Stony Point Battlefield

Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site
P.O. Box 182
Stony Point, NY 10980
(845) 786-2521

The Hudson River Valley was one of the major regions of conflict during the American Revolution. The British controlled New York City, and wanted to draw General George Washington’s Continental Army out of their mountain garrisons and into open battle. In the spring of 1779 they seized King’s Ferry, a major river crossing at a narrow point in the river, about 10 miles south of West Point and 35 miles north of New York City.

On the western side of that river crossing they established fortifications on a high spot overlooking the river called Stony Point, just north of the present-day town of Stony Point in Rockland County, NY.

Washington created a plan for a midnight attack that exploited a fatal flaw in the fortifications. The wooden abatis along the southern shore of the point was not extended into the deep water of the Hudson and could be outflanked by attackers along a narrow beach at low tide. The main attack was along this approach, with secondary and diversionary attacks from the north shore and from across the causeway towards the center.

Commanded by Major General Anthony Wayne of Pennsylvania, the action lasted 25 minutes and was over by 1 a.m. The Battle of Stony Point proved to be the major engagement of 1779, and was one of the last major Revolutionary War battles in the northern theater.

The site is now managed by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and features a museum containing exhibits on the battle and on the Stony Point Lighthouse (built in 1826), as well as reenactments highlighting 18th century military life, cannon and musket firings, cooking demonstrations and activities for children.

A rifleman. The rifle was accurate from long-range but slow to reload, therefore of limited use on the smoke-filled battlefields where visibility was limited in any case. It was used by soldiers who brought them from home.

A musketman. The musket was mass manufactured and supplied to soldiers. In comparison with the rifle it was inaccurate but quick to reload.

During the Revolutionary War, thousands of women took an active role in both the American and British armies. Know as camp followers, most were the wives or daughters of officers or soldiers, and they tended to laundering and mending clothing, cooking meals and nursing the wounded. On the march, they carried pots, pans and other personal belongings. Also accompanying the troops were civilian drivers and merchants, as well as members of the clergy. At the Battle of Stony Point, fifty two women with the British garrison were captured by the American Corps of Light Infantry. Shown here is a reenactment of a British camp follower casting pewter in order to make bullets.

A replica of one of the cannons that the British moved to the fortification after the spot was captured. Cannons were placed on platforms of a length equal (at least) to the distance that the cannon would recoil after firing. The muzzle needed to be cleaned of powder after each firing. No cannonball was used in this demonstration, just powder. We were told to cover our ears and keep our mouths open (in order to let pressurized air escape) when the firing occurred, and the actors used earplugs.

The Stony Point Lighthouse is part of the State Historic Site. Constructed in 1826, it was the first lighthouse on the Hudson River, marking the location of the rocky Stony Point peninsula. The completion of the Erie Canal the previous year had dramatically increased traffic on the Hudson River, creating the need for navigational aids. The 30 foot tall octagonal tower has three stories and a basement, which was used to store whale oil.

A wooden fog bell tower was built at the lighthouse station in 1857, but in 1876 the fog bell was moved from the tower and attached to the lighthouse. In 1890 another fog bell tower was built, this time near the river’s edge.