Museum Collections

This grapeshot was excavated by the Field Exploration Committee from a refuse pit outside the south ramparts of Fort Washington. Built by the Continental Army in the summer of 1776, the fort extended west along 183rd Street from Fort Washington Avenue to Pinehurst Avenue. The fort was captured on November 16, 1776 by British and Hessian forces, and was occupied by them until 1783. The grapeshot may have been fired at the fort during the assault, or it may have been thrown away afterwards.