Under these circumstances the garrison became prisoners of war.
The loss on this occasion was the greatest the Americans had ever sustained.

The garrison was stated by General Washington at about two thousand men.

Yet, in a report published as from General Howe, the number of prisoners is said to be two thousand and six hundred, exclusive of officers.

Either General Howe must have included in his report persons who were not soldiers, or General Washington must have comprehended the regulars only in his letter.

The last conjecture is most probably correct.