain on November 16, 1776. It was a decisive British victory, forcing the entire garrison of Fort Washington to surrender....
, British General William Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence...
ordered Hessian mercenaries under Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen
Wilhelm von Knyphausen
Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr zu Innhausen und Knyphausen was a general from Hesse-Cassel. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, during which he led Hessian mercenaries on behalf of the British Empire.-Biography:His father was colonel in a German regiment under the Duke of Marlborough...
, and other British soldiers, totaling around 8,000 men, to capture the fort from the Patriots
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
. They did so on November 16, 1776, taking 2,818 prisoners and a large store of supplies. The British renamed it Fort Knyphausen.
The English had been materially assisted by one of Magaw's officers, William Demont, who on November 2 had deserted and furnished Howe with detailed plans of the American works. The American losses were 53 killed and 96 wounded in addition to the rest of the garrison taken prisoner. The British and Hessian troops suffered 132 killed and 374 wounded.
At this battle was Margaret Corbin
Margaret Corbin
Margaret Corbin was a woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War On November 16, 1776, she and her husband, John Corbin, both from Philadelphia, along with some 600 American soldiers, were defending Fort Washington in northern Manhattan from 4,000 attacking Hessian troops under British...
of Virginia, who is recognized as the first female soldier to fight in the American Army. Married to John Corbin of the First Company of the Pennsylvania Artillery, Margaret cleaned, loaded and fired her husband’s cannon when he was killed during the assault on Fort Washington. Although severely injured, Margaret survived the battle but never fully recovered from her wounds, leaving her unable to use her left arm. She is at least one of the candidates as the woman, or women, who inspired the legend of Molly Pitcher
Molly Pitcher
Molly Pitcher was a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Revolutionary War, who is generally believed to have been Mary Ludwig Hays...
.
The modern day location of Fort Washington is marked by Bennett Park
Bennett Park (New York)
Bennett Park is a public park in New York City, named for James Gordon Bennett, Sr., the newspaper publisher who launched the New York Herald in 1835...
on Fort Washington Ave. between West 183rd and West 185th Sts. in the Hudson Heights neighborhood of the Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
section of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The location of the fort's walls are marked in the park by stones, along with an inscription. Nearby is a tablet indicating that the schist outcropping nearby is the highest natural point on Manhattan Island, one of the reasons for the fort's location.
The park is a few blocks north of the George Washington Bridge
George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
. Along the banks of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
below is Fort Washington Park and the small point of land alternately called Jeffrey's Hook or Fort Washington Point, which is the site of the Little Red Lighthouse
Little Red Lighthouse
The Little Red Lighthouse, officially Jeffrey's Hook Light is a small lighthouse on the Hudson River in New York City. It was made famous by the 1942 children's book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift and Lynd Ward...
.
Further reading
- De Lancey, The Capture of Fort Washington, the Result of Treason, (New York, 1877)
- Dawson, Battles of the United States, (New York, 1858)
- Carrington, Battles of the American Revolution, (New York, 1876)
- McCullough, 1776, (New York, 2005)
- Jenkins, Stephen. "The Greatest Street in the World: The Story of Broadway, Old and New, from the Bowling Green to Albany," p 326. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1911.
See also
- New York and New Jersey campaignNew York and New Jersey campaignThe New York and New Jersey campaign was a series of battles for control of New York City and the state of New Jersey in the American Revolutionary War between British forces under General Sir William Howe and the Continental Army under General George Washington in 1776 and the winter months of 1777...
- Battle of Fort WashingtonBattle of Fort WashingtonThe Battle of Fort Washington was fought in the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain on November 16, 1776. It was a decisive British victory, forcing the entire garrison of Fort Washington to surrender....
- Fort Tryon ParkFort Tryon ParkFort Tryon Park is a public park located in the Washington Heights section of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA. It is situated on a 67 acre ridge in Upper Manhattan, with a commanding view of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge, the New Jersey Palisades and the Harlem River...
- Hudson River ChainHudson River ChainThe Hudson River Chain may refer to any of several chains used as a blockade across the Hudson River intended to prevent British naval vessels from proceeding up the river during the American Revolutionary War.-The Great Chain :...