On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence proclaimed that thirteen British colonies had joined together to create the United States of America, and in Brooklyn only two months later the survival of that new nation was challenged in battle. Although there had been earlier clashes with the British, the Battle of Brooklyn was the debut of the Continental Army and its untested commander-in-chief, Gen. George Washington. After a series of setbacks in New England, the British concentrated their forces in and around New York City in an effort to put down the rebellion by separating New England from the mid-Atlantic and Southern colonies, while the Americans prepared to fight for New York by fortifying Brooklyn Heights and other key locations around the city. Despite British attempts to negotiate an end to the rebellion, the Americans would not retreat on independence, and on August 22 the British began landing troops and supplies in Brooklyn. On August 27, Washington’s young army of 9,000 faced more than 20,000 well-armed and experienced British and Hessian troops; outnumbered and outmaneuvered, the Americans were overpowered. Yet though the Battle of Brooklyn, also known as the Battle of Long Island, was a clear American defeat, it strengthened patriotism in the new nation and gave both soldiers and civilians renewed resolve to continue the struggle for independence, even as Washington and his troops retreated from Brooklyn.
