NYC Walking Tour - Battle of Brooklyn

General Howe's map of the Battle of Brooklyn

The Battle of Brooklyn or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first major battle in the American Revolutionary War following the United States Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the entire conflict, and the first battle in which an army of the United States engaged, having declared itself a nation only the month before.

After defeating the British in the Siege of Boston on March 17, 1776, General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief, brought the Continental Army to defend the strategic port city of New York, then limited to the southern end of Manhattan Island. Washington understood that New York City's Harbor would provide an excellent base for the British Navy during the campaign. There he established defenses and waited for the British to attack. In July the British, under the command of Genera William Howe, landed a few miles across the harbor on Staten Island, where over the next month and a half they were slowly reinforced by ships in Lower New York Bay, bringing their total force to 32,000 men. With the British fleet in control of the entrance to the harbor, Washington knew the difficulty in holding the city. Believing Manhattan would be the first target, he moved the bulk of his forces there.

On August 22, the British landed on the southwest tip of Brooklyn, across The Narrows from Staten Island, more than a dozen miles south from the East River crossings to Manhattan. After five days of waiting, the British attacked American defenses on the Gowanus Heights. Unknown to the Americans, however, Howe had brought his main army around their rear and attacked their flank soon after. The Americans panicked, although a stand by 400 Maryland troops prevented most of the army from being captured. The remainder of the army fled to the main defenses on Brooklyn Heights. The British dug in for a siege but, on the night of August 29–30, Washington evacuated the entire army to Manhattan without the loss of materiel or a single life. Washington and the Continental Army were driven out of New York entirely after several more defeats and forced to retreat through New Jersey and into Pennsylvania.

Washington's Retreat - August 29, 1776