Did George Washington Sleep in Central Park?
A map of McGowan’s Pass and the Old Post Road leading to it, dating to 1776, around the time Washington would have marched this way
Although it’s safe to say that Washington never slept there, he definitely passed through what would later become Central Park on two important occasions.
In the first, he led his army through McGowan’s Pass, just south of what is today the Harlem Meer, to engage the British forces that had landed on Long Island.
After the British surrender at Yorktown, Washington passed this way yet again, this time to take possession of the city he was forced to relinquish after his defeat at the Battle of Long Island, seven years earlier.
Blending fact with fantasy, I have Christopher Middleton, the main character in my young adult adventure series, Central Park Story, meet General Washington at the pass, and give the general some timely intelligence that allows him to avoid capture by the British forces.
