Free Republic

CONFIDENT Bob Furman suspects that up to 256 Revolutionary soldiers lie under this lot in Gowanus.Dave Sanders for The New York Times NOTHING is visible at the intersection of Third Avenue and Eighth Street in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn to indicate that anything extraordinary is there. The artisanal-pie place on one corner and the auto body shops across the way suggest it is merely another spot in the city where grit is giving way to gentrification. But if a small group of history enthusiasts are right, this particular corner of Kings County is hallowed ground. HEROIC Kim Maier,...

<p>Historians believe plans to dredge the polluted Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn could also dig up priceless revolutionary war artifacts.</p> <p>Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal is most known for being a muddy-brown, foul-smelling notorious dump site near Park Slope. For Kimberly Maier, who runs the Revolutionary War Museum called The Old Stone House, it is full of historic potential. "There could be bones, there could be uniforms, their could be muskets, bullets. Any leftover elements of battle," said Maier. The Gowanus Canal runs through the site of the Battle of Brooklyn. Fought in August of 1776, it was the first official battle of the Revolutionary War.</p>