| Fort Lee Historic Park | |
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| Location | Fort Lee, New Jersey, United States |
| Coordinates | 40°51′01″N73°57′47″W / 40.8503°N 73.963°W /40.8503; -73.963 |
| Area | 33 acres |
Fort Lee Historic Park is located atop abluff of theHudson Palisades overlookingBurdett's Landing, known as Mount Constitution,[1] inFort Lee, New Jersey, United States. The park was conceived as early as 1952.[2][verification needed]
Native Americans appear to have lived in the area for thousands of years before thearrival of Europeans.[3] The bluff was the site ofGeorge Washington's 1776 encampment oppositeFort Washington at the northern end ofManhattan.[4] Fort Lee is named for GeneralCharles Lee. The site is a reconstruction of the encampment including theblockhouse, battery, quarters as well as a visitors center. It is part of thePalisades Interstate Park Commission.
At the north end of the park there are two overlooks with views of theGeorge Washington Bridge, theHudson River, and the skyline ofUpper Manhattan.Revolutionary War Significance – Fort Lee Historic Park marks the site of an important Revolutionary War encampment. It was a key defensive position used by the Continental Army in 1776 to protect the Hudson River from British forces.
Fort Lee, originallyFort Constitution, was aRevolutionary War-era fort located on the crest of theHudson Palisades in what was thenHackensack Township, New Jersey oppositeFort Washington at the northern end ofManhattan Island.
George Washington, then commander of theContinental Army, issued orders toGeneral Mercer to summon all available troops and erect a fort on the west side of the Hudson River. Construction commenced in July 1776[5] on the new fort, to be called Fort Constitution.[1]
The fort was located on the western side of the road that led up the hill from the landing. Concurrently, Fort Washington was being built almost directly across theNorth River (Hudson River) in New York.[6]Chevaux-de-frise, south of theHudson River Chain, were laid between them.[7]
These twin forts were intended to protect the lower Hudson from British warships. At first, efforts were concentrated close to the water level nearBurdett's Landing.[6] Later, fortifications were added atop the bluff under the supervision of Joseph Philips, Battalion Commander of the New Jersey State Militia.[1] The Bourdette's ferry service was taken over by the Army,[8] and Peter Bourdette was forced to vacate his house; although as a patriot he considered it no sacrifice and offered the work of his slaves to General Mercer's construction efforts.[6]
At the end of September 1776, Fort Constitution was renamed Fort Lee, forGeneral Charles Lee of theContinental Army.[1] George Washington used the stoneBourdette house for his headquarters when he passed time at Fort Lee.[1] At this stage of the war the ferry operated as a supply line and the only link between Forts Lee and Washington.[6][9]
| Battle of Fort Lee | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAmerican Revolutionary War | |||||||
 Watercolor by CaptainThomas Davies depicting the British landing at the base ofthe Palisades. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| George WashingtonNathanael Greene |  Charles Cornwallis Carl von Donop | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2,000 | 5,000 8 guns | ||||||
TheBattle of Fort Lee on November 19, 1776 marked the successful invasion of New Jersey by British and Hessian forces and the subsequent general retreat of theContinental Army during theAmerican Revolutionary War.
Peter Bourdette's sixteen-year-old son, also named Peter, provided assistance by direct use of the landing. During the week leading up to the evacuation of Fort Lee[6] he rowed back and forth across the river gathering information for General Washington on the anticipated movements of the British forces.[10] Well after dark on the night before the battle for New York at Fort Washington,George Washington was rowed from Burdett's Landing to the middle of theHudson River for a strategy session with his senior officers in charge of New York, who rowed to meet him.[8][11] On November 16, 1776, George Washington witnessed the battle for New York from across the river on the bluff of Fort Lee, above Burdett's Landing.[12]
Fort Lee was rendered defenseless afterContinental Army troops holding Fort Washingtonwere defeated and captured on November 16, 1776. The Royal Navy controlled theHudson River. GeneralWilliam Howe orderedCharles Cornwallis to "clear the rebel troops from New Jersey without a major engagement, and to do it quickly before the weather changed."[13]
The force includedHessian units commanded by ColonelCarl von Donop.[14] The invasion of New Jersey began the night of November 19, when 5,000 British troops were ferried across the Hudson on barges. British military Commander Lord Cornwallis landed a force of between 2,500 and 5,000 at what was sometimes known as the "Lower Closter Landing", later known as Huyler’s Landing or "Huyler's", on November 20, 1776.
In an effort to ambush Washington and crush the rebellion in the wake of the rebel's defeat in the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Fort Washington, Cornwallis marched his men up the cliffs of the Palisades via a rough path, and southward through the Northern Valley. The landing was long erroneously thought to have taken place at the Closter Landing in Alpine, then known as "Upper Closter Landing", and now the site of the Alpine Boat Basin and picnic area. The actual path used by the British later became a road used to bring farm goods from the Northern Valley to a dock at river level ("Huyler’s"), where there were also buildings until later in the 20th century.[15][16] The Park trail follows the old farmers' road from the Shore Trail at the bottom to the top, where it connects with the Long Path.
George Washington andNathanael Greene quickly ordered the evacuation of the fort on the morning of November 20, 1776.[17]
The soldiers then began a hasty retreat west, crossing theHackensack River atNew Bridge Landing and thePassaic River atAcquackanonk Bridge[18][19][20][21][22]
During Washington's retreat, which began along a road that is now Main Street,[23][24]Thomas Paine authored and published his pamphlet, "The American Crisis", in Philadelphia, which began with the famed phrase, "These are the times that try men's souls".[citation needed]
Fort Lee Museum is located in Monument Park. which was created by theDaughters of the American Revolution and dedicated in 1908 at ceremony attended by GeneralJohn "Black Jack" Pershing. The park was part of the original Fort Constitution of the Continental Army under the leadership of General George Washington. Over 2,600 troops were stationed in and around the Monument Park area.
In 2004, the park was reconstructed for the Fort Lee Centennial Celebration. Atime capsule was placed at the foot of the monument, to be opened at the Bicentennial Celebration in the year 2104. Monument Park and Continental Army Plaza inWilliamsburg, Brooklyn are the only parks in the United States dedicated to the soldiers of the American Revolution.[25][26][27][28]
Palisades Interstate Park Commission
