Battle of Harlem Heights

Overview

The Battle of Harlem Heights was fought during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The action took place on September 16, 1776, in what is now the Morningside Heights area and east into the future Harlem neighborhoods of northwestern Manhattan Island in what is now part of New York City. The Continental Army, under Commander-in-chief General George Washington, Major General Nathanael Greene, and Major General Israel Putnam, totaling around 9,000 men, held a series of high ground positions in upper Manhattan. Immediately opposite was the vanguard of the British Army totaling around 5,000 men under the command of Major General Henry Clinton.

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

Significance

The Battle of Harlem Heights occurred one day after the British seizure of lower Manhattan at the Battle of Kip's Bay, during the broader New York and New Jersey campaign. The Continental Army, holding high ground positions in upper Manhattan, engaged the British vanguard and inflicted roughly 300 casualties against approximately 100 of their own — a reversal of the pattern that had dominated the campaign to that point. Following a string of American reverses, the engagement provided Washington's forces with a demonstration that Continental troops could hold ground and press a British advance. The action did not alter the strategic situation on Manhattan, where British forces retained the initiative, but it checked immediate pressure on Washington's lines and steadied the army at a moment of low morale.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (5)