Battle of White Plains

After escaping from Manhattan, Washington positioned his army at White Plains in Westchester County, attempting to maintain a position threatening British flanks while protecting the Hudson Highlands. Howe moved to attack in late October with 13,000 men. The battle focused on Chatterton Hill, a prominent height on the American right flank west of the Bronx River. Washington posted about 1,600 men there including two cannon.

The British assault was led by Hessian troops who stormed up the steep slope under fire from the American defenders. The fighting was intense. American troops fought well initially but were eventually flanked and driven from the height by superior numbers and a Hessian cavalry charge — one of the few cavalry actions of the war. Washington withdrew northward. Howe declined to pursue.

The White Plains campaign demonstrated the consistent pattern of Howe's generalship: solid tactical performance that repeatedly failed to deliver the decisive blow that could have ended the war. Washington lost every major battle in the New York Campaign, yet his army survived — which was itself a form of victory. The ability of the Continental Army to absorb defeat after defeat while maintaining its organizational coherence and the loyalty of its soldiers was perhaps Washington's greatest achievement of 1776.