Who won the Battle of White Plains?

The British. Howe's troops took Chatterton's Hill on 28 October 1776 and drove the Americans off it. But Washington withdrew his army intact a few days later, so it was a tactical British win rather than a decisive one; Britannica calls it an indecisive action forcing American withdrawal.

Why was the Battle of White Plains important?

Because the Continental Army survived it. Howe gained ground but not the destruction of Washington's army, and he turned back to capture Fort Washington instead. The army that escaped White Plains won at Trenton and Princeton that winter, which kept the Revolution alive.

How many soldiers died at the Battle of White Plains?

No exact figure exists. The American Battlefield Trust counts 50 American and 47 British and Hessian dead, within total casualties of about 450 on both sides. Other historians give different numbers, especially for American losses, so all figures are estimates.

Where was the Battle of White Plains fought?

Around the village of White Plains in Westchester County, New York, north of Manhattan. The main fighting was on Chatterton's Hill, a ridge west of the Bronx River on the right of the American lines.

What happened after the Battle of White Plains?

Washington withdrew to the hills near North Castle on the night of 31 October. Howe turned south and took Fort Washington on 16 November. The Americans then retreated across New Jersey into Pennsylvania before striking back at Trenton on 26 December 1776.

Battle of White Plains 1776: Who Won and Why It Mattered

At a glance

Date	28 October 1776
Where	Chatterton's Hill and the American lines at White Plains, Westchester County, New York
Result	British victory; the American army withdrew intact
American command	George Washington; on the hill Alexander McDougall and John Haslet
British command	William Howe; in the assault Alexander Leslie, Carl von Donop, Johann Rall
Armies	American about 14,000; British and Hessian 10,000 to 15,000
Engaged on the hill	American about 3,100; British and Hessian 4,000 to 7,500 (estimates vary)
American losses	217 in the American Battlefield Trust count; other estimates 150 to 500
British and Hessian losses	233 in the same count; older tallies up to 313
What followed	Fort Washington fell on 16 November; Trenton, 26 December

Quick answer

The Battle of White Plains was fought on 28 October 1776 in Westchester County, New York. William Howe's British and Hessian troops stormed Chatterton's Hill and forced George Washington's army back, a British victory. But Washington withdrew his army intact days later, so Howe's chance to end the war in New York slipped away.

On the morning of 28 October 1776, British and Hessian columns marched from their camp at Scarsdale toward a small Westchester village where George Washington had dug in. By the end of the day they held Chatterton's Hill, the high ground on his right. It was one more defeat in a season of defeats for the Continental Army.

Yet White Plains is remembered less for what was lost than for what was not. Within days Washington slipped away to higher ground with his army intact. It is rarely ranked among the greatest battles of the American Revolution, but without it the winter victories that followed could not have happened.

Howe took the hill. Washington kept the army.

Part of The greatest battles of the American Revolution · Before: The Battle of Long Island · Next: The Fall of Fort Washington

The road from Long Island

The New York campaign went badly for the Americans from the start. After their defeat at the Battle of Long Island on 27 August, Washington's troops escaped across the East River on the night of 29 to 30 August. On 15 September British troops landed on Manhattan at Kip's Bay, and the next day the Americans checked them at Harlem Heights.

Rather than attack the American works on Harlem Heights, General William Howe tried to go around them. He moved most of his army into Westchester County by water, landing at Throg's Neck on 12 October and then at Pell's Point on 18 October. The danger was plain: a British force on the mainland could trap the Americans on Manhattan. Washington left a garrison in Fort Washington, his main stronghold on the island, and marched most of his men north to White Plains, where the army kept its supplies.

Colonel Rufus Putnam, Washington's engineer, had scouted the British advance on 20 October, and there the army dug two lines of entrenchments on raised ground north of the village. They were hasty works: some soldiers later claimed the breastworks were made mostly of cornstalks. Washington made his headquarters at the Elijah Miller House in North White Plains on 23 October.

Engraved map of southern Westchester County showing troop positions between Throg's Neck and White Plains in October 1776 — Map of the Westchester campaign drawn by Samuel Lewis and engraved by Benjamin Jones, published in 1807. It shows the positions of the American and British armies from the British landing on 12 October 1776 to the engagement at White Plains on the 28th. CC0

The fight for Chatterton's Hill

Chatterton's Hill rose west of the Bronx River, the far right flank of the American lines¹, overlooking the plain the British would have to cross. When word came on 28 October that the British were advancing, Washington sent Colonel John Haslet's 1st Delaware Regiment and Brigadier General Alexander McDougall's brigade, with Continental regiments from New York, Connecticut and Maryland, to hold it. Troops under General Joseph Spencer went forward to delay the enemy. They traded fire, then fell back to the hill.

