Today is the anniversary of one of the most important escapes in American history. On this date in 1776, the Continental Army under George Washington pulled off a miraculous retreat. The army had been bottled up after its defeat in the battle of Long Island. After being cornered by the larger British forces on Long Island, Washington’s army faced an untenable position on Brooklyn Heights with the East River behind them. Thanks to the cover of heavy fog, the Americans, using ferry boats, private boats and even rowboats, managed to escape to Manhattan. Washington successfully executed this daring nighttime retreat of over 9,000 men, supplies, and cannons from Brooklyn. This masterful evacuation, which saved the Continental Army from destruction, occurred on the night of August 29–30, 1776, as the British dug in for a siege rather than pursuing the Americans immediately. Had there been no fog history might have been different. The British brought a large naval fleet for the invasion of New York and had they seen the evacuation, they could have brought up ships to crush it, thus dooming the Continental Army. Washington’s Army had lived to fight another day.
Let’s look back at what happened in the Battle of Long Island, or what should more correctly be termed the Battle of Brooklyn that occurred almost two hundred and fifty years ago. In early July, 400 British ships with 32,000 men commanded by General William Howe arrived at Staten Island. The British then landed a large force on Long Island on August 22, 1776, with the objective of capturing New York City and controlling the Hudson River, which would divide the colonies. They came ashore in what is now Gravesend, Brooklyn. The battle was a huge mismatch. The British had arguably the best army in the world, and they were highly trained, well-equipped troops. The Americans were ill trained poorly equipped troops. The British also had the help of many loyalists, colonists who would help them in the battle. Washington placed General Israel Putnam in charge of Brooklyn Heights and stationed General John Sullivan to the south and Lord Sterling to the southwest on the Heights of Guan. He posted guards along the main roads leading through the heights but failed to secure the rarely used Jamaica Pass to the east. Loyalists in the area provided the British with critical information about the pass’s location and the path through it, which was not heavily defended by the Americans. A huge contingent of British soldiers marched through the pass, flanking the Americans and opening the American rear. General Grant’s British troops along with some Hessians, a total of 4,000 men, were to attack the Americans in front to distract them from the main army coming on their flank. Grant’s attack took place in what is today Green-Wood cemetery. The Hessian attack took place in what is now Prospect Park. The column had yet to run into any American troops when they reached Howard’s Tavern (also known as “Howard’s Half-Way House”), just a few hundred yards from the Jamaica Pass. Tavern keeper William Howard and his son William Jr. were forced to act as guides to show the British the way to the Rockaway Foot Path, an old Indian trail that skirted the Jamaica Pass to the west (located today in Evergreen Cemetery. William Howard Jr. describes meeting Howe:
It was about two in the morning of August 27 that I was awakened by seeing a soldier at the side of my bed. I got up and dressed and went down to the barroom, where I saw my father standing in one corner with three British soldiers before him with muskets and bayonets fixed. The army was then lying in the field in front of the house… General Howe and another officer were in the barroom. General Howe wore a camlet cloak over his regimentals. After asking for a glass of liquor from the bar, which was given him, he entered familiar conversation with my father, and among other things said, “I must have some one of you to show me over the Rockaway Path around the pass.” My father replied, “We belong to the other side, General, and can’t serve you against our duty.” General Howe replied, “That is alright; stick to your country, or stick to your principles, but Howard, you are my prisoner and must guide my men over the hill.” My father made some further objection, but was silenced by the general, who said, “You have no alternative. If you refuse, I shall shoot you through the head.
The flanking movement led to the defeat and capture of many American soldiers. The battle could have been a rout if not for the heroic counterattack of a group of soldiers from Maryland called The Maryland four hundred. Two hundred fifty-six Maryland troops were killed in the assaults in front of the Old Stone House, which is in Park Slope. Fewer than a dozen made it back to the American lines. Washington watched from a redoubt on nearby Cobble Hill (intersection of today’s Court Street and Atlantic Avenue) and reportedly said, “Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose.
The battle was the largest engagement of the war. The British were able to attack Manhattan after the battle and controlled New York for the length of the war. The greatest loss of life during the revolution was also in Brooklyn where thousands of imprisoned American patriots died on British prison ships moored in Wallabout Bay near the site of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The inadequately clothed and fed Americans died from pneumonia and exposure to cold. When they died their bodies were thrown into the bay. Today a marker in Fort Green commemorates the largest loss of life in the revolution.