1901. A (lass t-XH/ PUESESTFA) BY THIS MEMORIAL MARKS THE SITE OF FORT WASHINGTON CONSTRUCTED BY THE CONTINENTAL TROOPS IN THE SUMMER OF I 776 TAKEN BY THE Bi^ITISH AFTER A HEROIC DEFENSE, NOVEMBER 16, 1 776 REPOSSESSED BY THE AMERICANS UPON THEIR TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO THE CITY OF NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 25, I 783 ERECTED THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF JAMES GORDON BENNETT BY THE EMPIRE STATE SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION NOVEMBER 16, I 90 1 SITE REGISTERED BY THE AMERICAN SCENIC AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION SOCIETY PROGRAMME NOVEMBER THE SIXTEENTH NINETEEN HUNDRED AND ONE M AT I I O CLOCK A. M. EMORIAL CHURCH SERVICE In the HoLYRooD Protestant Episcopal Church, at Broadway (Kingsbridge Road) and i8ist Street, in memory of those who fell in the Battle of Fort Washington, the Rev. C. Morton Murray and visiting clergy officiating. During the day there will be an exhibition of military relics in the Guild Room of the Church. AT 1.30 O CLOCK P. M. ROCESSION Forming at Amsterdam Avenue and 187th Street, moves to Fort Washington in the following order: Platoon of Police Dr. E. V. D. Gazzam, Marshal and Aides Eighth United States Artillery Band Three Companies United States Coast Artillery Wendel's Battery, N. G. N. Y. Colors of the Empire State Society, S. A. R. Color Guard: Detail from Washington Continental Guard of New York Field and Staff Officers of First Regiment of Minutemen, of Washihgton, D. C. Members of the Sons of the American Revolution Band of the New York Juvenile Asylum Boys of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum At Kingsbridge Road the line of march will cover a portion of the route taken by the American Army when it repossessed Fort Washington in 1783. Sooitjty, D AT 2 O CLOCK P. M. EDICATION OF MEMORIAL Upon arrival of procession at Fort Washington Raising of United Sates Flag in Fort CHRISTOPHER R. FORBES Artillery Salute CAPT. LOUIS WENDEL'S BATTERY, N. G. N. Y. Music: "Star Spangled Banner" EIGHTH UNITED STATES ARTILLERY BAND Dedicatory Prayer REV. JESSE LYMAN HURLBUT, D.D. Chaplain Empire State Society, S. A. R. AT 2.15 o'clock p. M. TN THE TENT Music: " America" EIGHTH UNITED STATES ARTILLERY BAND Address WALTER SETH LOGAN President Empire State Society and President-General, Sons of the American Revolution Address NAME TO BE ANNOUNCED Representing James Gordon Bennett Address HON. ANDREW H. GREEN President American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society Music NEW YORK JUVENILE ASYLUM BAND Address MAJ. GEN. JOHN R. BROOKE, U. S. A. Commanding Department of the East Address HON. AZARIAH HALL SAWYER Historian Empire State Society, S. A. R. Music NEW YORK JUVENILE ASYLUM BAND Poem DR. P. BRYNBERG PORTER Address HON. HIRAM ROSWELL STEELE Member of Board of Management, S. A. R. At the close of the literary exercises there will be a reunion of descendants of the defenders of Fort Washington. The Battle of Fort Washington /^N the night of November 4-5, 1770, a few days after the battle of White Plains, the British army, which had been camped over against the Americans on the Heights of New Castle, made a sudden and mysteri- ous retrograde movement toward New York. Washington could not fathom it. He did not know what we know to-day, that on November 2d, Col. Robert Magaw's adjutant, William Demont, had slipped out of Fort Washington and betrayed to the enemy the complete plans of the Fort — an act of perfidy which, because it was successful, inflicted a greater disaster upon the American cause than the later treason of Arnold. Although not understanding the designs of Howe, but reasoning from other facts, Washington believed that no good could be subserved by the retention of Fort Washington, which had failed to prevent the passage of the enemy's vessels up the Hudson. On November 8th, therefore, he revoked the orders which he had given to Magaw to defend the Fort to the last, and advised Greene to witiidraw the garrison and stores to New Jersey. He left this course, however, discretionary with Greene, who was on the ground; and, by the "officious interference of Congress and a venial error of judgment on the part of Greene " (says Fiske) the Fort was retained. On November 15th, the day before the battle, Howe, having dis- posed his forces to his satisfaction, summoned Magaw to surrender, inti- mating that in case of refusal the Americans might expect no quarter. Whereupon Magaw sent back this superb message: "... ACTUATED BY THE MOST GLORIOUS CAUSE THAT MANKIND EVER FOUGHT IN, 1 AM DETERMINED TO DEFEND THIS POST TO THE LAST EXTREMITY." That was a brave soldier's reply, although Greene should have saved him the necessity of making it. The courage that dictated it is amazing, in view of the physical and moral situation at that time. Here were only 3,000 inexperienced Americans attempting to defend all of Man- hattan Island north of i4=;th Street,* against 9,000 trained and fully equipped foreign troops. The circuit of the field of action was about 10 miles, an average of one American soldier to about every 18 feet. The King of Prussia, in his History of the Seven Years' War, estimated that 16,000 men were inadequate to defend the city of Berlin, with about the same circuit. LIkt of '.'