The Battle of Fort Washington was a battle fought in the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. The battle, fought on November 16, 1776, was a decisive British victory and the entire garrison of Fort Washington was forced to surrender.
After defeating the Continental Army under the command of their Commander-in-Chief, George Washington, at the Battle of White Plains the British army, under the command of William Howe, looked to capture the last American stronghold, Fort Washington, on Manhattan. George Washington had thought of abandoning the Fort and removing its garrison of 3,000 men to New Jersey but had been convinced by General Nathaniel Greene to defend it.
On November 16, Howe launched his attack on the fort. The assault came from three different directions, the north, east and south. The attack was delayed due to tides in the Harlem River that prevented some of the troops from landing. When the attack did begin, the southern and western American defenses fell quickly. In the North there was stiff resistance to the Hessian attack but they too were eventually overwhelmed. With the fort surrounded by land and sea the Fort's commander, Robert Magaw, chose to surrender the fort rather than try to hold out. A total of 59 Americans were killed and 2,837 became prisoners of the British. With this defeat, the main American army under George Washington was chased across New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, setting the stage for the battles of Trenton and Princeton.
