For the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Washington in 1976, the Washington Heights-Inwood Historical Society re-enacted the conflict on the site of the former fort. Granite paving outlines the former contours of Fort Washington in the southern portion of nearby Bennett Park. After the war, vestiges of the Fort disappeared, and the surrounding area became known as Washington Heights. Wilhelm, Baron von Knyphausen (1716–1800), a German general in British service, was commander of New York from 1779 to 1780 and what remained of the American fort was renamed Fort Knyphausen in his honor. The British army and its sympathizers then occupied the city until the American victory in 1783. The overall battle of New York City, from Manhattan to Long Island, cost the Continentals several hundred lives and over four thousand prisoners of war. British, and Hessian forces captured this last American stronghold in Manhattan on November 16, 1776, as General Washington watched helplessly from Fort Lee on the New Jersey side of the Hudson. Unfortunately, Fort Washington’s prime position did not spare it from British bombardiers.
The highest hill on Manhattan island was an ideal location for the fort, with its views overlooking the Hudson River to the east, the valley of Manhattan as far south as what is now 120th Street, and protection on the north side from Fort Tryon. Their quickly assembled, earthen-walled structure had no water supply and no significant barricade to repel attackers. On June 20 1776, Pennsylvania battalions of the Continental Army began constructing a five-bastion fort for General George Washington (1732–1799) at the intersection of present-day Fort Washington Avenue and 183rd Street.
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