^ SyKKrn Vj-sort« fn \\\ 1776. 1 Beat idikS' DiuvLuHiua >p^^' Pr, With these odds against them, there had been nothing in the history of the Revolution since Lexington to warrant the belief that the Fort could be held. Bunker Hill had recorded an American retreat; the American army in Canada was shattered; Long Island had nearly cost Washington his army; Harlem Heights was a siicces crcstiiuc; White Plains was a drawn game. What then, but the glorious inspiration of a righteous cause, expressed by 1 The citadel of the American defenses, now marked by the efforts of the Empire State Society through the generosity of James Gordon Bennett, Esq., was a pentagonal bastioned earthwork, situai For the sake of brevity, many localities are indicated by modern designations which, of course, were not then known FORT WASHDMGTOM FROM THE RANDEL & SEnUELL. 'i(ed for the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society by Reginald Pelham Bolton, C.E. ^aw in his message to Howe, can account for tiie superb defense of Fort Washington ? the Sons of the American revolution and the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, on the highest elevation of Manhattan Island (271.4 feet) on the western side of Fort Washington Avenue in the line of 183d Street. The Fort mounted 32 pieces of heavy cannon, and its out-works eleven more. The chief outer defenses were: A line of breast- works across the high ground between i4=;th and 147th Streets; a second line between i5";d and is=5th Streets; a third incipient line in the latitude of the Jumel Mansion (Washington's Headquarters), at 161 st Street; a strong redoubt on Jeffrey's Hook southwest of the Fort; a redoubt and breastworks at Fort Tryon, half a mile north of the Fort; a fortified position on Laurel Hill, now called Fort George, at the northern terminus of Amsterdam Avenue; a four-gun redoubt down below Laurel Hill to the northward; and various other minor defenses. Magaw commanded at Fort Washington; Rawlings and Williams were at Fort Tryon with the Maryland and Virginia riflemen; Baxter and Swope were at Laurel Hill with militia of the flying camp, and Cadwalader was on the south with his Pennsylvania Rangers About 10 a. m., November 16th, the enemy began the assault. The attack was made on all sides — on the north by Knyphausen and Rahl with their Hessians and Waldeckers; on the east at Lauel Hill by Matthews and Cornwallis with Light Infantry, Guards and Grenadiers, and near i5sth Street by Stirling with his Highlanders; on the south by Percy and Howe with Red-coats and Hessians; and on the west by the British frigate " Pearl " on the Hudson. On the south, Cadwalader, finding himself between the fires of Stirling and Percy, made a dogged retreat to the Fort, halting and firing, and strewing his path chiefly with Hessians. On the east, under cover of a furious bombardment, from University Heights, the British took Laurel Hill, where the brave Baxter fell. On the north, Rawlings made the most desperate resistance of the day against the giant Hessians, whose bones can be distinguished to-day by their extraordinary size Here there was great slaughter and men fell like leaves from the autumn trees. Rawlings and Williams were both wounded. There were not enough men to man the breastworks and guns. In this crisis, American womanhood sprang to the rescue in the person of Margaret Corbin, who worked the gun at the trail of which her dead husband lay, until she, too, fell, severely but not mortally wounded. But the torrent could not be stemmed, and the tumultuous whirlpool of battle swept nearer the Fort. With the Americans, however, it was still a tight, not a flight; — for Magaw, looking down the slopes, could see the contending parties mingled in a desperate hand-to-hand struggle, shooting, thrust- ing, striking and stabbing. The air was filled with the thunder of cannon, the roar of musketry, the ringing of steel, the sickening crunch of descending rifle butts, the shouts and curses of combatants, the shrieks of the wounded and the groan's of the dying. One hundred and thirty-two corpses