Howe's army, 10,000 to 15,000 strong by Britannica's estimate², halted in front of the American lines. Hessian guns opened on the hill, and the militia behind its stone walls endured a fierce cannonade. Howe then sent between 4,000 and 7,500 men by different estimates³ against roughly 3,100 Americans⁴. A British column under General Alexander Leslie crossed the river and charged up the slope, Hessian grenadiers under Colonel Carl von Donop came on in the centre, and Colonel Johann Rall's Hessian regiment struck the American right flank.

The British were met by determined musketry as they climbed. But Rall's attack broke the militia on the right flank, and the Continental regiments, their flank now open, began a fighting retreat. Haslet's Delawares guarded the rear of the withdrawal⁴ and were among the last to leave the hill. Britannica calls it a brief, sharp action, and by its end the hill was in British hands.

Hand-drawn 1776 map of the hills along the Bronx River at White Plains with British, Hessian and rebel positions — Sketch of the White Plains by Captain Charles Blaskowitz, a British manuscript map of 1776 in pen, ink and watercolour. It marks the Bronx River, the field of action and the positions of British, Hessian and American troops around Chatterton's Hill. Public domain

The American view

For the Americans, White Plains was a defeat, but a limited one. Only part of the army had fought, and the main lines in front of the village were never stormed. The Continental regiments on the hill, among them Haslet's Delawares and William Smallwood's Marylanders, had faced British and Hessian regulars and withdrawn in order. The militia's flight under artillery fire was a reminder of how fragile short-service troops could be. Losses are uncertain: the American Battlefield Trust counts 217 killed, wounded and missing⁴, while historians' estimates run from about 150 to 500³. Washington's priority was the army rather than the hill, and the army was still there.

The British and Hessian view

For Howe, the day was a clear tactical success. His troops had taken the high ground that commanded the American right, and the Hessians had delivered the decisive blow. The price was real: the American Battlefield Trust counts 233 British and Hessian casualties⁴, while older tallies run as high as 313³, though that figure folds in Hessian losses from the days before the battle. Howe then waited for reinforcements under Lord Percy, who arrived on 30 October. Heavy rain delayed his next move, and when he was ready the Americans had gone. Historians have long debated whether this caution cost Britain its best chance to destroy the Continental Army in 1776, or whether Howe was right not to attack fortified hills head on.

Why White Plains mattered

On the night of 31 October Washington pulled back to the hills near North Castle, taking roughly 14,000 men to more secure ground². Howe did not follow. Instead he turned south against Fort Washington, the last American stronghold on Manhattan, and on 16 November took it with about 2,800 men inside⁵. Fort Lee across the Hudson was abandoned four days later, and the army retreated across New Jersey, crossing the Delaware into Pennsylvania in early December.

That is why White Plains matters. Howe won the field but did not destroy the army, and an army that survived could strike back. On 26 December Washington crossed the Delaware again and fell on the Hessian garrison at Trenton, commanded by the same Johann Rall who had led the attack on Chatterton's Hill. Rall was mortally wounded at Trenton⁶. On 3 January 1777 came Princeton. For George Washington, White Plains was part of the hard lesson of 1776: keeping the army alive mattered more than holding any single hill.

Engraving of boats full of soldiers landing beneath tall wooded cliffs, with a column climbing a path up the cliff — Landing of the British forces in the Jerseys, 20 November 1776: a 19th-century engraving of British troops coming ashore below the Palisades of the Hudson and climbing the cliffs on their way to Fort Lee, four days after the fall of Fort Washington. Public domain

If you visit

Two houses linked to the campaign survive. The Jacob Purdy House, now at 60 Park Avenue in White Plains, is home to the White Plains Historical Society. Washington used it as headquarters in 1778 and possibly during the battle⁷ in 1776; some historians favour the Miller House for 1776. The society has compiled a partial list of soldiers present at or near the battle⁸, and it holds an anniversary commemoration at the house each year. The Elijah Miller House in North White Plains, Washington's headquarters from 23 October, is owned by Westchester County. Chatterton's Hill still rises west of the Bronx River. Check the society's website for opening times; for other anniversaries, see On This Day in Military History.

The Battle of White Plains, 28 October 1776: the hill Howe took and the army he lost