Fort Washington - Bennett Park
W 183rd St & Fort Washington Ave, New York, NY
Fort Washington - Bennett Park
Date of Battle: November 16, 1776
The Battle
Despite otherwise abandoning Manhattan, a 3000-man Continental garrison holds the defenses at Fort Washington, on the island. Washington orders the fort abandoned, but General Nathanael Greene opts to hold the fort. He thinks he can force the British to pay a price for an attack, then have the army make its escape.
Instead, British and Hessian forces storm the fort from multiple directions at once. The fort falls quickly and the whole garrison is taken prisoner. It is a devastating loss for the Continentals.
Visiting the Battleground
Bennett Park, a 1.8-acre New York City park which opened in 1929, was built on the site of Fort Washington. The Fort Washington Memorial in the park commemorates the battle.
Address: W 183rd St & Fort Washington Ave, New York, NY
Entrance fee: None
When you visit the park, you can see the Fort Washington Memorial – a marble, bronze and granite stele (slab) structure on the eastern perimeter wall of the park. The structure by Charles Lamb was dedicated in 1901 and marks the site of Fort Washington. In addition to the memorial, you can see the contours of the eastern section of Fort Washington outlined in bluestone and granite paving at the south end of the park.
Check the Bennett Park web site for information on hours of operation.
→ Have you been here? Do you have suggestions for others who are passionate about history and want to make the most of their visit, or recommendations for things nearby that every history lover should see? Please send them in and we may add them to this page.
Contributor: This list of major Revolutionary War Battles and descriptions was written by Michael Troy, the creator and host of the American Revolution Podcast, who selected these sites and described the battles.
Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Editor: Creation of this trip, including additional research on visiting these historic sites, by Donna Keesling, editor at The History List.
Updated April 8, 2022