Teacher Resources
Stony Point
Inquiry Question
How do military commanders identify and reduce risk? What did Wayne do that conventional commanders did not?
Primary Sources
What Teachers and Students Use
Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site
INSTITUTIONAL · New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
5 analysis prompts
Anthony Wayne's After-Action Report to George Washington
PRIMARY · Papers of George Washington, Library of Congress
5 analysis prompts
Washington's Orders for the Stony Point Assault
PRIMARY · Papers of George Washington, University of Virginia Press
5 analysis prompts
Anthony Wayne: Soldier of the Early Republic
SECONDARY · Indiana University Press (Paul David Nelson)
5 analysis prompts
Sir Henry Clinton Papers: Stony Point Intelligence
PRIMARY · William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan
5 analysis prompts
Downloads
Ready to Print
Student packet, teacher guide with answer key, and quiz — each formatted for classroom printing.
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Lesson Plan
In the Classroom
Learning Objectives
- 1Explain why Wayne chose a bayonet-only assault and analyze the tactical logic of the silence order
- 2Identify the function of forlorn hope units and how they changed the main assault's risk profile
- 3Construct a basic risk-mitigation analysis using Stony Point as a model
- 4Evaluate the relationship between training, discipline, and mission success using primary accounts
Explore Further
Stony Point in the Knowledge Graph
The lesson packet draws from these pages. Use them to extend the lesson or give students primary source context.
Comparative Study
Connected Towns
The corroborate prompts in the student packet point to these towns. Teachers can assign cross-town comparisons.
Saratoga Springs
SHARED EVENT
The Saratoga campaign of 1777 was the northern theater operation that Stony Point's Hudson Highlands position was designed to prevent from being repeated. American victory at Saratoga proved the value of defending the Hudson corridor; Stony Point secured that defense two years later.
Crown Point
SHARED THEME
Both Stony Point and Crown Point were critical New York fortifications whose control determined whether the British could split the American states along a north-south corridor. The strategic logic of controlling water-route chokepoints — Lake Champlain at Crown Point, the Hudson at Stony Point — is identical.
Morristown
SHARED PERSON
Wayne's light infantry corps was organized and trained at Morristown during the winter and spring of 1779. The discipline demonstrated at Stony Point was built in Morristown's winter camp, which also served as the command center from which Washington directed the operation.
Assessment
Stony Point in the American Revolution
Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history. · 5 questions · Answer key in Teacher Guide PDF
What makes Stony Point significant in Revolutionary history?
multiple choice
Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
true false
Name one event that occurred in Stony Point during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
short answer
+ 2 more in the full quiz PDF
Ready to Print?
All three documents below — student packet, teacher guide, and quiz — are formatted for letter-size classroom printing.