Washington issued a discretionary order to General Nathanael Greene. Washington told Greene that it might be possible for his men to evacuate Fort Washington and retreat to New Jersey, but left the final decision to him. Greene chose to stay and fight at Fort Washington after the fort's commander, Colonel Robert Magaw, declared that it could be held. Magaw felt this way because in minor skirmishes around the fort in October, the Americans had repulsed the Hessian troops with relative ease. After the American retreat from White Plains, stragglers and reinforcements arrived at the fort, increasing the garrison to 3,000 troops. Although well positioned on high ground above the Hudson River, the fort still posed a significant risk to the British navy and infantry.
Little did Magaw know that his adjutant, William Demont, would desert on November 2 and betray his country, crossing over to the British side and giving Lord Howe detailed knowledge of the fortifications.
On November 16, Howe launched his assault from three sides, surrounding the fort by land and water. From the river, British frigates bombarded the fortifications. From the east, units of Lord Cornwallis and the British Light Infantry would attack. From the south, General Hugh Percy would attack with Hessian and British units, and from the west, General Wilhelm Von Knyphausen would attack with an all-Hessian force.
Some Americans positioned themselves in redoubts in the outer defenses surrounding the fort. Before long, however, all the men in forward positions around the fort would be forced to retreat into the fort itself, resulting in a logjam of the surrounded troops.
Washington, arriving at Fort Washington at the start of the battle, met General Hugh Mercer and Nathanael Greene on the Hudson River side. As the situation rapidly deteriorated, Washington decided to retreat to Fort Lee across the river in New Jersey.
There he observed in terror the desperate situation of thousands of his men. He attempted to send a message across the river to Magaw, asking him to hold out until nightfall, when he intended to attempt to evacuate some troops to New Jersey during cover of darkness. At the same time, the Hessians began to surround the Americans' last avenue of retreat, on the Hudson River side. Reaching the interior of the fort shortly before it was completely surrounded, Washington's messenger, Captain John Gooch, met Magaw and attempted to convey Washington's request.
It was for nothing. After several hours of fighting, and now completely surrounded and without any means of mounting an effective defense, Magaw surrendered at 3 p.m. The Battle of Fort Washington was over, with a devastating defeat suffered by the Americans.
Captain John Gooch, Washington's messenger, made the bold decision to avoid capture in the final moments before the fort's surrender. He jumped over the side of the fort, rolled down steep rocks to the base of a cliff, escaped heavy musket fire from the enemy and suffered a minor bayonet wound, but managed to reached a boat and crossed the river to Fort Lee.
In total, the British and Hessians suffered 84 dead and 374 wounded. The Americans suffered 59 killed, 96 wounded, and 2,837 captured, also losing valuable supplies and more than 30 vitally important guns.
Of these 3,000 survivors, only 800 would survive their captivity, and nearly three-quarters of the prisoners would die aboard British prison ships in New York Harbor. Their bodies are believed to be buried by the thousands in shallow graves on the banks of Brooklyn.
Washington, with its paralyzed army, now finds itself faced with a disastrous situation. Short of supplies, ammunition, and with a rapidly disintegrating army, he would be forced to abandon Fort Lee several days later and begin the long, painful, and demoralizing retreat south through New Jersey.
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