Fort Washington was a fortified position near the north end of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

Island, at the island's highest point, within the modern-day neighborhood of

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the uppermost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest natural point on Manhattan by Continental Army troops to defe ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. The Fort Washington Site is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

Establishment

During George Washington's defense of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

, Fort Washington (and Fort Lee on the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

side of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

) were both created to prevent the British from going up river and to provide a secure escape route. McCullough, David. '' 1776''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. General Washington assessed that a defense of New York against British forces would be necessary, but he did not believe that such a defense would be feasible given the limited resources available to American troops.

Battle of Fort Washington

Fort Washington was held by American forces under the command of Colonel

Robert Magaw Robert Magaw (1738 – January 7, 1790) was an American lawyer from Carlisle, Pennsylvania who served as a colonel in the Continental Army during the U.S. Revolutionary War. Early life and education Robert was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvan ...

, who refused to surrender the fort to the British. He informed the British that he would fight to the last extremity. As the fortifications served to restrict British forces' access to northern

and the Colonial territory beyond, English General William Howe moved to seize the fort from Patriot command and thus open a route to extend British control of New York. At the time, Howe commanded a force of approximately 8,000 men, made up of Hessian soldiers under the command of Lieutenant General

Wilhelm von Knyphausen Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr von Innhausen und Knyphausen Some documents produced after 1806 referred to him as Reichsfreiherr Wilhelm zu Innhausen und Knyphausen while some documents after 1919 use Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr zu Innhausen und Knyphausen. ...

as well as additional British soldiers. On November 16, 1776, Howe ordered an assault on Fort Washington. In the course of the assault, later known as the

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 ...

, Howe's forces captured 2,838 American prisoners and secured a large store of supplies. Following the British-Hessian victory, the fort would be renamed Fort Knyphausen. The English had been materially assisted by one of Magaw's officers,

William Demont William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

, who on November 2 had deserted and furnished Howe with detailed plans of the American fortifications and troop placements. Official American casualties included 53 dead and 96 wounded in addition to the rest of the garrison taken prisoner. The British and Hessian troops suffered 132 dead and 374 wounded. American prisoners were later marched through the streets of

, facing the jeering and mockery of the city's large

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

population. Most of the prisoners were interned in British ships in New York harbor, where over 2,000 died of disease, cold, or starvation in the bitter winter. Approximately 800 survived to be released in a

prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conventions Under the Geneva Conven ...

the following year. At this battle was

Margaret Corbin Margaret Cochran Corbin (November 12, 1751January 16, 1800) was a woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War.James, Edward T., et al''Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary'' Vol. II, p. 385-86 (1971) () On Novembe ...

, a Virginia colonist 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 after he was killed in battle. Although severely injured, Margaret survived the encounter but never fully recovered from her wounds, leaving her permanently unable to use her left arm. She is believed to have been the woman or one of several women responsible for inspiring the legend of

Molly Pitcher Molly Pitcher is a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Revolutionary War. She is most often identified as Mary Ludwig Hays, who fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. Another possibility is Margaret Corbin, wh ...

The site today

The site of Fort Washington is now Bennett Park on Fort Washington Avenue between West 183rd and 185th Streets in

. The locations 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 is the highest natural point on Manhattan Island, one of the reasons for the fort's location. Bennett Park is located a few blocks north of the

George Washington Bridge The George Washington Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan in New York City. The bridge is named after George Washington, the first president of the Unite ...

, which is between West 179th and 180th Streets. Along the banks of the

, below the

Henry Hudson Parkway The Henry Hudson Parkway is a parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is in Manhattan at 72nd Street, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout it ...

, is

Fort Washington Park Fort Washington, located near the community of Fort Washington, Maryland, was for many decades the only defensive fort protecting Washington D.C. The original fort, overlooking the Potomac River, was completed in 1809, and was begun as Fort ...

and the small point of land alternately called "Jeffrey's Hook" or "Fort Washington Point", which is the site of the Little Red Lighthouse.

References

Notes

External links

The Battle of Fort Washington / Manhattan

Fort Washington 1898 account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington New York (state) in the American Revolution American Revolutionary War forts Forts in Manhattan History of Manhattan Washington Heights, Manhattan Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places