Battle of Edgar's Lane

On September 30, 1778, eighty Hessian troops clashed with a contingent of 120 Continental dragoons commanded by Major Henry Lee in what became known as the Battle of Edgar's Lane. This confrontation unfolded within the village of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and ultimately delivered a much-needed lift in spirits for the Continental Army and for Lee himself, who emerged victorious.

This engagement followed on the heels of a British triumph achieved through stealth at the Baylor Massacre. That earlier incident took place in Riverdale, New Jersey, when British forces launched a surprise nighttime assault sometime between one and three in the morning. They infiltrated a town holding 116 soldiers belonging to the 3rd Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons. The toll on the American side reached 15 dead along with 54 either wounded or captured, whereas the British, under the command of Maj. Gen. Sir Charles Grey together with Major Turner Straubenzee and Major John Maitland, suffered merely a single casualty.

The turning point at Edgar's Lane came through Peter Post, a farmer renting land locally, who learned that a Hessian raiding party intended to pass through the area the following day. He relayed this intelligence to Continental forces, prompting them to assemble 120 dragoons for an ambush. True to the warning, the Hessians appeared the next day, and Post misled them by claiming no American troops were present, steering them instead toward Edgar's Lane, where dragoons lay concealed among nearby trees. As the Hessians advanced through this spot, the hidden dragoons unleashed a volley that cut down several of them. Those who survived fled toward a ravine near the Hudson River, with the dragoons pursuing closely behind. A number of Hessians tumbled down the ravine's slope. Some met their end shot while in the water, others drowned, and the remainder were captured. By the encounter's close, the dragoons had killed 23 Hessians and claimed victory without losing a single man of their own. In the aftermath, Hessian forces returned days later and subjected Post to a brutal beating, leaving him nearly dead.

The dwelling belonging to Post has survived to the present day. Now called the Post-Baker House, it functions as a private home identified by a historical marker. Two separate monuments have occupied the battlefield site for many decades. A plaque issued by New York State sits at the intersection of Edgar's Lane and Broadway, commemorating the fight. Meanwhile, a bronze plaque affixed to a boulder, placed there by the Daughters of the American Revolution back in 1938, rests at the eastern boundary of Wagner Park, precisely where combat occurred. More recently, on September 30, 2021, marking the battle's 243rd anniversary, an installation called "Revolutionary Walk" opened to the public. Located within Sheldon Wagner Park in Hastings-on-Hudson, this addition offers a landscaped plaza equipped with seating areas. Visitors encounter six illustrated panels that trace the historical backdrop leading to the battle, recount specifics of the fighting, and summarize what followed. The Revolutionary Walk project came together through the efforts of Revolutionary Hastings, described as a committee within the Hastings Historical Society focused on fostering fresh understanding of the battle and its place within the broader Revolutionary War.

Interestingly, the name attached to this battle came only afterward, tied to the lane where it occurred. Back in 1778, contemporaries left the skirmish nameless for the most part, though some referred to it informally as the "Mertz Affair," a nod to Lieutenant Balthazar Mertz, also spelled Merz, the Hessian officer who suffered defeat there.

Notably, the novel Tony and Susan by Austin Wright sets part of its narrative on Edgar's Lane itself, making reference to this historical battle.