Fort Lee Historic Park
From here, in November 1776, Washington pulled his army out of danger
The story
Before you is Fort Lee Historic Park, on top of the Palisades above the Hudson. In the summer of 1776, the Americans built a fort here. At first they called it Fort Constitution; later it was renamed for General Charles Lee. Across the river, on the high ground of Manhattan, stood Fort Washington, where Washington Heights is today. The two forts were meant to keep the British fleet from sailing up the river. On November 16, 1776, Fort Washington fell. More than three thousand Americans were taken prisoner. Four days later, the British general Cornwallis sent five thousand soldiers across the Hudson a few miles to the north. Washington ordered an immediate retreat. Most of the cannons and supplies had to be left behind. These were some of the darkest days of the War of Independence. They led Thomas Paine to write: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” At the south end of the park there is a reconstructed encampment with an officers’ hut, and the visitor center tells the story of 1776.
Visiting
The entrance is on Hudson Terrace in Fort Lee, opposite Bruce Reynolds Boulevard. The grounds are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and from November through March until 7 p.m. The visitor center is open from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; from November through March, Wednesday through Sunday. Parking is metered.
On the trail
- The Palisades: Carpenter’s Loop — 2.8 miles (4.5 km), loop, about 1.5 h
Sources
- Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey — Fort Lee Historic Park: the fort in 1776, hours, metered parking, Carpenter’s Loop
- Wikipedia (EN) — Fort Lee Historic Park
- Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey — map and description of Carpenter’s Loop from Fort Lee Historic Park (2023)
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