Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Clinton, Henry, Sir, 1730-1795 [Clerical copy of report on battle of Fort Montgomery]

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04768 Author/Creator: Clinton, Henry, Sir, 1730-1795 Place Written: Fort Montgomery, New York Type: Manuscript Date: 9 October 1777 Pagination: 11 p. : docket Height: 24.1 cm, Width: 19 cm Order a Copy

Report on General Clinton's feint northward up the Hudson in support of General John Burgoyne's southward thrust. But in the late summer and early fall of 1777 Clinton, who was given vague orders, decided not to move his forces against Albany, which was Burgoyne's destination, but to only create a diversion that extended little further than Kingston, about 40 miles south of Albany. In October, he moved up the east side of the Hudson and crossed to the west side at Stony Point. With a force of about 3,000, he moved north against the combined forces of about 600 Americans led by General George Clinton at Forts Clinton and Montgomery. The Americans held the forts until nightfall of 6 October, but after losing almost half of their defenders, they withdrew. On the margins of several pages are lists of units that fought in the engagements being reported upon. Also mentions several ships that were used earlier in the campaign.

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources