Battle of Pell's Point - Background

Background

After a victory at the Battle of Long Island in late August, the commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, Gen. Sir William Howe landed his troops at Kip's Bay, on the eastern shore of present-day Manhattan, on September 15. George Washington and his army retreated to Harlem Heights, a plateau situated on the north end of Manhattan Island. Washington was in a good defensive position, with his rear guarded on two sides by rocky heights and the Hudson and Harlem Rivers, and with more rocky heights to the south between his forces and the British. The next day, the British attacked the Americans and were defeated at the Battle of Harlem Heights. There was very little action for the next month, while the two forces remained in their fortified positions, each unable to decide upon their next move. The Americans believed that Howe would either attack Fort Washington, or attempt to flank the Americans with a landing at some point on Long Island Sound. A council-of-war decided to guard against both possibilities; Washington kept 10,000 men to defend Harlem Heights and Fort Washington, Maj. Gen. William Heath took 10,000 troops to defend Kingsbridge, and Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene was given 5,000 troops to defend the other side of the Hudson River, near Fort Constitution.

After 26 days of contemplation, Howe decided against a frontal attack on Harlem Heights and Fort Washington, and chose instead to attempt a flanking maneuver. On October 12, leaving behind three brigades under the command of Lord Hugh Percy on Manhattan Island, Howe embarked his main army in eighty vessels and proceeded up the East River, through Hell Gate, and landed at Throgs Neck. Throgs Neck—originally known as Throckmorton's, and also known as Throck's, Frog's Neck and Frog's Point—is a narrow spit of land that sits between the East River and Long Island Sound. Conveniently for Howe, there was a road running from Throgs Neck to Kingsbridge, directly behind the American forces. Howe hoped to use this road to flank the Americans, and pin them against the Hudson River.

Under the cover of fog, an advance force of 4,000 men under the command of General Henry Clinton was landed on Throgs Neck. To their dismay, they found that they were not on a peninsula, but on an island, separated from the mainland by a creek and a marsh. There were two ways to get to the mainland—a causeway and bridge at the lower end, and a ford at the other. The Americans were guarding both. Col. Edward Hand and a detachment of 25 men from the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment positioned themselves behind a length of cordwood along the causeway, after having removed the planks of wood from the bridge. They surprised the British troops, who fell back and made an attempt to cross at the ford, which was guarded by another detachment. The Americans guarding both positions were quickly reinforced, and the defenders soon numbered over 1,800 men. Howe decided it would be better to retreat and land somewhere else. He made camp on Throgs Neck, and remained there for six days while supplies and reinforcements, including 7,000 Hessian soldiers under the command of Gen. Wilhelm von Knyphausen, were brought up from New York. Just after midnight on October 18, Howe embarked his army again, and decided to land at Pell's Point near the town of Pelham, a few miles to the north.

After hearing of the landing on Throgs Neck, Washington knew that he risked entrapment on Manhattan. He made the decision to move his army to White Plains, where he believed they would be safe. By October 17, the Continental Army was on its way to White Plains, leaving behind 2,000 men to garrison Fort Washington.