Battle of Fort Washington
The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in New York on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. It was a British victory that gained the surrender of the remnant of the garrison of Fort Washington near the north end of Manhattan. It was one of the worst Patriot defeats of the war.[6]
After defeating the Continental Army under Commander-in-Chief General George Washington at the Battle of White Plains, the British forces under the command of Lieutenant General William Howe planned to capture Fort Washington, the last American stronghold on Manhattan. General Washington issued a discretionary order to General Nathanael Greene to abandon the fort and remove its garrison, which then numbered 1,200 men[7] but which later grew to 3,000,[4] to New Jersey. Colonel Robert Magaw, acting commander of the fort, refused to abandon it, believing his troops would be able to defend it from the British. Howe's forces attacked the fort before Washington could arrive to assess the situation on November 16.
Howe led an assault from three sides: the north, east and south. The tides of the Harlem River prevented some troops from landing and delayed the attack. When the British moved against the defenses, the southern and western American defenses fell quickly, and the obstacles meant to deter an attack were bypassed with ease.[8] Patriot forces on the north side offered stiff resistance to the Hessian attack, but they too were overwhelmed. With the fort surrounded by land and sea, Colonel Magaw chose to surrender. A total of 59 Americans were killed in action and 2,837 were taken as prisoners of war.
After this defeat, a large portion of Washington's army was pursued across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, while the British consolidated their control of New York Harbor and eastern New Jersey.
Aftermath[edit]
After the Hessians entered the fort, the American officers attempted to placate the Hessian commander, Captain von Malmburg, who was in charge of the surrender.[44] They invited him into their barracks, and offered him punch, wine and cake, with compliments. As they left the fort, the Hessians stripped the American troops of their baggage[5] and beat some of them, forcing their officers to intervene to prevent further injuries or deaths.[47] The British captured thirty-four cannons, two howitzers, along with many tents, blankets, tools and much ammunition.[48]
The British and Hessians suffered 84 killed and 374 wounded. The Americans had 59 killed, 96 wounded casualties, and 2,837 men captured.[5] Under the usual treatment of prisoners of war in the American Revolutionary War, only 800 survived their captivity to be released 18 months later in a prisoner exchange; nearly three-quarters of the prisoners died.[49]
Three days after the fall of Fort Washington, the Patriots abandoned Fort Lee.[50] Washington and the army retreated through New Jersey and crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania northwest of Trenton, pursued as far as New Brunswick, New Jersey by British forces. After about one month, on the night of December 25–26, 1776, Washington crossed the Delaware and defeated the Hessian garrison under the command of Rall at Trenton. Washington went on to defeat the British next at Princeton, which revived the morale of the American army and the colonies affected by the fall of Fort Washington.[51]
After seven years, on November 25, 1783, with the peace treaty signed, General Washington and Governor George Clinton triumphantly reclaimed Fort Washington as they marched toward lower Manhattan after the last British forces had left New York.[52]
The site of Fort Washington is now in Bennett Park in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, just north of the George Washington Bridge. The location of its walls are demarcated by stones placed in the park, and there is a commemorative plaque.[9]