Part 3

Within a few weeks of the Declaration of Independence, General Howe landed some 31,000 troops.  The soldiers were mostly English although a strong contingent of German mercenaries (Hessians) accompanied the British army.  With help from loyalist guides, part of the force outmaneuvered Washington at Jamaica pass and the Continentals barely escaped to Manhattan intact.  The people in New York learned to doubt the final outcome of the war.
 
Throughout the Fall of 1776 Washington suffered defeat after defeat in the campaign for control of New York.  First the landing at Kip’s bay then on to Harlem Heights.  Soon the Continental Army had retreated right into the center of WestChester County and taken positions in the three hills above White Plains. 
 
The battle opened with a British artillery barrage against the high center of the Continental line effectively covering the patriot positions.  Even with this advantage the initial assault failed to dislodge the Delaware line holding the high ground on Chatterain Hill.  Unfortunately for the patriots, Hessian troops under Rahl succeeded in their flanking movement against some New York militia who fled rather than face the steel of German bayonets.  Now exposed from the rout on their left, the Delaware and Maryland regulars on Chatterain moved down the hillsides and retreated from the area.
 
Unfortunately for the local citizens, the patriot army burned the village of White Plains on the way out of town.  Even though Major Austin was later court martialed for allowing homes burned and women cast out unsheltered, the damage was done.  Citizens of Westchester County now proved fertile recruiting ground for many loyalist regiments that would serve all over the colonies.  The loyalists (and many who might not otherwise be loyalists) of Westchester watched as the Continental Army systematically took all the cattle, swine, horses, and produce they could lay hands on away with them to New Jersey.  Protests were ignored and all was paid for with paper notes of little value to anyone.  No known record exists of Stephen Dusenberry’s first enlistment but his unit, the New York Volunteers came into being early in 1777 and he was certainly among the initial recruits.      
 
With the Continental retreat, Howe turned his attention back to Fort Washington and literally overran that defensive position with an attack from all sides.  Seeing the hopelessness of continued defense, the patriots abandoned Fort Lee on the other side of the Hudson.  Howe had consolidated his hold and established New York City as the British base of operations. 
 
The White Plains battle established a type of no-man’s land in Westchester county.  The Continental Army pulled back from White Plains with the bulk heading west with Washington for New Jersey.  The British consolidated into New York with outlying posts extending right to the center of the county.
  

elijahchapman American History, American Revolution, General History