against four different points, but that which bore the
brunt of the fighting, and to which the glory of the
day belonged, was composed of Hessians under
Knyphausen. This force crossed over to New York island
by Kings Bridge at half-past five in the morning,
and was divided into two columns, the right-hand
one under Colonel Rall, the left under Major-general
Schmidt. In this column Wiederhold was with the
advanced guard. For a long time the Germans had
to stand quiet, while the English columns got into
position and began the attack. Meanwhile Cornwallis
had taken the American battery on Laurel Hill. Earl
Percy, with two English and one Hessian brigade, had
threatened the American works on the south, and
Colonel Sterling, with the Highlanders, had crossed
Harlem River behind the force opposed to Percy, and
threatened to cut off its retreat. In doing this the
Highlanders had to charge up a steep bank, and lost
about ninety men. Colonel Cadwalader, who
commanded the Americans in this neighborhood, had been
obliged to retreat, and his men, instead of rallying
outside of Fort Washington itself, had rushed into the
narrow enclosure, impeding the defensive operations
of its proper garrison.
It was between ten and eleven o'clock. The moment for the Hessians to attack had come at last. They waded through a marsh, and climbed the precipitous, rocky hill on which the fort was built. In vain did the riflemen shoot them down. In vain did the artillery rain grape and ball among them. Knyphausen, himself, was continually in the thickest of the fight, “so that it is wonderful,” writes Wiederhold,
