American Revolution - Battle of Fort Montgomery - Fort Montgomery

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American Revolution - Battle of Fort Montgomery

Fort Montgomery

Orange County

American Revolution - Battle of Fort Montgomery

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Battles of the American Revolution
Battle of Fort Montgomery and Battle of Fort Clinton
Date: October 3, 1777
Between: British, German (Hessian), and Loyalist troops against American Continental Army
Location: Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton in Bear Mountain

"To aid Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's British army stalled at Saratoga, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton sailed from New York with 3,000 British, German, and Loyalist soldiers and a flotilla of warships. On the morning of October 6, 1777, Clinton landed 2,100 of his men on the west side of the Hudson River near Stony Point. This force followed a narrow trail through the mountains, where they ran into a party of 30 men sent from Fort Clinton to detect the British advance. After beating the Americans back, Sir Henry Clinton sent 900 men around Bear Mountain to attack Fort Montgomery. The rest would wait to attack Fort Clinton until the first group had reached Fort Montgomery."

The invasion of the Hudson Highlands had begun

On October 6, 1777, the Battle of Fort Montgomery lasted all afternoon before the British finally overran the badly outnumbered garrison of Forts Clinton and Montgomery. So valiant was the defense, that fully half the American force was killed, wounded or taken prisoner. The small American fleet and the iron chain were destroyed, and the river lay open to Sir Henry Clinton's forces.

"On the afternoon of October 6, 1777, the British began an assault on both forts, which were defended by no more than 700 men. At Fort Montgomery, the Americans kept the British at bay as the two sides exchanged musket fire. When the Americans refused to surrender, the British stormed both forts. Taking advantage of the growing dark and the smoky haze from the battle, many of the Americans escaped, but as many as 275 were taken as prisoners to New York City where they remained for much of the war."

When the battles of the "twin" forts was over, the British destroyed Fort Montgomery, left British troops at Fort Clinton, and burned Kingston, the capital of New York. Then, receiving orders to join Sir William Howe's army near Philadelphia, Clinton's men destroyed Fort Clinton and sailed back down the Hudson. Although captured and destroyed, the forts had presented enough of an obstacle to keep the British forces in New York from aiding Burgoyne's army. The following year, in 1778, the American began rebuilding their defenses, this time at West Point.

"Sir Henry Clinton's fleet sailed north and burned the state's capitol at Kingston. Then, news that General Burgoyne's army had been completely defeated brought Clinton's expedition to an abrupt end. Despite the success of his part of the campaign, Clinton was forced to return to New York City. Behind him, he left Forts Montgomery and Clinton in ruins." Source:
The history of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton, during the American Revolutionary War, a War of Independence between the Americans and England, is sourced from interpretive signs at the Fort Montgomery Visitor Center and on the Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton historic trails.

Location: Fort Montgomery

Categories
American Revolution \| American War of Independence
Hudson River Towns