Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery

Infobox Military Conflict
|conflict=Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery
|partof=the American Revolutionary War
|

|caption=
|date=October 6, 1777
|place=15 miles south of West Point, New York
|result=British victory
|combatant1=United States
|combatant2=Great Britain
|commander1=General George Clinton
General James Clinton
|commander2=General Sir Henry Clinton
|strength1=800 men
|strength2=2,100 (out of 3,000) men
|casualties1=70 killed
40 wounded
240 captured [http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070701/NEWS/707010372 Catskill Confidential: Sullivan tax man Burckard retires - RecordOnline.com - The Times Herald Record ] ]
|casualties2=40 killed
150 wounded
=

The Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on October 6, 1777. British forces captured Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery, allowing them to dismantle the Hudson River Chain and move their naval forces north to Kingston.

Battle

While the main British army under William Howe was fighting George Washington's Colonial Army in Pennsylvania, and the Canada Army under John Burgoyne was fighting Horatio Gates' army at Saratoga, Sir Henry Clinton had around 7,000 men, including around 3,000 untrained Loyalists, to defend the 100-mile long territory north of New York City. Clinton had no orders to assist Burgoyne, he decided to advance northward to assist anyway despite having little information about the plight and seriousness of Burgoyne's army was under. On October 3, 1777, Clinton started up the Hudson River with 3,000 men in three frigates and a number of smaller vessels. Two days later, he landed his troops at Verplank's Point on the east bank of the Hudson and engaged a force of 1,400 American militia under the command of General Israel Putnam. The militia retreated towards Peekskill.

But on the left bank of the Hudson north of Bear Hill, stood two American-held forts, under the command of two brothers, George and James Clinton (no relation to Sir Henry Clinton). Both forts were a half-mile apart and either side of a deep ravine called Popolopen Gorge. Fort Clinton, the smaller and southernmost fort was under the command of James Clinton with 300 Colonial militia. Fort Montgomery, under the command of George Clinton with 500 militia, was only half-finished. The forts possessed 67 guns.

On October 6, Clinton landed at Stony Point on the west side of the Hudson with 2,100 men and divided them into two attack groups to take the forts. A force of 700 British Light Infantry with some Hessians under the command of Major John Vaughan attacked Fort Clinton, while the main force of 1,000 men under the command of Colonel Campbell attacked Fort Montgomery almost simultaneously. The American militia defending the forts where taken by surprise since no warning from Putnam on the other side of the Hudson reached the forts until it was almost too late. Both forts were taken within an hour of the assault. Both Clinton brothers escaped by boat across the Hudson with some of the garrison while the rest fled northward.

The Americans lost around 350 killed, wounded and captured [Savas and Dameron, p.144] , most of them from the garrison of Fort Clinton. The British lost some 40 killed and 150 wounded in the assaults. Although the British had succeeded in capturing the forts, they halted as Sir Henry sent a message to New York urging reinforcements and food and supplies for six months. But Clinton returned to New York for health reasons, leaving the command of the British army to Major-General John Vaughan.

Aftermath

On October 15, Vaughan marched northward, hoping to make it to Albany and make contact with Burgoyne, unaware that his army was surrounded by American troops at Saratoga. The following day, Vaughan arrived in the village of Esopus, around 45 miles south of Albany and 70 miles south of Saratoga where Burgoyne was. However, faced with some 5,000 American militia under Putnam on the east bank of the Hudson, and some 1,500 on the west bank, Vaughan withdrew back to New York on October 17, the same day that Burgoyne surrendered to the Americans.

Notes

References

*Morrissey, Brendan; "Saratoga 1777, Turning Point of a Revolution"; Osprey Campaign Series #67; Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1855328623.
*Savas, Theodore P. and Dameron, J. David, "A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution", Savas Beattie, New York, 2006, ISBN 10: 1-932714-12-X; ISBN 13: 978-1-932714-12-8.