Battle Of Stony Point Essay

Battle of Stony Point Stony Point is a rocky promontory that juts about a half mile into the Hudson River about seven miles south of West Point. It, and another small fortress across the river at Verplanck’s Point, effectively controlled the King’s Ferry crossing site. Only lightly fortified by the patriots, both sites were attacked and captured by the British in late May of 1779 and heavily fortified. Due to having three sides protected by water and steep cliffs, Stony Point was believed impregnable when properly fortified and manned with an adequate force. Although Washington was reluctant to be drawn into a major battle, he ordered Brigadier General “Mad Anthony” Wayne to retake Stony Point by stealth. Wayne took a well-trained force

It was here that Washington created the Badge of Military Merit for enlisted soldiers and noncommissioned officers who demonstrated courage and valor in actions against the enemy (August 1782). After World War I, this early decoration was resurrected as the Purple Heart, now awarded to all members of the armed forces killed or wounded in action. Here Washington also prepared his speech to quell the incipient officer mutiny over Congressional delays in providing pay and pensions (March 1783). His extemporaneous comment as he donned his eyeglasses in public for the first time ("You see, gentlemen, that I have not only grown gray but blind in your service"), however, probably was as effective as the speech he had prepared and read with those eyeglasses. Finally, he wrote a letter to the governors of the new states setting forth his philosophy for a federal republic (June 1783). It was also during this time that he wrote a reply to a letter from Colonel Lewis Nicola rejecting his suggestion, made on behalf of a number of Continental officers, that Washington be made king of the newly independent