strewed the ground, 78 of them British; and 392 men, of whom 380 were British, either lay upon the hillsides or staggered with gaping wounds. Magaw had kept his word; he had fought "to the last extremity," and further resistance would have converted Fort Washington into a slaughter pen. He therefore yielded to a new summons, from Knyphausen, and surrendered. And Washington, who had almost been captured earlier in the day near the Jumel Mansion, now standing with streaming eyes on the heights of the Palisades, saw the American flag lowered and the British ascend in its place over Fort Wash- ington. The whole American command, about 3,000 in number, became prisoners of war, and very few of them ever issued from the prisons into which they were cast. Manhattan Island remained in possession of the British 7 years and 9 days, during which American Independence was achieved by the same indomitable bravery that was displayed at Fort Washington, guided by the acquired wisdom of greater experience. At length came another day in 1783, when a gay and triumphant procession crossed the King's Bridge and, with inspiring music, came marching down the Kingsbridge Road. The uniforms were blue, buff and white; the flags were red- and-white striped, with a blue canton containing 13 white stars It halted for a few days at McGowan's Pass, in Central Park, while the gradual withdrawal of the King's troops was taking place; and then, on the 2sth, proceeded to the city where the formalities of evacuation were completed. On that day the last British soldier left New York, and once more the American flag floated unchallenged from the Island's loftiest height— Mount Washington. EMPIRE STATE SOCIETY SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Headquarters: 1123 Broadway, New York President Vice- Presidents Secretary- Treasurer Registrar Historian Chaplain OFFICERS Walter Seth Logan Stephen Mott Wright Edward Payson Cone Trueman Gardner Avery Edwin Van Deusen Gazzam Teunis Dimon Huntting Hon. AzARiAH H. Sawyer Rev. Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, D.D. John R. Van Wormer Hon. Hiram R. Steele William H. Kelly Henry Baldwin Young Charles L. Nichols Herbert P. Bissell Dr. Charles N. Palmer MANAGERS Theodore Fitch Sutherland DeWitt Charles B. Knox Clinton Rogers James M. Belden Franklin A. Ethridge Carroll C. Rawlings Charles B. Provost William A. Marble James de la Montanye George D. Bangs William H. Wayne George Clinton Batcheller Dr Vincent M. Munier Ma]. William H. Corbusier, U. S. A. THE AMERICAN SCENIC AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION SOCIETY Headquarters: Tribune Building, New York President Vice-Presidents Treasurer Counsel . Landscape Architect Secretary OFFICERS Hon. Andrew H. Green Hon. Charles S. Francis Frederick W Devoe J. PiERPONT Morgan Walter S. Logan Edward Payson Cone Col. Henry W. Sackett Samuel Parsons, Jr. Edward Hagaman Hall Hon. Andrew H. Green Hon. Charles S. Francis George F. Kunz Hon. Henry E. Howland Frederick W. Devoe Walter S. Logan Hon. Thomas V. Welch Edward P. Hatch Hon. Robert L. Fryer Hon. John Hudson Peck Hon. Hugh Hastings TRUSTEES J, PiERPONT Morgan Col. Henry W. Sackett Thomas R. Proctor William H. Russell Charles F. Wingate Richard T. Davies Frederick S. Lamb Col. Abraham G. Mills Edward Payson Cone H. K. Bush-Brown Hon. Wm. Van Valkenburgh Samuel P. Avery Edward T. Potter Hon. Georgb W. Perkins Frank S. Witherbee Hon. Francis G. Landon Mrs. M. Fay Peirce Le Grand B. Cannon Francis Whiting Halsey Reginald Pelham Bolton Albert Ulmann y/c, GENERAL COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS WALTER S. LOGAN, Chairman E. V. D. GklZk^, M.D. Secretary James Gordon Bennett Hon. Chauncey M. Depew Hon. Robert B. Roosevelt Hon. Andrew H. Green Hon. Hugh Hastings Hon, Hiram R. Steele Hon. C. A. Pugsley Maj. W. H. Corbusier, U. S. A. Gen. Horatio C. King Gen. Ferdinand P. Earle Col. Abraham G. Mills Col. Ralph E. Prime Col. John C. Calhoun Col. Henry W. Sackett Rev Jesse L. Hurlbut, D.D. Rev. C. Morton Murray Stephen Mott Wright Edward Payson Cone Truman G. Avery Teunis D. Huntting George D. Bangs George C. Batcheller Herbert P. Bissell Reginald P. Bolton Louis H. Cornish Designer of Memorial: Richard T. Davies Franklin A. Ethridge Theodore Fitch William H. Flitner Edward Hagaman Hall Charles W. Haskins Richard C. Jackson William H Kelly Charles B Knox Charles R. Lamb William A. Marble Jas. do la Montanye William C. Muschenheim Vincent M. Munier, D.D.S. Charles L. Nichols Charles N. Palmer, M.D. H. B. Perkins Charles B. Provost Carroll C. Rawlings Albert J. Squiers Ira Bliss Stewart Albert Ulmann John R. Van Wormer William H. Wayne Henry B. Young Charles Rollinson Lamb THE LOTUS PRESS, N. Y. li