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.Ketchum pp. 111– "The most disastrous defeat of the entire war"
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, p. 243 but which later grew to 3,000, 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 eastern American defenses fell quickly, and the obstacles meant to deter an attack were bypassed with ease. 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.
Background Construction and defenses
During the American Revolutionary War, Fort Washington was located at the highest point of the island of Manhattan, along a large outcropping of Manhattan schist near its northernmost tip. Along with Fort Lee, located just across the Hudson River atop the New Jersey Palisades, the twin forts were intended to protect the lower Hudson from British warships.McCullough p. 129
In June 1776, American Patriot officers Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene, William Heath, and Israel Putnam examined the terrain on which Fort Washington would be located; they agreed that if the fort was properly fortified, it would be practically impossible to take.Ketchum p. 104 Later in June, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, George Washington, inspected the location and determined that the area was the key to defense of the lower Hudson. Shortly after Washington's survey, troops from Pennsylvania began construction on the fort under the supervision of Rufus Putnam.Ketchum p. 105
They first prepared a cheval de frise to prevent British ships from sailing up the Hudson and outflanking the U.S. position. For more than a month, the troops transported boulders from the heights of Manhattan to the edge of the river, where they loaded them into a collection of hulks and cribs made of timber and stretched it across the river. When the cheval de frise was finished, they began work on the fort.Ketchum p. 106 Little soil covered the rocky surface, so men had to haul soil up from the low ground. They were unable to dig the customary ditches or trenches around the fort. The fort was built in the shape of a pentagon with five bastions. The main walls were made of earth, constructed with ravelins with openings for guns from every angle. The fort enclosed a total of three to four acres.Ketchum p. 108 The troops built an abatis around the fort. After the barracks were finished in September, all the troops in the area were placed under the command of Major General William Heath. Washington established his headquarters near the fort.
Supporting the fort were numerous defenses. Batteries were placed on Jeffrey's Hook, which extended into the Hudson; on Cox's Hill looking over Spuyten Duyvil Creek; at the north end of Manhattan controlling the King's Bridge and Dyckman's Bridge over the Harlem River; and along Laurel Hill, located to the east of the Fort and along the Harlem River (see also Fort Tryon Park). To the south of the fort were three lines of defense made up of trenches and foxholes. The first line was supported by a second line about 0.33 mi (0.5 km) to the north, with a third line planned to be built 0.25 mi (0.4 km) north of the second.
Movements
After first gaining control of western Long Island in the Battle of Long Island at the end of August 1776, British General William Howe launched an invasion of Manhattan on September 15. His northward progress was checked the next day in the Battle of Harlem Heights, after which he sought to flank the strong U.S. position on the north of the island.Fischer pp. 88–102,109 After an abortive landing attempt on October 11, Howe began landing troops in southern Westchester County, New York (in today's The Bronx) on October 18, intending to cut off the Continental Army's avenue of retreat. Washington, aware of the danger, withdrew most of his troops north to White Plains.Fischer pp. 109–110 He left a garrison of 1,200 men at Fort Washington under the command of Colonel Robert Magaw,Lengel p. 161 although this force was inadequate to fully defend the extensive works in hindsight.Fischer p. 111 Meanwhile, Howe left Hugh Percy and a small force below Harlem Heights to monitor the garrison.Ketchum p. 109
On the morning of October 27, sentries informed Magaw that Percy's troops were launching an attack supported by two frigates sailing up the Hudson.Ketchum p. 110 Magaw ordered his troops to attack the frigates, and both ships were badly damaged by the guns from Fort Lee and Fort Washington. The frigates could not elevate their own guns to the height of the U.S. positions. The British towed away the frigates, but an artillery duel continued for some time between British and U.S. gunners.
On November 8, about two dozen U.S. soldiers drove off a slightly larger Hessian company from a forward redoubt. The Hessians held higher ground with better cover and had the advantage of artillery support throughout this minor skirmish, but were still unable to maintain their position. A single Continental soldier was wounded in the encounter while at least two Hessians had been killed and an unknown number of others wounded. After burning and looting the temporary structures on the site, the victors occupied it until dark when they returned to their main lines. By the next day the Hessians had reoccupied the spot but were quickly driven off again by a larger U.S. force. This time the Hessians left ten dead with, again, a single U.S. wounded.
