On August 27, 1776 the British Army successfully moved against the American Continental Army led by George Washington. The battle was part of a British campaign to seize control of New York and thereby isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. Washington's defeat could have led to the surrender of his entire force, but his ingenuity instead allowed him to escape and continue the fight.
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Did You Know?
On August 29th, under cover of a foggy night, George Washington secretly evacuated his entire force, more than 9,000 men, from Brooklyn to Manhattan, saving the Continental Army and stunning the British.
After the British evacuation from Boston in March, the British general Lord Howe moved to occupy New York City under the protection of a British fleet that commanded the surrounding waters. To protect his left flank, the defending American general, George Washington, stationed one-third of his troops (numbering no more than 20,000 trained soldiers) on the Long Island side of the East River, where they erected fortifications.
From his encampment on Staten Island, Howe attacked Washington's isolated wing by landing 20,000 men at Gravesend Bay, Long Island, on August 22. After four days' reconnaissance, Howe drove the Americans back and inflicted heavy losses (1,200 American prisoners were taken, and about 400 men on each side were killed or wounded). Howe might have captured Washington's entire force on Long Island at this point, but instead he elected to lay siege. The following week Washington took advantage of this delay to retreat across the river to Manhattan, a successful move that helped repair low American morale.
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