Battle of White Plains
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Search complete. 9 mentions across 8 episodes found for "Battle of White Plains".
Sep 18, 2026
Kalyn AndrewsHOST
Yes.
Kalyn AndrewsHOST
The New York Historical Society also points out that Irving could have been inspired by an actual Hessian soldier who was decapitated by cannibal during the Battle of White Plains around Halloween in 1776, which is just exactly on the nose.
Kalyn AndrewsHOST
I
Christian Baxter MottHOST
did hear that that may have been a true thing.
Kalyn AndrewsHOST
Is this verifiable? Like how how how in reality are we with this idea? Or do we just
Christian Baxter MottHOST
want it to be true, you know?
Kalyn AndrewsHOST
right did we just all collectively decide that credibility to could have happened uh so the area that was south of the bronx river was abandoned by the continental army and occupied by the british after the battle of white plains in october of 1776 there were still fights and screaming you know everybody was still fighting it wasn't just hey the war's over didn't really work like that um and the americans were couldn't just send
Christian Baxter MottHOST
a text message you mean and just let everybody know they couldn't just
speaker_2NARRATOR
Washington's headquarters at White Plains.
speaker_2NARRATOR
Here, 22 miles northeast of New York City, Washington made his headquarters in October 1776 and directed the Battle of White Plains, or Chatterton Hill.
speaker_2NARRATOR
Opposed to the American forces was a British army greatly superior in numbers under General Howe, whose delay in attaching the Americans enabled Washington to take up an unassailable position at North Castle preparatory to his subsequent masterly retreat across New Jersey.
speaker_2NARRATOR
End of Chapter 5 Chapter 6 of the Life of Washington, Volume 2 by John Marshall.
Timothy BreenGUEST
I mean, Henley and his brother came from Charleston across the river, and his brother had been much more famous, and they're both very brave.
Timothy BreenGUEST
And the brother was killed in action in the Battle of White Plains area.
Timothy BreenGUEST
And when he was killed, he was killed because some of the Americans' dereliction of duty, they ran and left him exposed.
Timothy BreenGUEST
And Washington Row Letters said that Thomas Henley was one of the greatest soldiers Americans had.
Christopher HaltonNARRATOR
The term Hessian itself comes from the German state of Hesse, which provided a significant number of soldiers for hire to various European powers during the 18th century.
Christopher HaltonNARRATOR
The connection between the Hessian soldiers and the ghostly legends began with the Battle of White Plains in October of 1776, during which Hessian troops clashed with American forces in present-day Westchester County, New York.
Christopher HaltonNARRATOR
Reports and folklore emerged from this time of decapitated Hessian soldiers, their restless spirits haunting battlefields and wooded areas where they fell.
Christopher HaltonNARRATOR
One of the most enduring legends centers around a Hessian artilleryman who met a grisly end at the hands of American forces near Sleepy Hollow.
Dan SnowHOST
But again, the Americans have got a lot of real estate behind them.
Dan SnowHOST
The Battle of White Plains was a British victory, but a very unsatisfactory one.
Dan SnowHOST
Washington withdrew in decent order.
Dan SnowHOST
He dug in again at North Castle Heights.
SteveHOST
As a matter of fact, I'm in White Plains, where my office is.
SteveHOST
I mean, the Battle of White Plains was a famous battle when he was retreating.
SteveHOST
The Great Retreat, or redeployment, as some would say.
SteveHOST
We should
Bill VivianNARRATOR
From short courses in American history during their high school years, the average person has acquired a superficial acquaintance with the movement and involvement of the main armies in that conflict, clustered about a series of battles which historians have described as significant or decisive.
Bill VivianNARRATOR
Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, the Siege of Boston, Montreal, and Quebec in 1775, the British evacuation of Boston, the Battle of Long Island, the British occupation of New York, Valcour Island, White Plains, Fort Washington, Washington's retreat across the New Jersey, the Battle of Trenton, all in 1776.
Bill VivianNARRATOR
Princeton, Danbury, Oriskany, Bennington, Brandywine, Saratoga, Germantown and the terrible winter at Valley Forge in 1777.
Bill VivianNARRATOR
The British evacuation of Philadelphia, the battles of Manmouth Courthouse, Newport Rhode Island, Stony Point and Savannah in 1778.
speaker_3HOST
cannonball.During a nameless battle
speaker_2HOST
But the source material points out that Irving is almost certainly referencing the very real Battle of White Plains
speaker_3HOST
Which took place in 1776 just a few miles from Tarrytown
speaker_2HOST
So grounding a supernatural myth in the muddy, bloody reality of the Revolutionary War, that is Irving's absolute masterstroke