United States · 18th century
Fort Washington ranks #2,678 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #53 of the 110 mapped in United States. Founded 1776, it is older than 13% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 685 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,070 times in the last 60 days, more than 83% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how United States compares in the castle statistics.
Fort Washington was a fortified position near the north end of Manhattan Island, at the island's highest point, within the modern-day neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. The Fort Washington Site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
During George Washington's defense of New York during the American Revolution, Fort Washington and Fort Lee on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River were both created to prevent the British from being able to progress up the Hudson River as an escape route. General Washington assessed that a defense of New York against British forces would be necessary, but he did not believe that such a defense would be feasible given the limited resources available to Continental Army troops.
Fort Washington was held by American forces under the command of Colonel Robert Magaw, who refused to surrender the fort to the British. He informed the British that he would fight to the last extremity.
As the fortifications served to restrict British forces' access to northern Manhattan and the Colonial territory beyond, English General William Howe moved to seize the fort from Patriot command and thus open a route to extend British control of New York. At the time, Howe commanded a force of approximately 8,000 men, made up of Hessian soldiers under the command of Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen as well as additional British soldiers. On November 16, 1776, Howe ordered an assault on Fort Washington. In the course of the assault, later known as the Battle of Fort Washington, Howe's forces captured 2,838 American prisoners and secured a large store of supplies. Following the British-Hessian victory, the fort would be renamed Fort Knyphausen.
The English had been materially assisted by one of Magaw's officers, William Demont, who on November 2 had deserted and furnished Howe with detailed plans of the American fortifications and troop placements. Official American casualties included 53 dead and 96 wounded in addition to the rest of the garrison taken prisoner. The British and Hessian troops suffered 132 dead and 374 wounded. American prisoners were later marched through the streets of New York City, facing the jeering and mockery of the city's large Loyalist population.
Text adapted from “Fort Washington (Manhattan)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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