Chaining the Hudson

Early in the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress realized that British control of the Hudson River could divide the rebellious colonies. To prevent this, in march 1776 the Americans began construction of Fort Montgomery above Popolopen Creek on the west side of the Hudson River. The work soon expanded to include Fort Clinton on the south side of the creek and a massive iron chain stretched across the Hudson River. Lieutenant Thomas Machin, one of the Continental Army's most able engineers, directed work on the forts and the chain. During two separate attempts, the chain quickly broke under the strain of the ebb tide, but Machin had the damage repaired and successfully stretched it across the river in March 1777. British ships never tested the chain; instead, the British captured the forts on October 6, 1777 and cut the chain the following day.

Cortlandt, New York · United States