NY, USA
Battle of Long Island
August 27, 1776
The Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, was the largest engagement of the Revolutionary War. General Howe landed approximately 20,000 troops on the western end of Long Island and executed a flanking march through the unguarded Jamaica Pass that rolled up the American left. Washington's army of roughly 10,000, many of them inexperienced militia, was driven back to Brooklyn Heights with heavy losses.
The disaster was compounded by a two-day rainstorm that made evacuation difficult. On the night of August 29-30, Washington organized a desperate retreat across the East River to Manhattan, using every available boat. The entire army crossed in a single night, with a fortuitous morning fog covering the final boats. The army was saved, but the defeat made clear that New York could not be held.
People Involved
Commander-in-chief who fought desperately to hold New York in 1776, lost the city after the Battle of Long Island, and returned in triumph on Evacuation Day 1783. His defense of New York was a military failure that nearly destroyed the army, but his escape preserved the Continental cause.
British commander who captured New York in 1776 through a series of brilliant flanking maneuvers that drove Washington from Long Island, Manhattan, and ultimately out of New York entirely. His failure to destroy Washington's retreating army has been debated by historians for centuries.