Between the hours of nightfall on the 31st of October and daybreak on the 1st of November, Washington retired to his new position in the North Castle hills, about a mile above his first stand, leaving, however, a tolerably strong force on the lines at White Plains, which held them for a number of hours on the 1st without suffering disturbance from the enemy, and then abandoned them to a party of Hessians that came over from In the inquiry instituted by parChatterton's Hill to occupy them.

FORT

WASHINGTON'S

FALL

of his as commander transactions Howe's concerning liament Majesty's forces in America, one of the witnesses (Lord Cornwallis)

on the very last day when he might nave tougnt \\ asnington unaer not extremely unfavorable conditions, Howe found it unpleasant to do so because of rain, as on the preceding days he had found it inexpedient because of fear. In such an emergency as the impending retirement of an inferior adversary to an unassailable position, one would think thai, oven if reduced to the necessity of ;i bayonet fight, the attacking general, unless blindly indifferent to his reputation, should not have hesitated to pursue that course rather than suffer the campaign to come to a humiliating end. finding that Washington had retired. General Howe, apparently with some realizing sense of his previous delinquency, and despite the continuance of the storm and the wretched condition of the roads, followed him to the North Castle position on November 1 with a portion of his artillery, and began to cannonade the American left, which replied with vigor. Little resulted from this performance on either side bin powder burning. Washington had already taken the precaution of preventing any attempt of the enemy to cut off his retreal north of the Croton Liver. As tin- reader doubtless knows, that stream, previously to the diversion of its waters for the uses of New York City, had a decidedly wide channel for a considerable distance from its mouth; and at the lime of the Revolution the only structure affording passage over it to the north was Line's Bridge, some live miles east of the Hudson River.1 There was a ferry at the mouth of the Croton, but of course it was essentially important to retain Line's Bridge.