Battle of Fort Washington 1776
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 16 November 1776 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1776 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of Great Britain, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 40.8530, -73.9380 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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.
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 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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Fort Washington (revision 1377296439), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Harlem Heights 1776 · 5 km
- Battle of Bull's Ferry 1780 · 9 km
- Battle of Pell's Point 1776 · 11 km
- Capture of Turtle Bay Depot · 12 km
- Landing at Kip's Bay 1776 · 13 km
- Battle of Edgar's Lane 1778 · 17 km
Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Battles of Lexington and Concord 1775
- Capture of Fort Ticonderoga 1775
- Siege of Boston 1775
- Siege of Fort St. Jean 1775
- Siege of Savage's Old Fields 1775
- Ambush of Geary 1776
- Battle of Block Island 1776
- Battle of Harlem Heights 1776
- Battle of Iron Works Hill 1776
- Battle of Long Island 1776
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · Early modern battles