Battle of Young's House

Following the British Army's successful occupation of New York City in 1776, the second year of the American Revolutionary War, the areas north of the city that were between the American and British lines became a no-man's land known as the Neutral Ground. These areas, which included Westchester County, New York, and Greenwich, Connecticut, were frequently the site of raiding actions between the combatants. At the end of 1779, this no man's land included Tarrytown and White Plains. The American lines were not far north of this area, extending into Mount Pleasant. Joseph was a pre-war tenant farmer of Frederick Philipse III, the last lord of Philipsburg Manor. == Battle ==

Possibly in retaliation for a raid in January 1780 by the Americans against a British outpost at Kingsbridge, the British decided to make a raid on the outpost at Youngs House. On the night of February 2, 1780, Lieutenant Colonel Chapple Norton and a mixed force left the heights near Fort Knyphausen (as the British called Fort Washington). The force consisted of four flank companies from the 1st and 2nd Brigade of Guards, 100 Hessians from two regiments stationed at Kingsbridge, a company of 40 mounted Loyalist led by James DeLancey, and parties of mounted and unmounted Hessian jägers, numbering in total between five and six hundred men. They brought with them two small field pieces, and set out in sleighs owing to deep snow. However, both the sleighs and the field pieces were left behind when it was found that the men moved more quickly on foot. Because of the difficult conditions (including snow as much as deep) the expedition did not reach the American lines until 9 am on February 3, 1780. The outpost at Youngs house was the central point for a garrison that guarded a portion of the American line extending about westward toward the Hudson River and a slightly longer distance to the east. The 250-man garrison consisted of five companies drawn from the Massachusetts 1st, 3rd, 9th, 14th, and 15th Regiments, and were under the overall command of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Thompson. Shortly before the British arrived, a local man warned Thompson that a large number of British were on the way. Thompson apparently discounted the reported size of the force, since he only sent out messengers to recall the four companies out on guard duty. == Aftermath ==

76 American soldiers were captured by the British included Lieutenant Colonel Thompson, Captain Watson, and Captain-Lieutenant Farley, while 17 wounded Americans were left behind. The prisoners were taken to Kingsbridge. Youngs bought his tenant farm after the Revolution, and it was later sold to Isaac Van Wart, one of the Westchester militiamen who captured the British intelligence officer, Major John André, on September 23, 1780, in nearby Tarrytown. André was later convicted and executed as a spy. Four Corners is mentioned in James Fenimore Cooper's 1821 novel, “The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground,” as the setting for Elizabeth Flanagan’s Tavern, where the spy, Harvey Birch, is held by Continental militia. The original house no longer stands; the site eventually became part of the Westchester Community College campus. A stone memorial for the soldiers killed in the battle is located near the battle site in Valhalla, where the skeletal remains of several American and British combatants, uncovered in 1921, were reburied. The inscription reads: "Here rest the remains of Soldiers of the Continental Army who fell February 3, 1780 in the gallant defence of Young’s Corners. Buried with several of their opponents in this vicinity. They are interred on the field of conflict beneath this memorial." ==References==