by Fort Montgomery (named for the late General Richard Montgomery), which also overlooked the gorge to the south. Also on the west side of the river, south of the gorge, they had established Fort Clinton (probably named for General James Clinton). Fort Montgomery, which was still undergoing construction, was under the command of General (and Governor of New York) George Clinton, while Fort Clinton was under the command of his older brother James. Their combined forces numbered about 600. The primary camp at Peekskill, which any British naval movements would need to pass, had roughly 600 men. Of the men at the three sites, about 1,000 were regular troops, while the remainder were short-term New York militia. Putnam's forces had originally been larger, but General George Washington had ordered some of Putnam's troops to assist either his (Washington's) defense against Howe or Gates' defense against Burgoyne, and a number of local militia companies had been dismissed when Howe's movements became known. Putnam received word of the arrival of transports in New York on September 29 and wrote Governor Clinton for assistance, who immediately came south from Kingston to take charge of the forts. British movements In mid-September (around the time he wrote the letter to Burgoyne), Sir Henry Clinton had around 7,000 men, including around 3,000 poorly trained Loyalists, to defend New York City. His letter to Burgoyne had been predicated on the expectation that reinforcements would arrive in time for him to make a move up the Hudson within ten days. On September 29, he received a letter from Burgoyne (written after Freeman's Farm) in response to his that was a direct plea for action. By the end of September, 1,700 additional troops were landed from the fleet arriving at New York. On October 3, Sir Henry started up the Hudson River with 3,000 men in three frigates and a number of smaller vessels. The next day, he landed some troops near Tarrytown as a feint to draw Putnam's troops from Peekskill. These troops marched about and then reboarded the ships, which continued north. He then made a similar feinting maneuver at Verplanck's Point, just three miles (4.8 km) south of Peekskill on October 5, where he dislodged a poorly manned American outpost. These feinting maneuvers completely fooled Putnam, who drew his troops back into the eastern highlands and sent messages across the Hudson for reinforcements. Shortly before this