Road to Liberty: Battle of Brooklyn

The Battle of Brooklyn was the first major conflict to take place after the Second Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain and, in terms of troop deployment, it was the largest battle to take place during the entire Revolutionary War. On August 27, 1776, twenty thousand British soldiers fought 12,000 American colonists for control of the Port of New York, which the British secured, and ultimately maintained, throughout the war. After George Washington’s momentous victory in the siege of Boston earlier that year, his defeat at Brooklyn was a blow to his confidence and that of his regulars. The British took New York City and Long Island from the Continental Army through a successfully executed sneak attack, forcing Washington and his men to escape in the dead of night on August 29, when a thick fog descended on the area surrounding the East River. Many counted this fortuitous weather event as an act of divine assistance, upon which the Continental Army relied for the remainder of the war.