Because of these minor successes, Magaw became overconfident; he boasted of being able to hold the fort through a siege to the end of December. On November 2, Magaw's adjutant, William Demont, deserted and supplied British command with detailed plans of the fortifications.Ketchum p. 112 Percy sent the information on to Howe, who had defeated Washington a few days earlier at the Battle of White Plains.Lengel p. 163 During the weeks between Washington's northward retreat and the British assault on the fort, reinforcements continued to trickle in to the fort, increasing the size of the garrison to nearly 3,000 men.
Plans and preparations
Washington had considered abandoning Fort Washington,Lengel p. 164 but he was swayed by Nathanael Greene, who believed the fort could be held and that it was vital to do so. Greene argued that holding the fort would keep open communications across the river and might dissuade the British from attacking New Jersey.McCullough p. 236 Magaw and Putnam concurred with Greene. Washington deferred to Greene and did not abandon the fort.McCullough p. 237
On November 4, Howe ordered his army south toward Dobbs Ferry. Rather than pursue the U.S. forces in the highlands, and possibly prompted by the intelligence acquired by the defection of Demont, Howe had decided to attack Fort Washington.Ketchum p. 113 Washington responded by dividing his army. Seven thousand troops were to remain east of the Hudson under the command of Charles Lee to prevent a British invasion of New England; General William Heath with 3,000 men was to guard the Hudson Highlands to prevent any further British advance north, and Washington with 2,000 men was to go to Fort Lee. On the 13th, Washington and his army reached Fort Lee.
Howe's plan of attack was to storm the fort from three directions while a fourth force feinted; by then it had received reinforcements and was garrisoned by 3,000 men. Hessian troops under the command of Wilhelm von Knyphausen would attack the fort from the north, Percy was to lead a brigade of Hessians and several British battalions from the south, and Lord Cornwallis with the 33rd Regiment of Foot and General Edward Mathew with the light infantry were to attack from the east. The feint was to be by the 42nd Highlanders, who were to land on the east side of Manhattan, south of the fort. Before attacking, Howe sent Lieutenant Colonel James Patterson under a flag of truce on November 15 to deliver a message that if the fort did not surrender, the entire garrison would be killed. Magaw said the Patriots would defend the fort to the "last extremity".McCullough p. 239
Battle Initial fighting
Before dawn on November 16, the British and Hessian troops moved out.Ketchum p. 116 Knyphausen and his troops were ferried across the Harlem River on flatboats and landed on Manhattan. The flatboatmen then turned down the river to ferry Mathew's troops across the river. However, due to the tide, they were unable to get close enough to the shore to bring the British troops across. Thus, Knyphausen's troops were forced to halt their advance and wait until Mathew could cross. Around 7:00 a.m., Hessian guns opened fire on the American battery on Laurel Hill, and the British frigate began to fire at the American entrenchments.Ketchum p. 117 Also, south of the Fort, Percy had his artillery open fire on the fort itself. Percy's artillery aimed at Magaw's guns, which had damaged the British ships several weeks before.Ketchum p. 118
By noon, Knyphausen and his Hessians restarted their advance. As soon as the tide was high enough, Mathew and his troops, accompanied by Howe, were ferried across the Harlem River. They landed under heavy fire from the American artillery on the Manhattan shore.Ketchum p. 119 The British troops charged up the hillside and dispersed the Americans until they reached a redoubt defended by some Pennsylvania Volunteer companies. After brief fighting, the Americans turned and ran towards the fort.Ketchum p. 120
To the north of the fort, the Hessian right, commanded by Johann Rall, moved up the steep hillside south of Spuyten Duyvil Creek against almost no resistance from the Americans. The Hessians began to bring up their artillery. At this point, the main body of Hessians, 4,000 men, under Knyphausen began to advance down the Post Road, which ran between Laurel Hill and the hill Rall was on. The Hessians crossed swampy land and when they approached the wooded hillside near the fort, they were fired upon by 250 riflemen of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment under the command of Lt. Col. Moses Rawlings. Rawlings' men hid behind rocks and trees and darted from place to place to shoot at the Hessians as they tried to advance through the fallen trees and rocks.Ketchum p. 122 The first and second charges by the Hessians were repulsed by Rawlings' riflemen.