1776

Nathanael Greene finally recovered from the illness that kept from the Battle for Brooklyn. Moreover, he had a plan: Bring the troops back together to avoid being cut further off or outflanked by the British, and then burn New York. He reasoned that most of the people living in New York were Tories anyway, and it made little sense to leave such wonderful bedding and lodging for the British troops. However, the Continental Congress would have nothing to do with burning New York.

On September 9, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Edward Rutledge agreed to a meeting with Lord Howe. The meeting came to naught, but it did buy Washington’s troops precious time. Washington and his war council decided to move all the troops, save Putnam’s, to King’s Bridge. On Saturday the 14th, Congress ordered the troops to abandon the city.

The British, however, were on the move. Against General Henry Clinton’s wishes, the Howe brothers insisted that the landing take place at Kips Bay in Manhattan. Just one day before the Americans’ retreat was finished, canons fired and the invasion started from three frigates stationed there. The remaining Americans fled under the superior firepower—all save the furious George Washington, who rode within 100 yards of the battle, brandishing a pistol or his sword and threatening to slay deserters.

According to legend, an ardent patriot named Mrs. Mary Murray delayed the British surge for two hours by inviting William Howe to tea. She might have saved many of the American soldiers. In all likelihood this was just a legend, though, because the real Mary Murray was in her 50s and had 12 children. Nevertheless, the British accomplished their goal—taking New York—and were pleased with the overall lack of bloodshed.

The Americans, having gotten used to being routed, got lucky on September 16. When word came of the enemy’s approach, General Washington sent Connecticut rangers out to reconnoiter. Washington ordered Thomas Knowlton and his men to counterattack. The battle grew exponentially, with the British committing a full 5,000 men, but the Americans took the day—chasing the redcoats for what seemed like three miles.

Washington had to call the men back in case of a trap. The Americans suffered 30 killed and 100 casualties, while the British and Hessians had 100 killed and 30 wounded. This came to be known as the Battle of Harlem Heights.

While his soldiers enjoyed the bounty of New York, Lord Howe once again drew up a peace accord to take directly to the American people. Because there were many defectors, the officers felt confident the American colonists were ready to accept King George’s forgiveness. The plea for peace was soon forgotten when New York went up in a blaze. The fire nearly burned the city down and raged from Broadway to the Hudson. The British accused the rebels of starting the fire, which burned 500 homes, but none could ever prove it was arson.

The famous Nathan Hale was accused by the British of arson, but he had actually gone to New York as a spy. He was a very poor one indeed, since he spoke of his mission to people he met. He was captured and hanged. Hale is known for saying, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country,” which was actually a quote from a famous play of the time, Cato.

Washington continued to have problems with dissolute, cowardly deserters, as well as good men who needed to temporarily return home. He resolutely insisted that a standing army was needed, not a militia of volunteers who could not be controlled. The Board of War (and largely John Adams) decided to make provisions for such. Each man who enlisted for the entire war would receive $20 plus 100 acres of land. Discipline would be much, much stricter. Yet the troops at this point were few in number, and Washington was almost in despair.

On October 9, the lull ceased. Three British warships sailed up the Hudson to Tappan Z. They suffered the deaths of nine seamen and damage to their ships as they sailed past the American forts.

Following this skirmish was Washington’s most miserable defeat of the war. Again, the British sent ships up the river, but this time they numbered 150 with 4,000 troops. Then 7,000 Hessians arrived. Washington and his generals planned to evacuate York Island to White Plains, all except for the 1,000 men at Fort Washington.

On October 28, Lord Howe sent 13,000 British soldiers and Hessians to White Plains. The Americans met them at Chatterton’s hill. The British won the battle but sustained many more casualties than the Americans.

On November 5 the Americans awoke to see the entire British army moving off toward the Hudson and King’s Bridge, much to their surprise. Washington again divided his men but was torn about whether to try to maintain Fort Washington, which was poorly made, with no barracks for the men and drinking water only from below. He let Nathanael Greene, who had not fought a battle yet but who was an astute judge of military matters, make the decision. Greene argued they should stand their ground.

Captain McKenzie of the British decided that Fort Washington should be their next move. Then he had a stroke of luck: William Demont defected from the Americans, bringing letters Washington was sending to Philadelphia with him. He revealed the layout of the fort, including all its canons, its weaknesses, and its disgruntled soldiers. The battle strategy began to unfold on November 15, three days after Washington crossed the Hudson. Colonel James Patterson of the British took a white flag and a threatening letter from Lord Howe to American Colonel McGaw at the fort. The letter gave McGaw three hours to make up his mind. McGaw replied, saying the Americans would stand their ground. Under cover of night, the British brought 30 flatboats with their paddles silenced. Early that morning the Americans were surprised by canon fire. The British assaulted the fort from three directions, and 4,000 Hessians joined on land.

General Cornwallis and a group of highlanders attacked from the east. Another group of British and Hessians soldiers came from the south. The Hessians especially faced rocky terrain but fought valiantly. The Americans were courageous, but there were too few of them.

It was another humiliating defeat. The British took more than 1,000 American prisoners, and the British and Hessian soldiers made fun of how many were young boys and sick old men. Professional soldiers themselves, they were not used to fighting against volunteer militias. The Hessians bore the most casualties. The British looted the fort, and the prisoners were confined to cold places for animals and on crowed, polluted ships. Washington and Greene were resoundingly reviled for their poor decision.

There was one woman who valiantly joined the fray: Molly Corbin, wife of a soldier, stood up to take his place when he was wounded. She nearly lost her arm but was allowed to return home when the battle was over.

Three days later William Howe sent ships to overcome Fort Lee at Closter. The Americans got wind of it in time and made a rapid retreat, abandoning everything.