[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] The lower river, all the way from New York Bay to Ver-planck's Point, was controlled absolutely by the British ships, and on account of its great width, as well as of the barrier from west to east interposed by the wide expanse of the Croton, was utterly un-available for American use after the removal of the army from Kings bridge and the fall of Fort Washington. Consequently no point south of Peekskill was to be considered for a moment as a suitable station for the principal American counterpoise to the enemy's position below Other points all the way down through the county were, of course, occupied by guards. In this respect it was at first the Ameri-can policv to push down advance posts as near as practicable to the enemy's sphere, and at no time did the patriots retire their lines to the northward of Pine's Bridge across the Croton. Yet Peekskill, with the country immediately dependent upon it, always remained 414 HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY the seat of the serious American establishment for general purposes. The choice of positions farther down by Washington during his sub-sequent visitations of Westchester County (including that of Dobbs Ferry for the united American and French armies in 1781) proved in each case only a temporary expedient.