Battle of White Plains–October 28, 1776

The Battle of White Plains, like so many others we’ve described, was technically a victory for the British, but the overall cost and/or final result leaves everyone wondering whether the win was worth it.

As we’ve noted repeatedly, the objective of all this activity in New York was for the British to take control of the Hudson Valley and the river all the way up to Canada, thus cutting New England off from the rest of the colonies and, in theory, making it impossible for Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Massachusetts to get any supplies without Britain’s permission. (Remember, Vermont and Maine weren’t states yet.)

And while the British won in Brooklyn, and then Manhattan, and again today at the Battle of White Plains, George Washington’s movements just kept moving the goalposts just a little further away. Washington probably should ahve moved west to get away from the British and regroup, but he chose instead to move north, essentially forcing the British to chase him again rather than just move in and do whatever they wanted to do.

As we move into the last couple of months of this podcast, we will return to this activity a few times before we’re done. So, stick around!

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