The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War to take place after the United States declared its independence on July 4, 1776. It was a victory for the British Army and the beginning of a successful campaign that gave them control of the strategically important city of New York. In terms of troop deployment and fighting, it was the largest battle of the entire war.
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 port city of New York, then limited to the southern end of Manhattan Island. Washington understood that the 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 General William Howe, landed a few miles across the harbor from Manhattan on the sparsely-populated Staten Island, where, during the next month and a half, they were slowly reinforced by ships in Lower New York Bay, bringing their total force to 32,000 troops. With the British fleet in control of the entrance to the harbor at the Narrows, Washington knew the difficulty in holding the city. Believing Manhattan would be the first target, he moved there the bulk of his forces.
On August 22 the British landed on the shores of Gravesend Bay in southwest Kings County, across the Narrows from Staten Island and more than a dozen miles south from the established East River crossings to Manhattan. After five days of waiting, the British attacked American defenses on the Guan Heights. Unknown to the Americans, however, Howe had brought his main army around their rear, and attacked their flank soon after. The Americans panicked, resulting in twenty percent losses through casualties and captures, although a stand by 400 Maryland troops prevented a larger portion of the army from being lost. The remainder of the army retreated 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 supplies 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.
Contents
1 Background
1.1 Boston to New York
1.2 Strategy
1.3 Opposing forces
1.4 British arrival
1.5 Invasion of Long Island
2 Battle
2.1 Night march
2.2 Grant’s diversionary attack
2.3 Battle Pass
2.4 Vechte-Cortelyou House
2.4.1 Maryland 400
2.5 Disengagement
3 Aftermath
3.1 Retreat to Manhattan
3.2 Conclusion of the campaign
3.3 Casualties
4 Legacy
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_Island
although a stand by 400 Maryland troops prevented a larger portion of the army from being lost