Fort Washington was a fort located at the northernmost tip and highest elevation of what is now the borough of Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Hudson River, which was held by American forces. Along with Fort Lee forces located just across the river in New Jersey atop the Palisades, the twin forts were intended to protect the lower Hudson from British warships during the campaign around New York in the summer and autumn of 1776. The fort was defended by around 2,900 Continental Army troops and militia under the command of Colonel Robert Magaw. During the fighting on and around Manhattan, the American Army commanded by General George Washington—for whom the fort was named—was forced to withdraw northward, leaving both Forts Washington and Lee isolated.
After the Battle of White Plains, the British, under General William Howe turned back south and decided to take the forts.
On October 31, heavy rains spoiled Maj. Gen. William Howe's planned second attack on the American army near White Plains. On November 1, the Americans were found to be apparently well entrenched at North Castle Heights. The rebel earthworks were composed largely of cornstalks pulled from nearby fields, whose roots, full of clinging soil, faced outward. Howe may have been discouraged by these illusory defenses, but his goal remained the complete removal of American troops from Manhattan, not the annihilation of Washington's army. His attention returned to Fort Washington which the American commander in chief had left garrisoned under Col. Robert Magaw after a general rebel evacuation of the island.
On November 2, during the night, a defector, William Demont, entered the camp of Lord Hugh Percy at McGowan's Pass, south of Fort Washington. Demont had been Magaw's adjunct; the deserter placed the plans of the fort into Percy's hands. Although Howe had probably already begun to arrange operations against Fort Washington, exact knowledge of the fortification and its defenses would assist his attack. Fort Washington's works, built the previous July, covered a hill 230 feet high and a mile long. Vertical cliffs rendered the fort unassailable from the Hudson River below. Additional protection was provided by Fort Tyron on the north, Laurel Hill on the east, and the old Harlem Heights defenses on the south. Fort Lee stood opposite Fort Washington in New Jersey. Between the 2 forts ran a line of sunken obstructions to prevent British ships from passing up the Hudson.The natural defenses of Fort Washington's position were superior, but the fort itself was less than ideal. A pentagonal earthwork without ditches or palisades, the structure lacked barracks, bomb proofs, and an interior source of water. A captain stationed in the fort noted that it had none of "those exterior, multiplied obstacles and defenses, that...could entitle it to the name of fortress, in any degree capable of withstanding a siege." This weakness, recognized by some of the garrison went unnoticed by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene, who was in charge of both forts.
Washington had been out of touch with Greene since October 22. Now, as Howe began moving south to direct the seizure of Fort Washington, the American commander had to consider the fort's defensibility. On November 5, 3 British vessels passed over the river barricades in the Hudson amidst rebel artillery fire and anchored, undamaged, at the northern tip of the island, Washington, in the process of deploying most of his troops in Westchester County, was much alarmed by this news and wrote to Greene on November 8, "I am inclined to think it will not be prudent to hazard the men and stores," but "as you are on the spot, I leave it to you to give such orders as to evacuating Mount Washington as you judge best." Greene replied that the fort served some purpose beyond th prevention of ship passage up the Hudson. It hampered British communication between the island and the country to the north, compelled the maintenance of British troops at Kingsbridge, and was clearly regarded as important by the British, or else they would not attempt its' capture.
These arguments were offset by Greene's assurance that if the situation grew dangerous, the stores and men could be shifted to Fort Lee at any time. Magaw said the garrison could hold out through December. But Washington's second in command, Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, expressed ominous concern. In a letter to Joseph Reed, the adjutant general, Lee wrote, "I cannot conceive what circumstances give to Fort Washington so great a degree of value and importance as to counterbalance the probability or almost certainty of losing 1,400 of our best troops." With some 2,000 of his troops, Washington moved down the west side of the Hudson and reached Fort Lee on November 13.
Meanwhile, Greene had reinforced Magaw's original garrison of about 2,000 men with an additional 900. Greene continued to favor a defense of the fort, and Washington finally relied upon his sub-ordinate's judgment. Washington would later write that Congress's desire to retain the area's defense and his own wish to keep an impediment in the way of the British "caused that warfare in my mind and hesitation which ended in the loss of the garrison." On November 4, Howe dispatched several brigades to march quickly south and reinforce Brig. Wilhelm von Knyphausen. His division had crossed the river at Kingsbridge on November 2 and began harassment of the rebels in the northern outpost of Fort Tyron.
