. There being still considerable uncertainty as to the
intentions of the enemy, all his arrangements were made accordingly.
All the troops belonging to the States west of the Hudson were to be
stationed in the Jerseys, under command of General Putnam. Lord
Stirling had already been sent forward with the Maryland and Virginia
troops to Peekskill, to cross the river at King's Ferry. Another
division, composed of Connecticut and Massachusetts troops, under
General Heath, was to co-operate with the brigade of New York militia,
under General George Clinton, in securing the Highland posts on both
sides of the river. The troops which would remain at Northcastle after
the departure of Heath and his division, were to be commanded by Lee.

On the 10th of November, Washington left the camp at Northcastle, at
11 o'clock, and arrived at Peekskill at sunset, whither General Heath
with his division had preceded him by a few hours. Lord Stirling was
there likewise, having effected the transportation of the Maryland and
Virginia troops across the river, and landed them at the ferry south
of Stony Point; though a better landing was subsequently found north
of the point. His lordship had thrown out a scouting party in the
advance, and a hundred men to take possession of a gap in the
mountain, through which a road passed toward the Jerseys. Washington
was now at the entrance of the Highlands, that grand defile of the
Hudson, the object of so much precaution and solicitude. On the
following morning, accompanied by Generals Heath, Stirling, James and
George Clinton, Mifflin, and others, he made a military visit in boats
to the Highland posts. Fort Montgomery was in a considerable state of
forwardness, and a work in the vicinity was projected to co-operate
with it. Fort Constitution commanded a sudden bend of the river, but
Lord Stirling, in his report of inspection, had intimated that the
fort itself was commanded by West Point opposite. A glance of the eye,
without going on shore, was sufficient to convince Washington of the
fact. A fortress subsequently erected on that point, has been
considered the Key of the Highlands.

On the morning of the 12th, at an early hour, Washington rode out with
General Heath to reconnoitre the east side of the Hudson, at the gorge
of the Highlands. Henry Wisner, in a report to the New York
Convention, had mentioned a hill to the north of Peekskill, so
situated, with the road winding along the side of it, tha