The battle started in Scarsdale, about one mile from Chatterton's Hill, when 1,700 to 2,500 American New England troops, under the command of Major General Joseph Canfield Spencer, tried to stop, near the Old York Road (now White Plains Post Road), the Hessian troops, under the command of Lieutenant General De Heister, that were advancing from Mamaroneck Road, but they were repulsed, with the help of the British 17th Light Dragoons, and 22 American troops were killed, 24 were wounded, and 1 was missing. The American troops scattered and some retreated across the Bronx River, near Mill Lane, to Chatterton's Hill, which is a very steep and wooded ridge about three quarters of a mile long and about 180 feet above the Bronx River, where the main American force had taken up defensive positions, under the command of Major General Alexander McDougall. Other American troops, under the command of Major General Israel Putnam and General George Washington, were in fortified positions, with artillery, on Purdy Hill and Hatfield Hill, which was under the command of General Heath, northeast of Chatterton's Hill, on the other side of the Bronx River, where it turned northward, and in front of Dobbs Ferry Road (now Battle Avenue) and the Road to Connecticut (now Lake Street). American troops also held a fortified Merritt Hill, which was across from Hatfield Hill.
THE
BATTLE OF WHITE PLAINS BEGAN IN SCARSDALE
THE
BATTLE OF WHITE PLAINS
LIVING
HISTORY 1776 MAP OF WHITE PLAINS
1776: WHITE
PLAINS AND THE FALL OF FORT WASHINGTON
THE
BATTLE FOR NEW YORK
NEW YORK FREEDOM TRAIL
MAJOR
GENERAL JOSEPH SPENCER
GENERAL
JOSEPH SPENCER
BRITISH SEVENTEENTH
REGIMENT OF LIGHT DRAGOONS, 1775-1783
Old York Road (now White Plains Post Road) in Scarsdale, near where the battle began, as viewed from the direction of the British and Hessian advance, down Mamaroneck Road. The Americans retreated in this direction, with the Hessians following them, all the way to Chatterton's Hill. This road now leads to the Scarsdale Police Station. Scarsdale was originally a manor that was owned by Caleb Heathcote, of Derbyshire, England, and it was granted this status, as the 6th manor in West Chester County and the 16th, and the last manor, that was granted by an English King, in this case, King William III of England, in the American Colonies, on March 21, 1701. Comprised of over 6,000 acres, it included what is now Scarsdale and Harrison, plus most of Mamaroneck and parts of North Castle, and was named after the area where he lived in Derbyshire, England. Though Caleb Heathcote was allowed to conduct court on his manor, he was not allowed to have the title of Lord, and, in 1711, he was the Mayor of West Chester and New York City, while his oldest brother, Gilbert Heathcote, was the Lord Mayor of London, England. |
Mamaroneck Road, as viewed from the direction of the American attack and retreat. |
Old York Road, in the direction of White Plains, which the British advanced down, under the command of Lieutenant General Leopold Philip De Heister, to Chatterton's Hill. A second column of British and Hessian troops, under the command of Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton, advanced down Old Mamaroneck Road, towards White Plains. |
Part of the Bronx River in Scarsdale, (which is now part of Hartsdale), looking towards White Plains, in the vicinity of the ford that the Hessians had crossed, near Mill Lane, on their way to Chatterton's Hill. |
The Hessians may have crossed a ford like this, across the Bronx River. |
