2. Fort Washington
Fort Washington is commemorated by an ornate plaque in Bennet Park. It was constructed in June 1776 by a group of Pennsylvania troops and was described as an earthenwork fortress with no barracks, casemates, or water within the fort itself. The fort possessed between 20 and 30 cannons, which were primarily installed in order to keep British ships from sailing up the Hudson River. However, the armaments were unable to reach the River, so redoubts has to be constructed closer to its banks.
The fort did not last long under American control. On November 16, 1776, the British under Sir William Howe captured the fort, with the help of one of the first American traitors in the war, William Demont. In the nineteenth century, James Gordon Bennett, the publisher of the New York Herald built a house on the site, which is why today it is known as Bennet Park.