The Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776 was a major turning point during the American Revolutionary War since the Continental Arm lead by General George Washington lost the Battle of Long Island in the previous month and also had to pull back after a defeat at Kips Bay in lower Manhattan. Roughly 1,800 men on the American side would engage in battle with over 5,000 soldiers from the British Army from 106th Street up to Manhattanville by 125th Street and would end up victorious by day's end.
Redcoats had taken over the southern half of Manhattan and only the north remained in control by the Americans. A small unit had been forced back to higher grounds earlier in the day by the British Army which in turn mocked the retreat with a bugle call which signaled that "the fox was trapped in the hole." In past battles, Washington had been known to retreat but the avid hunter recognized the insulting tone from the British side and fully engaged more men into the conflict. Finally chasing away the King's army was a huge morale booster for the Americans and would be a pivotal point in the battle for independence. Read more about the historic Harlem Heights affair in our past post: LINK
There use to be a "Fort" with a plaque dedicated to the Battle in Morningside Park @123rd and Morningside drive.
ReplyDeleteThe park still had the cells located in the park,but that was back in the day before rehab of the park.