Fort Clinton Slide 27 of 79 One phase of the American Revolution involved a contest for control of the Hudson River. Control of the Hudson Valley by the British would have divided the American colonies.
West Point sits on a commanding position overlooking one of the sharpest angles of the Hudson.
Ft Clinton was the main fortification, built in 1778 at the edge of the Plain under the direction of Polish patriot Thaddeus Kosciuszko.