Harlem Heights

The buckwheat field that saw the heaviest fighting during the Battle of Harlem Heights fought on September 16, 1776, is now the location of Columbia and Barnard Universities, bisected by Broadway, in New York City. This American victory gave the Patriot forces a brief but sorely needed boost of morale as British forces fought their way into New York. American forces abandoned the city and retreated into New Jersey by the end of the following month.

Today, there are two markers to commemorate the battle. The first is located on the side of one of Columbia University’s buildings on Broadway and depicts two soldiers, Andrew Leitch and Thomas Knowlton, who died during the battle in a bronze bas relief. The second is a stone tablet two blocks away on Riverside Drive erected by the Daughters of the Defenders of the Republic.