Fort Washington (New York)

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Fort Washington floor plan from an 1850 book

Fort Washington (New York) was a fortification built by the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War in 1776 at the northern end of Manhattan Island . The fort was built at the highest point on the island and, together with Fort Lee on the opposite side of the mainland, served to strategically secure the area, including the city of New York, which was then at the south end of the island . In the battle of Fort Washington , the facility was captured by British and Hessian units and renamed Fort Knyphausen . Nothing is left of the system today. Since December 1978, the site has been listed as a Fort Washington Site on the National Register of Historic Places .

Strategic considerations

In June 1776, the American generals Henry Knox , Nathanael Greene , William Heath and Israel Putnam visited the terrain and agreed that a fort at this point - if sufficiently fortified - would be almost impregnable. A short time later, the commander-in-chief of the continental army, George Washington , was also convinced of the suitability of the location. Washington considered the area around the lower Hudson to be a key strategic position to defend Manhattan and the surrounding area against British warships and to secure a route of retreat. Under the command of Rufus Putnam, units from Pennsylvania began erecting the fort immediately.

Construction and construction of the fort

For more than a month, stones and rubble were brought from the heights of Manhattan to the banks of the Hudson and filled into wooden hulls, which were then placed across the river as barriers (chevaux de frise). This was to prevent British warships from simply sailing around the American lines over the Hudson. When the work on this was finished, the construction of the fort began. Since there was very little loose soil above the rocky subsoil, this had to be brought in from other places. Because of this geological peculiarity, no sufficiently deep trenches could be dug. The ground plan of the fort corresponded to a pentagon with 5 individual bastions . The main walls of the fort were built of earth and had ramparts ( ravelins ) with loopholes for muskets. The area surrounding the fort was three to four acres (about 12 to 16 thousand square meters). Due to the prevailing shortage of powder by the Americans, no blasting of trenches around the fort was made and tree barriers and trenches were built instead. The troop quarters and warehouses were completed in September and the garrison moved in under the command of Major General William Heath. Under the protection of the fort, Washington also set up its headquarters in the immediate vicinity.

External defenses

Contemporary depiction of the Battle of Fort Washington

Several lines of defense were built outside the fort. Artillery units were stationed at Jeffery's Hook, facing the Hudson River , on a hill above Spuyten Duyvil Creek , at the north end of Manhattan overlooking the Kings and Dyckmans Bridges, and along Laurel Hill, east of the fort. To the south of the fort, three more lines of defense were established. The lines consisted of shallow trenches and foxholes. The second line was a third of a mile north of the first, while the third line was under construction a further quarter of a mile north when the battle for the fort began. The battle was lost for the American side, the surviving part of the crew in British captivity and the fort was renamed Fort Knyphausen in honor of the Hessian commander .

The location today

Monument at the former site of the fort

Today nothing is visible of the original defenses. The former location is in Bennett Park , Hudson Heights on Washington Avenue, between West 183rd Street and West 185th Street. The outer ramparts of the fort are marked with stones in the park and the interested visitor is informed by descriptive boards. Nearby is the highest natural point on Manhattan Island, indicated by a notice board.

See also

proof

  • David Hackett Fischer: Washington's Crossing . Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0195181212 .
  • Richard Ketchum: The Winter Soldiers: The Battles for Trenton and Princeton . Brings paperbacks; 1st Owl books ed edition, 1999, ISBN 0805060987 .
  • Edward Lengel: General George Washington . Random House Paperbacks, New York 2005, ISBN 0812969502 .
  • David McCullough: 1776 . Simon and Schuster Paperback, New York 2006, ISBN 0743226720 .
  • Russell Weigley: The Age of Battles: The Quest For Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo . Indiana University Press, 1991, ISBN 0-7126-5856-4 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fort Washington Site on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 20, 2019.
  2. ^ Ketchum, page 104.
  3. ↑ a b Ketchum, page 105.
  4. ↑ a b c Ketchum, page 106.
  5. ↑ a b c d Ketchum, page 108.

literature

  • De Lancey: The Capture of Fort Washington, the Result of Treason . New York 1877.
  • Dawson: Battles of the United States . New York 1858.
  • Carrington: Battles of the American Revolution . New York 1876.
  • Stephen Jenkins: The Greatest Street in the World: The Story of Broadway, Old and New, from the Bowling Green to Albany . GP Putnam's Sons, New York 1911, p. 326.

Web links