Wayne, whom his men had dutifully carried into the inner redoubt, became so agitated by the whooping around him that he forgot about dying and joined in the celebrations. Johnson handed over his sword in token of surrender, and his men received full quarter from the Americans, who were in too good a mood to kick around their prisoners. A few hours later, as dawn broke, the Americans turned the fort's cannon on the British gunboats, which hastily moved downstream. As his troops took potshots at Verplanck Point, Wayne sent a dispatch to Washington, announcing the victory: "The fort and garrison with Colo. Johnson are ours," he wrote. "Our officers and men behaved like men who are determined to be free."

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Though dramatic, the American assault on Stony Point counted for little relative to major battles already fought and those yet to come. Wayne lost 15 men killed and 84 wounded, while the British lost 20 killed, 74 wounded and 472 captured. Fleury, Knox and three wounded sergeants claimed their reward for being the first five men into the British redoubt and shared in a $200,000 government payout for the stores they had captured. Congress awarded Wayne a gold medal and Stewart and Fleury silver medals. Gibbons and Knox each won promotion to captain. Ironically, the greatest prize—the fort itself—could not be held without risking a potentially costly, large-scale engagement. Wayne, therefore, evacuated Stony Point on July 19.

Washington had not achieved a decisive military victory; that would elude him until the Battle of Yorktown, more than two years later. Nor could the action at Stony Point, by itself, restore a sense of unity to the country. Wayne's victory nevertheless gave Americans a needed boost, proving what audacity could achieve in concert with singleness of purpose. It was a paving stone in the road to ultimate victory.

For further reading, Edward G. Lengel recommends The Revolution's Boldest Venture: The Story of General "Mad Anthony" Wayne's Assault on Stony Point, by I.W. Sklarsky, and The Enterprise in Contemplation: The Midnight Assault of Stony Point, by Don Loprieno.

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