also known as the Battle of Long Island, took place.
I wanted to take a few minutes to commemorate this event. The patriots had had success at the battles of Lexington (actually, not so much) and the battle of Concord (that they did) as well as on the British retreat back to Boston on April 19, 1775. They also were able to force the British to abandon Boston after Henry Knox organized an amazing trek through the mountains in the snow, and brought the cannon that Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured at Ft. Ticonderoga, enabling Washington's troops to erect the cannons overnight at Dorchester Heights, and make Gen. Howe's position in Boston untenable.
The British retreated to Nova Scotia and England, and the British leadership put together the largest overseas army in their history, as well as the largest armada in British history to transport the troops and attack the rebels/patriots in New York City. The ships came throughout the summer, starting in early July and most of the troops initially camped on Staten Island. By late August, after an unsuccessful attempt by Gen. Howe and his brother Adm. Howe, who were also acting as peace commissioners, to work out a resolution to the issue with Gen. Washington (an amusing story, in that the Howe communications, in multiple attempts, refused to address Washington as General, as that would give legitimacy to the US being a country, and him being something other than a rebel, and Gen. Washington and his go-betweens refusing to accept any communication that was not appropriately addressed; in the end, Washington did learn that the Howes were only offering pardons to those that put down their guns and ended their fighting, and nothing that addressed any of the issues that lead to the Declaration of Independence), the troops were moved to Brooklyn/Long Island. They commenced their attack on August 27th. As was often the case in the first several years of the Revolutionary War, the British feinted with a small force, and took the bulk of their force on a flanking move through the very lightly guarded (by the Patriots) Jamaica Pass, and came crashing through behind the lines of the Patriots. (And Washington and his generals were very slow to learn from their past mistakes in allowing themselves to be flanked.)
On this day, and in the day that followed, the entire Revolutionary War could have come to a hasty conclusion. In the Battle of Brooklyn, the men of the 1st Maryland Regiment basically saved the rest of the Patriot forces. You can read more about the Battle of Brooklyn, and the actions of the 1st Maryland Regiment, at THIS LINK.
For reasons that have puzzled historians for more than 200 years, Howe halted his attack this day. He then started digging siege lines against the Patriot protections on Brooklyn Heights. In one of the great timings of history (and one of the many reasons that Washington felt he was blessed), a 'noreaster blew in. This prevented the British navy from sailing up the East River. Washington turned to John Glover, who commanded a group of men from Marblehead, MA, who were fishermen before the Revolutionary War, and they were able to evacuate all the Patriot forces from Brooklyn (to Manhattan) during the night of Aug. 29/30. Had Washington and his troops been captured at Brooklyn (which very nearly happened), the American Revolution would have basically been over less than 6 months after the Declaration of Independence.
Washington and the Patriots suffered through a series of defeats throughout the rest of 1776. Howe routed Washington in the following months from Manhattan, from Harlem, from areas north of New York City, and basically kicked Washington's butt all the way across New Jersey, while also capturing the #2 commander in the Patriot forces, Gen. Charles Lee, in northern NJ.
After their victories in 1775, and the Declaration of Independence, things were looking up for the Patriots in 1776. By the end of the year, they had, with the exception of an occasional skirmish here and there, lost every battle they had been in. Then, as almost all the troops under his command were about to head home as their enlistments were set to end at the end of 1776, Washington took advantage of Howe stringing out his forces all across New Jersey, when Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware and defeated the Hessians troops at Trenton, crossed back to Pennsylvania, then recrossed the Delaware and defeated the British troops at the Battle of Princeton, before going into winter quarters in Morristown, NJ.
So while you're enjoying your freedom on this day, I hope some of you will offer a quiet thanks to the men of the 1st Maryland Regiment who basically salvaged a disastrous day for the fledgling United States of America.
I wanted to take a few minutes to commemorate this event. The patriots had had success at the battles of Lexington (actually, not so much) and the battle of Concord (that they did) as well as on the British retreat back to Boston on April 19, 1775. They also were able to force the British to abandon Boston after Henry Knox organized an amazing trek through the mountains in the snow, and brought the cannon that Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured at Ft. Ticonderoga, enabling Washington's troops to erect the cannons overnight at Dorchester Heights, and make Gen. Howe's position in Boston untenable.
The British retreated to Nova Scotia and England, and the British leadership put together the largest overseas army in their history, as well as the largest armada in British history to transport the troops and attack the rebels/patriots in New York City. The ships came throughout the summer, starting in early July and most of the troops initially camped on Staten Island. By late August, after an unsuccessful attempt by Gen. Howe and his brother Adm. Howe, who were also acting as peace commissioners, to work out a resolution to the issue with Gen. Washington (an amusing story, in that the Howe communications, in multiple attempts, refused to address Washington as General, as that would give legitimacy to the US being a country, and him being something other than a rebel, and Gen. Washington and his go-betweens refusing to accept any communication that was not appropriately addressed; in the end, Washington did learn that the Howes were only offering pardons to those that put down their guns and ended their fighting, and nothing that addressed any of the issues that lead to the Declaration of Independence), the troops were moved to Brooklyn/Long Island. They commenced their attack on August 27th. As was often the case in the first several years of the Revolutionary War, the British feinted with a small force, and took the bulk of their force on a flanking move through the very lightly guarded (by the Patriots) Jamaica Pass, and came crashing through behind the lines of the Patriots. (And Washington and his generals were very slow to learn from their past mistakes in allowing themselves to be flanked.)
On this day, and in the day that followed, the entire Revolutionary War could have come to a hasty conclusion. In the Battle of Brooklyn, the men of the 1st Maryland Regiment basically saved the rest of the Patriot forces. You can read more about the Battle of Brooklyn, and the actions of the 1st Maryland Regiment, at THIS LINK.
For reasons that have puzzled historians for more than 200 years, Howe halted his attack this day. He then started digging siege lines against the Patriot protections on Brooklyn Heights. In one of the great timings of history (and one of the many reasons that Washington felt he was blessed), a 'noreaster blew in. This prevented the British navy from sailing up the East River. Washington turned to John Glover, who commanded a group of men from Marblehead, MA, who were fishermen before the Revolutionary War, and they were able to evacuate all the Patriot forces from Brooklyn (to Manhattan) during the night of Aug. 29/30. Had Washington and his troops been captured at Brooklyn (which very nearly happened), the American Revolution would have basically been over less than 6 months after the Declaration of Independence.
Washington and the Patriots suffered through a series of defeats throughout the rest of 1776. Howe routed Washington in the following months from Manhattan, from Harlem, from areas north of New York City, and basically kicked Washington's butt all the way across New Jersey, while also capturing the #2 commander in the Patriot forces, Gen. Charles Lee, in northern NJ.
After their victories in 1775, and the Declaration of Independence, things were looking up for the Patriots in 1776. By the end of the year, they had, with the exception of an occasional skirmish here and there, lost every battle they had been in. Then, as almost all the troops under his command were about to head home as their enlistments were set to end at the end of 1776, Washington took advantage of Howe stringing out his forces all across New Jersey, when Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware and defeated the Hessians troops at Trenton, crossed back to Pennsylvania, then recrossed the Delaware and defeated the British troops at the Battle of Princeton, before going into winter quarters in Morristown, NJ.
So while you're enjoying your freedom on this day, I hope some of you will offer a quiet thanks to the men of the 1st Maryland Regiment who basically salvaged a disastrous day for the fledgling United States of America.
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