aug 27, 1776 - Battle of Long Island

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On August 22, Colonel Edward Hand informed General Washington that the British were planning on crossing the narrows from Staten Island to take over Long Island. In response, Washington dispatched a force of 11,000 troops to Brooklyn to defend the city. Major General Israel Putnam was the head of the colonial defense force on Long Island that was in charge of preventing General Howe's assault. On August 27, the first two British attacks were defended successfully, but once again, the third assault proved too much to handle for the Americans. Major Prescott stayed behind with his 2,000 troops to resist the British flank, in doing so his force sustained 90% casualties. This resilience allowed for the Americans to last into the night. If Washington surrendered here, it would've meant the end of the Revolutionary War. Instead of doing so, Washington led a 9,000 man evacuation through the dead of night to evade the British. This evacuation was also masked by heavy rainfall and thick fog the morning after. An estimated 1,407 Americans were wounded, captured, or missing and an additional 312 were killed. Of the 32,000 British and Germans involved, 377 were killed.

History.com. Accessed October 15, 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battle-of-long-island.

"Battle of Long Island." Battle of Long Island - New World Encyclopedia. Accessed October 15, 2018. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_Long_Island.

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