Robert was born in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland and brought to Maryland by his father. He settled at Carlisle in Pennsylvania, and practiced law there. He had served several years in the militia, and when the war broke out, he was a Colonel, in command of the 5th Pennsylvania line.
During the Battles for New York he was the senior Colonel and in command of Fort Washington. He was forced to surrender it, and became a prisoner on November 16, 1776. Based on his parole he was set at liberty in New York, but couldn't leave the city until he was exchanged. This didn't happen until October of 1780.
While nominally a prisoner on parole, Magaw met and courted Marritje Van Brunt (1762-1803) of Kings County, New York. They married in April of 1779, and would later have two children. After he was exchanged, he returned home to New Carlisle and continued his law practice. He served two years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1781-1782) and was for many years a trustee of Dickinson College. He died at home in Carlisle on January 7, 1790. After his death, Marritje returned to New York to live with their son, Robert Van Brunt Magaw, at Gravesend.
Magaw felt he could hold the fort and, if necessary, evacuate his men to the other side of the Hudson and safety.
Colonel RobertMagaw Place was named in the 1980s to honor this war hero by the Washington Heights and Inwood Historical Society.
Magaw Place is the site of the driveway to the estate of James Gordon Bennett, who bought the property on which the site of Fort Washington is located.
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