General Lee was left at North Castle Heights with seven thousand men to
watch the movements of the foe, while Washington followed after Putnam
to Hackensack. He was shortly recalled to the Hudson by a despatch
informing him that the British were before Fort Washington in
overwhelming force, and had demanded a surrender. Brave Colonel Magaw,
in command of the garrison, refused a reply until he had consulted his
superior officers, and as General Greene, in charge of both forts, was
of the opinion that they could be held, the result was the storming of
the fort and the loss of more than two thousand men.
The assault of the British, who had threatened to put the garrison to
the sword, was witnessed by Washington, Greene, and Putnam from the west
bank of the Hudson. Their distress may be imagined at beholding the
slaughter that ensued, and there must have been some searching
self-questioning by the Commander-in-Chief as to the wisdom of his
policy, by which his divided forces became such an easy prey to the foe.
Lee could hardly be induced to leave his secure retreat, from which he
departed only after repeated requests from Washington, whose great
reliance at this time was sturdy Israel Putnam.
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