Remembering the Revolution · November 16–20, 1776
Fort Washington occupied some of the highest ground on Manhattan. Its guns overlooked the Hudson, and its defenses extended beyond the main fort into a series of outlying positions. The question facing George Washington in November 1776 was whether those advantages justified keeping thousands of men on an island his army had largely abandoned.
On November 16, British and Hessian forces captured the post and roughly 2,800 Americans. Four days later, British troops threatened Fort Lee on the opposite bank of the Hudson. Its garrison escaped overland, leaving much of its equipment behind. Fort Washington’s surrender ended the American hold on Manhattan. The evacuation of Fort Lee soon afterward helped set Washington’s army on its retreat through New Jersey.
Two Forts Built to Stop British Ships
The Hudson River offered British warships a route inland. American commanders hoped to obstruct that passage with defenses on both banks: Fort Washington on Manhattan and Fort Lee on the New Jersey Palisades. Cannon fire from the heights, combined with obstacles placed in the channel, was intended to make the river difficult to navigate. Despite the promising geography, British vessels could still get through.
By early November, the military situation ashore had deteriorated as well. The fighting at White Plains on October 28 had carried the campaign north of Manhattan. Fort Washington remained an American position, but the army that would have supported it had moved away.
A Garrison Left in Place
Washington’s doubts were explicit. On November 8, after learning that three British vessels had passed the river obstructions, he wrote to Major General Nathanael Greene, questioning the value of continuing to risk the garrison and its stores when the defenses were failing to stop enemy ships.
However, his message stopped short of a firm evacuation order. Greene, who supervised the positions along this stretch of the Hudson, remained confident that Fort Washington could be held. The post stayed occupied under Colonel Robert Magaw.
This was probably the most consequential choice behind the battle. A fortified position could tie down enemy troops and protect a useful crossing. If isolated and overwhelmed, it could also turn its entire garrison into prisoners.
November 16: The Battle of Fort Washington
British commander General William Howe attacked with British and Hessian troops approaching from several directions. Patriots had to protect an extensive system of outer lines as well as the fort itself.
Resistance was fierce in places. To the north, riflemen under Moses Rawlings fought the Hessian advance. British forces pressed the southern and eastern defenses, gradually forcing the Americans back toward the main enclosure.
By the afternoon, the outer positions had been overwhelmed. Magaw surrendered, and roughly 2,800 surviving defenders went into captivity. Fort Washington, the last major American stronghold on Manhattan, had been lost in a single day.
The scale of the capture made the defeat particularly damaging. Washington could move an army away from lost ground and fight again elsewhere; replacing thousands of captured men, along with their weapons and equipment, was another matter.
Margaret Corbin
One of the people caught in the fighting was Margaret Corbin. Her husband, John, served in the Pennsylvania artillery, and she had accompanied him into army life.
Women traveling with the troops performed essential work, including washing clothes, preparing food, and caring for the sick. Around an artillery battery, carrying water and ammunition could also place them close to enemy fire.
The Corbins were with a battery north of the main fort. When John was killed, Margaret took his place on the gun crew and was herself severely wounded. A cannon required coordinated work: loading powder and shot, aiming, firing, and clearing dangerous embers before the next charge.
Evidence for her service survives in the congressional record. On July 6, 1779, Congress approved support for Corbin, describing how she had “heroically filled the post of her husband.” She was awarded half a soldier’s monthly pay for her lifetime or the duration of her disability, together with a suit of clothes or its value in money.
A Board of War report the following year recorded that she remained unable to use one arm and was otherwise seriously disabled. Corbin’s injuries left her permanently disabled and dependent on assistance with daily life. She spent her remaining years near West Point and died in 1800 at the age of 48.
November 20: The Evacuation of Fort Lee
Across the Hudson, Fort Lee’s purpose had depended on cooperation with Fort Washington. Once the eastern position was gone, the Americans began preparing to leave. Some ammunition and stores were removed, but the work was unfinished when Cornwallis’s force crossed the river north of the fort on November 20.
British troops advancing inland threatened to trap the garrison between the Hudson and Hackensack rivers. The Patriots needed to reach the Hackensack crossing before their escape route closed.
They reached the bridge ahead of the enemy. Washington’s November 21 letter to New Jersey governor William Livingston reported the escape, along with what it had cost: hundreds of barrels of flour, most of the cannon, and a substantial quantity of tents and baggage had been left behind.
The garrison had escaped, but the abandoned supplies would be sorely needed during the late-November retreat.
The Retreat Across New Jersey
Leaving Fort Lee did not put Washington beyond danger. In the same letter to Livingston, he explained that the army had moved across the Passaic to avoid being confined between rivers again. He also warned that expiring enlistments would soon reduce his strength.
The retreat continued across New Jersey toward the Delaware. By early December, his forces had crossed into Pennsylvania.
The surrender at Fort Washington had cost the Americans thousands of prisoners. Evacuating Fort Lee sacrificed equipment and provisions but preserved the troops for further service. Washington now had to keep the diminished army supplied and together while British forces pursued it.
A Tea Purchase Recorded Before the Revolution
In 1757, Washington requested “6 lb. best Hyson Tea,” recording his purchase nearly two decades before the fighting at Fort Washington.
Our Young Hyson Green Tea is spring-picked, with grassy notes and a delicate natural sweetness. Pour a cup and join us for the next installment of Remembering the Revolution.
