The Battle of White Plains took place during the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War on October 28, 1776, near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward from New York City, British General William Howe landed troops in Westchester County, intending to cut off Washington's escape route. Alerted to this move, Washington retreated farther, establishing a position in the village of White Plains but failing to establish firm control over local high ground. Howe's troops drove Washington's troops from a hill near the village; following this loss, Washington ordered the Americans to retreat farther north.
Battle of White Plains Historic Site
The Elijah Miller House, which served as George Washington's headquarters in White Plains
Mezzotint artist rendition of General Howe, by Charles Corbutt, c. 1777
~ Battle of White Plains ~ 150th Anniversary Issue of 1926
New York and New Jersey campaign
The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between British forces under General Sir William Howe and the Continental Army under General George Washington. Howe was successful in driving Washington out of New York, but overextended his reach into New Jersey, and ended the New York and New Jersey campaign in January 1777 with only a few outposts near New York City under British control. The British held New York Harbor for the rest of the Revolutionary War, using it as a base for expeditions against other targets.
George Washington, a 1776 portrait by Charles Willson Peale
Admiral Richard Howe, from a mezzotint engraving by R. Dunkarton, after the painting by John Singleton Copley
General William Howe, 1777 mezzotint
The Battle of Long Island, 1776, an 1858 portrait by Alonzo Chappel, featuring Lord Stirling in the background leading an attack against the British in order to enable the retreat of other troops in the foreground across a mill pond to Brooklyn Heights.