The Battle of Stony Point took place on July 16, 1779, during the American Revolutionary War. In a well-planned and -executed nighttime attack, a highly trained select group of George Washington's Continental Army troops under the command of Brigadier General "Mad Anthony" Wayne defeated British troops in a quick and daring assault on their outpost in Stony Point, New York, approximately 30 mi north of New York City. Stony Point has a rocky promontory and wooded faces, it rose 150 feet at its highest point and it projected out into the Hudson River for more than 1/2 mile. The westerly, or inland slope, dropped off into a marsh. King's Ferry landing was at the north side and was submerged in deep water. The south side was also covered with water. The British fortified Stoney Point with 7 or 8 detached batteries on the uneven summit and converted the west end rock formation into a strong bastion. They had also cut down all the surrounding woods and used the felled trees to construct 2 rows of abatis from water to water across the point. To protect the main British garrison stationed in New York City and dissuade Washington from moving his army down the Hudson River from his encampment at West Point, Lieutenant General Henry Clinton established and maintained an outer network of defenses. An integral part of this defensive network included several strongholds along the river. Two of the strongest were at Stoney Point, 24 miles north of New York City, and Fort Lafayette on Verplank's Point.

After a morning muster, on July 15, the Corps of Light Infantry marched from Sandy Beach north of Fort Montgomery beginning at noon. Any civilians met along the route of march were to be taken into custody to prevent them from warning the British. The men were given a rum ration and their orders. They were also given pieces of white paper to pin to their hats in order to help them tell each other from the British in the darkness. Under fire Wayne's column succeeded in getting inside the British first line of defenses. Wayne himself was struck in the head by a spent musket ball and fell to the ground, leaving Col. Febiger to take over command of Wayne's column. Because of the stealth in which the Patriot assault forces approached the British defenses on the slopes of the hill, the artillery pieces that the British had placed on the summit for just such defensive purposes were unsuccessful in repelling the attack. Before dawn, Wayne sent a brief dispatch telling Washington, "The fort and garrison, with Colonel Johnston, are ours. Our officers and men behaved like men who are determined to be free." While the strategic value of capturing Stony Point was up for debate, it was regardless a huge victory for morale for the Continental Army. Its minimal strategic value was that it asserted Washington's foothold on the nearby West Point. Washington's instructions to Wayne had allowed for the possibility of an assault on Verplanck's Point once Stony Point was taken.