The Battle of Young's House was a skirmish fought outside New York City between British and American forces on February 3, 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. A British force attacked and destroyed a Continental Army outpost in Westchester County, New York. Background Following the British Army's successful occupation of New York City in 1776, the second year of the American Revolutionary War, the areas surrounding the city that were between the American and British lines became a no man's land. These areas, which included Westchester County, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut, were frequently the site of raiding actions between the combatants. At the end of 1779 this no man's land included Tarrytown and White Plains. The American lines were not far north of this area, extending into Mount Pleasant. An outpost at Four Corners (in the present-day Thornwood section of Mount Pleasant) occupied particularly advantageous ground, and its occupation was more than once disputed. The outpost was on the property of Joseph Young, a local landowner; his house and barns were occupied by Continental Army troops beginning in August 1776. In December 1778 a British raid captured the small garrison posted there. They burned a barn but did not occupy the post, and it was promptly reoccupied by Continental Army troops in early 1779. Prelude Possibly in retaliation for a raid in January 1780 by the Americans against a British outpost at Kingsbridge, the British decided to make a raid on the outpost at Young's House. On the night of February 2, 1780, Lieutenant Colonel Chapple Norton and a mixed force left the heights near Fort Knyphausen (as the British called Fort Washington). The force consisted of four flank companies from the 1st and 2nd Brigade of Guards, 100 Hessians from two regiments stationed at Kingsbridge, a company of 40 mounted Loyalist led by James DeLancey, and parties of mounted and unmounted Hessian jägers, numbering in total between five and six hundred men. They brought with them two small field pieces, and set out in sleighs owing to deep snow. However, both the sleighs and the field pieces were left behind when it was found that the men moved more quickly on foot. Because of the difficult conditions (including snow as much as deep) the expedition did not reach the American lines until 9 am on February 3, 1780. The outpost at Young's house was the central point for