The lightly-manned garrison at first refused, but it retreated on October 8 in the face of a larger attack force. Governor Clinton and General Putnam strategized on their next move. Clinton opted to move north with troops on the western shore, as a defense against attacks further upriver, while Putnam would take steps to defend against attacks to the east. Further British action Captain James Wallace had begun clearing the river of American-laid obstacles following the battle. By October 13 he was able to report that the river was clear as far north as Esopus. Sir Henry had by then returned to New York due to illness, leaving General John Vaughan in charge at the forts. Because of delays in sending transports with reinforcements north, a flotilla carrying Vaughan and 1,700 men did not depart until October 15, with orders from Clinton to "proceed up Hudson's river, to feel for General Burgoyne, to assist his operations". They anchored that evening near Esopus. (It has been speculated that this movement had an effect on the ongoing surrender negotiations at Saratoga. Because of the slow pace of horse-based communications, it seems unlikely that General Gates was aware of this movement until after the surrender terms were agreed on October 17.) Vaughan's troops burned Esopus the next day and then sailed further north, where they raided the Livingston estate, seat of the noted Patriot family. The fleet was pursued by Putnam on the eastern shore. Putnam's forces, which had grown considerably with the arrival of militia companies from Connecticut, posed a significant enough threat to Vaughan that he then withdrew to the boats. On October 17, Sir Henry received a request for 3,000 men from General Howe (probably sent after Washington's failed attack on Germantown) to support the occupation of Philadelphia. As the New York garrison was already thinned by the operation on the Hudson, Clinton recalled Vaughan and the garrison holding the two forts. The forts were destroyed, and the troops evacuated on October 26. Legacy The site of Fort Clinton was largely demolished to make way for U.S. Route 9W and the Bear Mountain Bridge, which was completed in 1924. What remains is preserved within the bounds of Bear Mountain State Park, which also includes the ghost town of Doodletown. Now within Fort Montgomery State Historic Site, Fort Montgomery is a National Historic Landmark, a designation it received in 1972, when