On November 14, during the night, 30 British flatboats sailed up the river past Fort Washington undetected by the Americans. The following day the enemy approached the fort in force. Cornwallis and Brig. Edward Matthew were to approach from across the Harlem River on the east, and Percy was to strike from the south. A British officer was sent to summon Magaw to surrender with the threat of no quarter if the fort was stormed. Magaw flatly refused. He had dispersed his forces at the various outposts on the three sides of the fort, posting minor detachments in between. The Americans covered a large perimeter of 4 to 5 miles.
On November 16, early on the morning, Knyphausen opened the attack against Col. Moses Rawlings's Virginia and Maryland riflemen who managed to stall the Germans temporarily. Mr. Lossing, in his Field Book, says: "On the 15th, Howe was informed of the real condition of the garrison and works at Fort Washington, by a deserter from Magaw's battalion, and he immediately sent a messenger with a summons for the commander to surrender, or peril his garrison with the doom of massacre. Howe, confident of success, ordered a cannonade to be opened upon Magaw, in a brief note, promptly refused compliance,and sent a copy of his answer to Washington at Hackensack.
The cannonade commenced early on the morning of the 16th, to cover the landing of troops which crossed the Harlem there, preparatory to a combined attack at four different points. Expecting this, Magaw made a judicious disposition of his little force. Colonel Rawlings, with his Maryland riflemen, was posted in a redoubt (Fort George) upon a hill north of Fort Washington, and a few men were stationed at the outpost, called Cock-hill Fort. Militia of the Flying Camp under Colonel Baxter, were placed on the rough wooded hills east of the fort along the Harlem River, and others, under my grandfather, 5 times removed, Ensign Johann Peter Hackenberg* and Colonel Lambert Cadwalader, of Pennsylvania, manned the lines in the direction of New York. Percy advanced on Lt. Col. Lambert Cadwalader’s Pennsylvanians but halted his forces (to the Americans' surprise) to wait for a signal gun from Cornwallis or Mathew. Washington, Greene, Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam, and Brig. Gen. Hugh Mercer crossed to Fort Washington as the firing commenced, but they could do nothing to help Magaw and so returned to Fort Lee to watch the developing action. Mathew, who had been somewhat delayed by the tide pushed across the river and established a foothold on Laurel Hill. Cornwallis followed with more troops.
Once the signal had gone out to Percy, pressure on the Americans began to mount. Rawlings was forced back and Cadwalader withdrew. Confusion was rampant within the reduced perimeter; the retreating Americans poured into the fort. By 3:00 P.M., the Germans had reached Fort Washington from the north, and the British were in view on the east and south. Despite the original surrender terms, another flag was sent into Magaw to ask for capitulation. Realizing that to stand now would create a bloodbath within the crowded fort, Magaw surrendered. The attack cost the British and Germans 67 killed, 335 wounded, and 6 missing. The Americans suffered 54 killed and 2,858captured, including probably more than 1,000 wounded. The loss of all their arms and equipment was especially damaging. Fort Lee was now untenable and Washington began transporting the ammunition out of the fort.
On November 19, during the night, the British brought boats through the Harlem River and carried a force under Cornwallis across the Hudson in the rain. They landed about 6 mile north of Fort Lee and began marching southward. Washington and Greene roused the garrison to a hundred flight and led them to Hackensack, then toward Newark and New Brunswick. On November 20, Cornwallis marched into the empty fort and found tents, military baggage, 50 canon, and 1,000 barrels of flour. More than 100 skulkers (most were drunk) were rounded up in the neighborhood, a few were killed. Cornwallis pursued the Americans with some reinforcements sent from Howe and routed them at each New Jersey town where they stopped. Many of Howe's officers believed he would maintain this drive. Howe had begun preparations for an offensive in Rhode Island. He knew there was not time enough before winter's arrival to employ the same troop force in both New Jersey and Rhode Island. In addition, Howe was criticized by some for sparing the garrison at Fort Washington.
