American Redoubt Marker, ca. 1910-1919.

The American Redoubt Marker commemorates the redoubt of Fort Washington, which was the site of an important defeat of the Continental Army on November 16th, 1776. It was the last stronghold against the British on the Island of Manhattan until the end of the Revolutionary War.

A redoubt, from the Latin word meaning refuge or retreat, is a temporary defensive encampment outside of a smaller fort. This particular redoubt served Fort Washington, located on Manhattan's highest point in present-day Bennett Park. The stone uses the antiquated spelling of "redout."

It was on this site that British and Hessian troops defeated the Continental Army at the Battle of Fort Washington. George Washington retreated from the battle to Fort Lee across the water in New Jersey. Almost 3,000 of his soldiers were captured, though Washington would go on to defeat the Hessian garrison in Trenton, and the British at Princeton later that year. Seven years later, the Continental Army would reclaim this fort on Evacuation Day on November 25th, 1783.

This redoubt marker was sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution.