The British planned to strike again the next morning, August 29, but a dense fog delayed that attack.
George Washington ordered his men "to impress every kind of watercraft ... that could be kept afloat... and have them in the east harbor of the city by dark."
Fog like what happened is atypical to New York weather, but it held for the entire day. The boats were gathered and a night time evacuation accomplished across the river to Manhattan.
This fortuitous fog saved about 9,000 men of the fledgling Continental Army which could in no way afford to lose them. That most likely would have ended the Revolution right there.
The British awoke the next morning, August 30 to capture Washington and his men, but they had just simply vanished into the fog.
--DaCoot
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