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WHITE PLAINS, BATTLE OF

WHITE PLAINS, BATTLE OF. The first military movement after the Battle of Harlem (16 September 1776) came when the British general William Howe moved his army up the East River to cut off General George Washington's communication with New England. His slow advance gave Washington time to move north and take up a strong position on the high north of White Plains, New York. On 28 October Howe sent a detachment to gain Chatterton Hill, but the American general Alexander McDougall gained the hill first and held it until British reinforcements forced a retreat to the village. The British suffered about three hundred casualties, the Americans more than two hundred. On the night of 31 October, Washington withdrew into the hills five miles to the northwest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kim, Sung Bok. "The Limits of Politicization in the American Revolution: The Experience of Westchester County, New York." The Journal of American History 80 (1993): 868–889.

Shy, John. A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976.

A. C. Flick/A. R.

See also Harlem, Battle of; Loyalists; New York City; New York State; Revolution, American: Military History.