Capt. Lt. Archibald Robertson considered the American losses "trifling." Thomas Jones, a former justice of the New York Supreme Court being held prisoner in Connecticut, believed that a general slaughter would have struck panic through the rebel countryside and forced congressional submission. "The most rigid severity at the first would have been the greatest mercy and leniency in the end." Of the nearly 2,000 Americans captured in the fall of the fort, over 100 were officers (including Ensign Hackenberg). Many of these were paroled and walked the New York streets in their uniforms to the chagrin and even fear of the loyalists and British. The soldiers were eventually put aboard prison ships in the harbor to languish; large numbers of them died under the atrocious conditions.
But Howe's victory had been decisive, and for the Americans, the after effects were serious. The loss of the garrison troubled Washington because the enlistments of many of his remaining troops were to expire in less than two months. An alarming percentage of his men were unfit for duty from sickness or want of clothes and shoes. Perhaps even more significant was the tremendous loss of precious material.The British had seized 146 cannon, 12,000 shot and shell, 2,800 muskets, and 400,000 cartridges. American resources had been dispersed and inadequate before this capture; now they were stretched very thin indeed.
Washington would soon make his winter headquarters in New Jersey for a number of reasons, one of which was to protect the invaluable forges and furnaces in the northwestern part of the state. The blame for squandering the men and supplies in the 2 forts rested naturally with Magaw, Greene, and Washington. Greene recognized that the lines around Fort Washington had been too extensive for 2,900 men to defend, especially in a disordered state. Since Washington had some early doubts about the fort's impregnability, his vacillation, finally favoring Greene's discretion, was inexcusable. Washington's trusted friend Reed termed this a "fatal indecision of mind." Many British were light-headed after their successful New York campaign and felt that the end of the war must be near. But Washington's error was not fatal. Nor was his disappointment so deep that he rejected thoughts of raising a new army.
In seventy days Washington made his famous crossing of the Delaware and the successful Battle of Trenton where the aforementioned Colonel Rall commanding the local Hessian Forces met his death at the hands of the American Troops. The British occupied New York City for the remainder of the War and vacated it only after the final Treaty was signed in 1783. Many more New Yorkers became British Loyalists(Tories) after this Occupation.
One interesting side note about Loyalists (Tories). At Haw River, North Carolina, a battalion of Loyalists were tricked into believing that they were being reviewed by Lt. Col. Tarleton of the British Regular Army when they actually had encountered Lt. Col Harry “Light horse” Lee (Gen. Robert E. Lee’s father) whose Continental Legion wore green jackets as did Tarleton’s men. Lee ordered a saber attack as the Loyalists stood for Inspection and butchered the Loyalist. This tended to intimidate other Loyalists in that area in the future. That battle had very severe American casualties since both sides were American.
Some Genealogy reports have stated that Ensign Johann Peter Hackenberg served throughout the entire Revolutionary War, however all that has been documented officially and found is that he remained a prisoner on British Prison Ships and on Long Island until at least 1780 (possibly much longer) as stated in the publication “Revolutionary War Officers“. His release and further participation in the War is unknown in the genealogical reports that have been reviewed. He died in Snyder County in 1820 and is buried at Saint Peters Cemetery , Freeburg, Snyder County.
*"Peter Hackenberg enlisted in Richland Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania under Captain Valentine Opp, First Sergeant, 1st Battalion of Col. Hart's Flying Camp. In August of the same he was commissioned Ensign and Quarter-master of the Battalion of the same company. Captain Opp was cashiered. The company marched to Fort Lee, where Colonel Baxter commissioned him to act as Captain. He was promised a commission but was taken prisoner before receiving it.
In the Archives of Pennsylvania, Second Series 15:652 his name is among the list of Officers who absented themselves from the "Camp" contrary to their parole but returned to captivity agreeable to orders. A list of officers belonging to the Continental Army Flying Camp of the Militia of the State of Pennsylvania who were prisoners and not exchanged since - list Peter Hackenberg (Hachenberg). Pennsylvania Archives 6th Series 2:88-884 gives Baxter's Regiment.wing."
This book is located in the DAR Library, Washington, D.C., the Midwest Genealogy Center of the Mid-Continent Public Library, Independence, MO, and the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, Fort Wayne, IN. This book includes the complete descendant linage of Johann Peter Hackenberg (Hachenberg).
