FORT LEE AND WASHINGTON’S RETREAT

Fort Lee and Washington’s retreat

In the autumn of the Revolutionary War, George Washington’s army reeled from defeat around New York City. On November 20th, British and Hessian forces crossed the Hudson River and moved against Fort Lee, a small American position intended to block enemy shipping. Realizing he could not hold the post without risking encirclement, Washington ordered a rapid evacuation, abandoning guns and supplies but saving most of his soldiers. The withdrawal triggered a bitter retreat across New Jersey, with British forces in pursuit and Patriot morale at a low ebb. Yet preserving the core of the Continental Army made later counterstrokes at Trenton and Princeton possible, showing that sometimes survival and mobility are more decisive than standing on doomed ground.