This memorial commemorates the Battle of Fort Washington, which took place here on November 16th, 1776. The memorial was sponsored by James Gordon Bennett and the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution in 1901. The park, at which this memorial sits at the foot of, is named for James Gordon Bennett.

Fort Washington was the last stronghold of the Continental Army in New York after British General William Howe gained control of Long Island earlier that fall. General George Washington ordered General Nathaniel Greene to defend this outpost - however, his army of 3,000 men was no match for the 8,000 British soldiers who took the fort from multiple sides. The fort was lost to the British at 3:00 PM, with over 600 lives lost. The fort was returned to American possession on November 25 of 1783.