Landing at Kip's Bay - Geography

Geography

York Island was occupied principally on the southern tip (what would now be considered Lower Manhattan) by New York City, on the western tip by Greenwich village, and in the north by the village of Harlem. The sparsely-populated center of the island featured a few low hills, principally Indianburg and Crown Heights. Ferry services connected the island to the surrounding lands, with the primary ferry to the mainland of Westchester County (now the Bronx) crossing the Harlem River at King's Bridge near the northern tip of the island. The island was bordered by two rivers, on the west by the Hudson River and on the east by the East River, which separated the island from Long Island. Kip's Bay was a cove on the eastern shore of the island, extending roughly from present-day 32nd to 38th Streets, and as far west as Second Avenue. The bay no longer exists as such, having been filled in, but in 1776, it provided an excellent place for an amphibious landing: deep water close to the shore, and a large meadow for mustering landed troops. Opposite the bay on Long Island, the wide mouth of Newtown Creek, also surrounded by meadowlands, offered an equally excellent staging area.