Battle of Fort Washington

Overview

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.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The fall of Fort Washington on November 16, 1776, delivered one of the heaviest single-engagement losses the Continental cause sustained during the war. A garrison of roughly 3,000 American troops faced a British force of 8,000; the resulting surrender produced American casualties of 2,837, effectively eliminating the defending force. The loss stripped Patriots of their last fixed position on Manhattan and left the Hudson River corridor more exposed to British control. Coming in the autumn of 1776, a period already marked by Continental reverses around New York, the defeat compounded pressure on Washington's command and raised urgent questions about the wisdom of holding fortified positions against superior British numbers. The battle stands as a marker of how badly the campaign for New York had gone for the American side by late 1776.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (6)