The Hudson River Chain may refer to any of several chains used as a blockade across the Hudson River intended to prevent British naval vessels from proceeding up the river during the American Revolutionary War.
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In the spring of 1778, the most notable of all these obstructions, a heavy chain supported by huge logs, was stretched across the Hudson from West Point to Constitution Island, opposite. It was constructed at the Stirling Iron Works, in Warwick, Orange County, by Peter Townsend, under the supervision of Timothy Pickering. The task was completed in six weeks.
The Hudson River's narrow width and sharp turns at West Point created adverse sailing conditions and prompted construction of The Great Chain in 1778 as an obstacle to the movement of British Ships north of West Point. West Point was chosen for the placement of The Great Chain because of the distinctive "S-Curve" the Hudson makes there, which would force any large ship to slow down in order to navigate it, thus making the ship an easier target for artillery batteries.
American soldiers positioned the chain to impede the progress of a ship should it attempt to turn into the east-west channel against frequently unfavorable winds and a strong current. Due to the Lower Hudson River actually being an estuary, it is subject to significant tidal currents which make navigation by sailing vessels particularly difficult. Cannons were placed in forts and batteries on both sides of the river to destroy the ship as it slowed to a halt against the obstacle.
When finally completed, the 600-yard chain contained iron links two feet in length and weighing 114 pounds. The links were carted to New Windsor, where they were put together, and floated down the river to West Point on logs late in April. Including swivels, clevises, and anchors, the chain weighed 65 tons. For buoyancy, 40-foot (12 m) logs were cut into 16-foot (4.9 m) sections, waterproofed, and joined by fours into rafts fastened with 12-foot (3.7 m) timbers. Short sections of chain (10 links, a swivel, and a clevis) were stapled across each raft and later, in the river, the chain sections were united.
On 30 April 1778, Captain Thomas Machin, the Artillery Officer and engineer responsible for assembling and installing the obstruction, oversaw the extension of the chain across the river. Its northern end was anchored to Constitution Island and the southern end was secured to a small cove on the western bank of the river. The Constitution Island side was protected by Marine Battery and the emplacement on the West Point side was protected by Chain Battery. Chevaux-de-frise were also placed in the channel between Pollopel's Island and the western shore of the river, just above the North Gate of the Hudson Highlands.
Both ends were anchored to log cribs filled with rocks, keeping the ends in place. A system of pulleys, rollers, ropes, and mid-stream anchors adjusted the chain's tension to overcome the effects of river current and changing tide. Until 1783, the chain was removed each Winter and reinstalled each Spring to avoid destruction by ice.
A log "boom" (resembling a ladder in construction) also spanned the river about 100 yards downstream (south of the chain) to absorb the impact of a ship attempting to penetrate the barrier.
The British never attempted to run the chain; but "In the course of his correspondence with the British, Benedict Arnold claimed that a well-loaded ship could break the chain."[1] Peter Townsend received a great sum of money from the Continental Congress for manufacturing the chain.
The greater system of fortifications at West Point, of which the chain was part, was designed and built by Polish Engineer Tadeusz Kościuszko. George Washington was responsible for delegating this responsibility.
After the Revolution, the portion of the Chain not saved was "relegated to the West Point Foundry furnaces near Cold Spring, New York, to be melted down for other uses."[2]
The portion of the chain that was saved was first displayed at the West Point ordnance compound along with captured cannon much as the black and white drawing to the right.[3] It would also be displayed at Trophy Point in various poses where it is currently on display with the chain surrounding a pile of rocks. The display consists of thirteen links of the chain (one for each original state), one swivel, and one clevis. These portions of chain are maintained and preserved by the West Point Museum, United States Army Garrison, in West Point.[4]
A section of the boom was recovered from the river in 1855 and is now on display at Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site in Newburgh, New York.
John C. Abbey, and later Francis Bannerman, made profits from counterfeited chain links sold to collectors and museums.[5]
This barricade was not a chain, but actually a chevaux-de-frise that was sunk underwater with the intention of sinking any British ships that passed over it. It was placed south of West Point between Fort Washington, on the island of Manhattan, and Fort Lee, across the river in New Jersey. However, an opening was left for the passage of American ships, and the British obtained its location with the help of a local inhabitant. The British were well aware of its existence, and successfully passed the barrier several times[6]. Fort Washington was captured by the British on November 16, 1776, rendering the barrier useless.
A chain and boom were stretched across the river from Anthony's Nose to Fort Montgomery, at the lower entrance to the Highlands, just North of the modern day Bear Mountain Bridge. Fort Clinton was just South of the Chain, also on the West Bank of the river, on the opposite side of Popolopen's Kill (or Popolopen Creek). Captain Machin, the officer who would later be responsible for the emplacement of the Great Chain at West Point, also headed this effort. In November of 1776, a faulty link broke under stress induced by the river tides, highlighting some of the difficulties in the first attempt to run a chain across the Hudson[7]. It was repaired and reset however. The capture of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton by the British on October 6, 1777, allowed them to dismantle the chain[8] and raid upriver as far as Kingston, New York.
Governor Clinton saw a positive aspect to this loss in that the British never attempted to run ships through the chain, risking everything to capture the forts and take down the chain.[9] It seemed as though the basic idea of obstructing the river seemed sound, and after Captain Machin recovered from his wounds, he would begin work on the stronger Great Chain at West Point.
Despite the failure of the chevaux-de-frise at Fort Washington, another was constructed between Plum Point and Pollepel Island, North of West Point. The defenses of the obstruction were never fully completed, and its importance was overshadowed by the Great Chain at West Point.
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