BATTLE OF BROOKLYN
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“The Declaration of Independence was signed in ink in Philadelphia, and signed in blood in Brooklyn."
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The Battle of Long Island (Domenick D'Andrea)
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On August 27, 1776, British troops attacked American forces throughout Brooklyn. This battle was the first military engagement following the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 and the bloodiest of the American Revolution.
After the British evacuation of Boston in 1776, George Washington correctly guessed that their next target would be New York City, so he began to build up fortifications in the city during April and May. One month later, the British fleet arrived at Staten Island, as expected, and began to dominate the river waterways that cut through New York City. Washington, however, had made the fatal flaw of splitting his forces between Brooklyn and Manhattan. On August 22, the British fleet landed 10,000 infantrymen at Gravesend Bay in modern day south Brooklyn. Incorrectly assuming that this was meant as a diversion, Washington did not reinforce Brooklyn, and the British began their assault. |
Early on the morning of August 27, British soldiers fired on American pickets stationed near the Red Lion Tavern at a crossroads in Brooklyn (modern day Fourth Avenue and 35th Street). Washington, realizing his mistake, hurried across the East River from Manhattan to Cobble Hill, but could do little more than observe from afar as General John Sullivan's men were cut down by Hessian artillery and bayonets. Upon the realization that the bulk of the British force had come through the Jamaica Pass and that they would soon be surrounded, Sullivan ordered his men to retreat to Brooklyn Heights.
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As the Americans pulled back, General William Alexander (Lord Stirling) led 400 brave Maryland soldiers against 2,000 British forces in a desperate fight at the Old Stone House to allow for their fellow men to escape. More than 250 were killed as they held the British, but eventually Stirling surrendered and was captured. Washington, who looked down on the terrible scene could only remark, “Good God, what brave fellows I must lose."
By nightfall, the Americans were trapped in Brooklyn Heights with the East River behind them. British General William Howe decided to entrench for the night, but Washington refused to risk losing more men. In the dark of night on the evening of August 29th, he coordinated an evacuation retreat across the river and watched as 9,000 men rowed back to Manhattan. Then, as the sun began to rise, a fog miraculously descended on the few remaining men crossing the river. According to eyewitnesses, George Washington was the last man to leave Brooklyn; the British awoke to find the American lines empty. With over 2,000 Americans killed, wounded, missing or captured, the Battle of Brooklyn was a pivotal engagement of the American Revolution and a tragic defeat, as the Americans were outnumbered 2-to-1. Significant battlefields across Brooklyn included modern day Gravesend Bay, the grounds of Green-Wood Cemetery, the Old Stone House, Prospect Park, Fort Greene Park and Fulton Ferry Landing. The British went on to occupy Brooklyn and Manhattan for seven more years, and it was not until 1783 that they finally surrendered and sailed from New York in defeat, leaving America to begin its new way of life as an independent nation. |
“A Plan of New York Island with part of Long Island, Staten Island and East New Jersey, with a particular Description of the Engagement on the Woody Heights of Long Island, between Flatbush and Brooklyn, on the 27th of August 1776 between His Majesty's Forces commanded by General Howe and the Americans under Major General Putnam with the subsequent Disposition of both Armies."
(William Faden, Oct. 19, 1776, London.) |
