Stony Point Battlefield and Lighthouse, NY

The Stony Point Battlefield preserves the site of the last major battle of the American Revolution in the Hudson River Valley.

Soon after the British captured the high, rocky peninsula in May 1779, they began to construct an earthen fortress - dubbed by its commander "little Gibralter" - which was intended to protect the vital King's Ferry crossing on the Hudson River below. Two months later, after a reconnaissance from Buckberg Mountain (present-day Washington-Wayne Lookout Park), George Washington and Major General "Mad" Anthony Wayne devised a plan for a daring midnight assault. The three-pronged attack by 1,150 well-trained light infantrymen, chosen specifically for the mission and led by Wayne, surprised the 560-man garrison on July 15 and gained control of the fort within an hour on the 16th.

The 33-acre site contains a museum featuring British ordnance captured during the assault and artifacts uncovered during archaeological digs. Signs along a self-guided walking trail describe the earthworks and their storming. Also on the grounds is the Stony Point Lighthouse ((temporarily closed until further notice) the Hudson River's oldest, which protected the entrance to the Hudson Highlands from 1826 to 1925. The pyramidal stone structure was restored in 1975, and there is a fine view from the top.