The Battle of Harlem Heights 1776
Battle: Harlem Heights War: American Revolutionary
War Date: 16th September 1776 Place: Manhattan
Island, New York, United States of America Combatants: Small
forces of Americans and British Uniforms, arms and equipment:
The British wore red coats and headgear of bearskin caps, leather caps
or tricorne hats depending on whether the troops were grenadiers,
light infantry or battalion company men. The two regiments of light
dragoons serving in America, the 16th and 17th, wore red coats and
leather crested helmets. The German infantry wore blue coats and
retained the Prussian style grenadier mitre with brass front plate.
The Americans dressed as best they could. Increasingly as the war
progressed regular infantry regiments of the Continental Army wore
blue uniform coats but the militia continued in rough clothing. Both
sides were armed with muskets and guns. The Pennsylvania regiments
carried long, small calibre, rifled weapons.
Winner: An inconclusive fight which revived American morale
but had no particular benefit for either side. British Regiments:
Light Infantry
33rd Foot, now the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (West Riding)
42nd Foot, the Black Watch (the Royal Highland Regiment) Account:
On 16th September 1776 General George Washington was in
considerable anxiety at the inability of his troops to stand up to the
British and Germans of General Howe’s army. Step by step the Americans
were being driven off the Island of New York, now Manhattan. On the
day before, a British force had landed at Kipp’s Bay on the west side
of the island and the Virginia militia had fled before them.
Washington now held only the northern plateau of the island, around
the fortification of Fort Washington on the Hudson shore. On 16th September, Washington sent a party of New England Rangers
under Captain Thomas Knowlton to scout the British movements to the
South of his position. Knowlton descended from the northern plateau
into an area of lower ground known as the Hollow Way and on to the
next plateau. There his party of around 120 men encountered the
British light infantry picquets and firing broke out. More British
troops from the 42nd Highlanders came up and the small party of
Rangers was forced to retreat in some haste, with the British in
pursuit. It is said that the Americans on the northern plateau were
particularly enraged to hear the British using derisive fox hunting
calls. Washington ordered a force forward to lure the party of British
further onto the plateau, while a second force moved around the
British right flank and cut them off from the southern plateau and
further reinforcement. The light infantry and highlanders took the
bait and moved further onto the northern plateau as the Americans fell
back before them. As they moved south, the American flanking party
encountered some British troops and firing broke out, warning the
light infantry that they were in a perilous position. Under persistent
attack, the British retreated to a field in the Hollow Way where they
were joined by troops from the 33rd Foot, some Hessian battalions and
guns. The fighting continued for an hour until the imminent arrival of
more British forces caused Washington to call his troops back. Casualties:
This was a skirmish in which probably around 70 British
were killed and the same number of Americans. Captain Knowlton was
killed. The importance of this action for the Americans was that
it was the Virginia militia who had fled the British the day before
who fought steadily and effectively alongside the Northern Rangers,
going a long way to restoring the confidence of the American army in
itself.
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