Actions near New York City 

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Route to NEW YORK Encampment Jul 2 -- They next stayed at Bedford (14 miles via Ridgebury Road south to Wallace Road, west to North Salem, and south on Rt 121). No plan of the bivouack is available. The Second Brigade skipped the Bedford camp. Lauzun's hussars participated in an aborted coordinated attack (with Gen. Benjamin Lincoln) on British posts at the northern tip of Manhattan Island. Jul 3-6 -- The troops marched 5 miles via State Rts 172 and 117 and stayed several days at New Castle (North Castle). This is now the Leonard Park - Northern Westchester Hospital area of Mount Kisco. [See The Westchester Historian, Fall 1981.] The troops then marched 16 miles west via Rt 133 and south via Route 100 through Hawthorne to Philipsburg (now the Ardsley / Hartsdale area). [See The Westchester Historian, Fall 1981.] A Note about "Official" W3R Routes

Portion of the W3R Campsite map developed for the National Park Service 2000-2005 study of significance, feasibility and environmental impact.

Jul 5 - Aug 19 -- The troops spent six weeks in several campsites around Philipsburg (now the Ardsley / Hartsdale area). Rochambeau was quartered at the Odell farm, at 425 Ridge Road, Hartsdale NY. This is still standing and is used as a museum. Washington's headquarters were where the Ardsley High School now stands. Maj. Gen. Chastellux stayed at a house that is still standing on Healy Ave. South (Scarsdale NY) near the eastern border of the Sunningdale Country Club. "First Amphibious Assault against the English" by David R. Wagner (used with the artist's permission) General Clinton Waffles: The allied commanders studied the disposition of British troops and defenses in the New York area and considered how they might use their combined army of 9,000 men to attack and dislodge British Gen. Clinton and his 14,000 troops from New York City. There seemed to be no promising options. However, the proximity of such a large enemy force led Clinton to ask Cornwallis      --- first (July 8) to send 3,000 troops to Philadelphia (so Cornwallis moved his army toward Portsmouth VA)      --- then (July 12) to send them to New York,      --- then (July 20) to keep them in Virginia so as to hold a naval station that would allow Cornwallis to receive relief troops from a British fleet. At this point Cornwallis moved to take and hold Yorktown. Shipping Gold to Finance a Global War: During this time French Admiral de Grasse was in the Carribean, engaging the British fleet there and gathering the supplies needed for the trip north. In order to save the trouble of Spain shipping gold from South American across the ocean to Spain and then France shipping gold across the ocean to the Carribean the French and Spanish devised an interesting scheme. The French fleet would borrow gold from Spanish merchants in Cuba to buy supplies from Spanish merchants in the Carribean and then the French government would repay the debts by sending gold across the Pyrenees to the merchants' families in Spain. This avoided the risk that the ships carrying the gold might being captured by the British as it crossed the ocean twice -- going from France to the Carribean to buy the goods and then going back to Spain as profit from the suppliers in the Carribean. The French Navy Determines the Objective: On Aug 14 Washington and Rochambeau were informed that French Admiral de Grasse was leaving the Carribean and would arrive off the Chesapeake Bay in late August with 28 warships and 3,000 troops. He would not come as far north as New York, and he would leave by Oct 15 for the West Indies to avoid the hurricanes and the winter storm season. This limitation on the location and timing of the naval support that was key to a victory made it clear that any plans for attacking New York must be abandoned in favor of the option of trapping and defeating British General Cornwallis and his 7,000 troops on the Yorktown peninsula. Washington and Rochambeau sent word to Admiral de Grasse of this plan and asked Admiral de Barras to sail from Newport to the Chesapeake Bay with the French siege artillery and the reserve provisions. Washington sent his map makers south to map out the NY to VA portion of the route, and the field officers of both armies were told to prepare to break camp and march.

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