Washington commanded forces moved from Boston and Ticonderoga in the failed defense of New York, losing at Long Island, White Plains and most seriously at Fort Washington, where nearly 3,000 soldiers were captured. Forced to retreat all the way across New Jersey to Pennsylvania, Washington closed the campaign season with major victories in the battles of Trenton and Princeton at the close of the year and early in 1777. The fact that his army was disbanding at the critical moment between Trenton and Princeton was the result of the unfortunate fact that its one-year term of service was then expiring, but Washington convinced a significant number of soldiers to overstay their enlistments.