But it also rests upon those of Washington, for his vacillation and indecision when by prompt and decisive action, he could have prevented his inferior officers from persisting in their suicidal folly. The blame for it rests upon the shoulders of Major General Nathanael Greene and Colonel Robert Magaw, the fort’s commander, for their inexplicable infatuation in attempting to hold the fort. The sudden loss of one quarter of Washington’s manpower, including most of their cannon and a huge percentage of critical supplies and ammunition, was a near fatal blow to the cause. Supplies and equipment were dear and what was available did not meet the army’s needs. The fall of Fort Washington came at a critical time when Washington’s army was evaporating due to ending enlistments and desertions. But by the time Lincoln turned his army over to the British, it was later in the war and the American army was by then well established. The fall of Fort Washington was one of the greatest errors and disasters of the war for the Americans, right up there with General Benjamin Lincoln’s surrender of the southern army at Charleston, South Carolina. Colonel Moses Hazen perhaps best expressed it when he wrote after the defeat at Brandywine, “…he is no more than a man and that as such it is possible he may be subject to some errors as well as some others…” He improved at pressing his decisions, though still blundering at times, evidenced by ignoring Howe’s flanking movement at Brandywine Creek and the Chew House at the Battle of Germantown. However, after Trenton and Princeton, he became more assertive as one who grows with the job.
Historians tend to favor Washington’s lack of self-confidence that surfaced time again. It appeared that he either questioned his own military knowledge and gut feelings or he was cautious, not wanting to solely carry the weight of failure if the proverbial ‘shit hit the fan’ resulted. After an analysis of circumstances leading up to its defense, the terrain, the fort itself both physical and its purpose (in which it had failed), the numbers of Americans posted to defend it, the numbers of enemy, armaments, and most importantly, the goal or objective by maintaining an isolated post in Manhattan, cut off from all support, one can only scratch one’s head and ask why didn’t the Americans get the hell out when they could?Įarly on in the war, Washington rarely gave a direct order, often referring to Councils of Wars’ consensus or his subordinate’s opinions. This may have been the case why Washington, who had his doubts, accepted his subordinate, General Nathanael Greene’s assurance that the garrison could sustain an attack.
A gentleman’s decision and opinions were sacred to his honor and as such, leaders like Washington treaded carefully when questioning the motives and reasoning behind their decisions. More often than not, critical decisions were based not solely on information and one’s experience, but one’s honor. The eighteenth century was also an age where honor played a large factor in men’s decisions. Citizen soldiers – planters, farmers, merchants, mechanics, artisans, and politicians, with their amateur leaders, demonstrated their inexperience, indecision, and incredible ineptitude in deciding to retain Fort Washington’s garrison. The huge loss of men and supplies, critical in its timing as the army was disintegrating from ending enlistments and desertions, was yet another nail in the coffin that loomed over America’s chances for independence.
#Washington heights the last bastion manhattan series
Margaret Corbin, who manned a cannon after her husband was killed, is featured in Don Troiani’s painting of the Battle of Fort Washington.īy Harry Schenawolf, author of the Shades of Liberty Series about African American soldiers in the American Revolution.įought on Novemon the island of Manhattan, just north of New York City, the Battle of Fort Washington almost became the next to last chapter in what might have been a failed rebellion in a misguided cause. Hessians storm Colonel Rawling’s Redoubt of Maryland and Virginian Riflemen.
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