Hello and welcome to a history of the United States. Episode 145, The Crisis. Last time out, we looked

at the prevalence of slavery in the United States during the revolutionary period, before

moving on to how the war was going in late 1776. The British landed in New York and pushed the Americans off Long Island,

then Manhattan. Washington's forces kept falling back, but British generalship was so poor

that they never pressed home their advantage and constantly allowed the Americans to work their way out of traps they had caught themselves in.

Eventually, the British decided to rethink their strategy.

Rather than attempting to push east to Rhode Island and Boston, General Howe would send Henry Clinton to capture Newport, and he himself would turn west.

Washington was greatly concerned by this turn of events.

Unsure of Howe's plans, Lee was left behind with a force to guard the entry into New England,

while he decided to cover

the Hudson and Gateway to New Jersey. He was thus course off guard when the British moved along

the New York side and took Fort Washington on November 16th. Washington realized that this made the fort on the New Jersey side of the river, Fort Lee,

vulnerable. But before the Americans could move, the British attacked with uncharacteristic speed.

Three days after taking Fort Washington, Lord Cornwallis crossed the Hudson and took Fort Lee.

Luckily for the Patriots, one of the American patrols spotted the British, allowing Commander

Nathaniel Green to flee, although 100 Americans were captured.

At this juncture, Henry Clinton urged that he be used in the Westwood campaign, either in an attack up the Chesapeake against Philadelphia or moving to trap Washington in New Jersey. But the house insisted that the British needed a port capable of docking their ships for the winter. So he ordered them

to stick to the plan and take Newport in Rhode Island. This was a simple enough task, and

Clinton promptly returned to London to see that his accomplishments were rewarded.

Meanwhile, Cornwallis continued where he left off. Washington's force, which had stood at

10,000 during the Battle of Long Island, was reduced to a broken and dispirited remnant of

3,000. The Americans fled, first to Newark, then New Brunswick. Seeing he was in dire straits, he urged Lee to cross the Hudson to join him, and requested

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