Most historians write that the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, maybe more commonly known as the Battle of Long Island, was just another disaster for the Continental Army. To be sure, as a military engagement it was, but it is so much more, in my opinion. It was August of 1776, having lost most major engagements, barely escaping, the colonial army forced the British to leave the Boston area in March because they fortified Dorchester Heights with the cannon they seized from Fort Ticonderoga. It was an untenable situation for the British. Guessing correctly, the newly minted commander of the Continental Army, George Washington, supposed that the next logical place for the British to go was New York City. He marched his army to New York in hopes of engaging the British to keep them from getting a foothold in New York. Outnumber 2 to 1, Washington had around 10,000 troops, while the British mustered more than 20,000 plus a large naval contingent. It would be the largest battle of the entire war.
General William Howe, the British commander, took his 20,000 troops across from Staten Island to the southern tip of Long Island, near Gravesend Bay, and landed on August 22nd. A contingent of British Marines landed to the north. Washington's entire army was spread along Guan Heights. Unknown to Washington, General Howe and 10,000 of his troops used captured Americans to help them infiltrate around the left flank of Washington's line by taking the little known Jamaica Pass. The rest of Howes forces staged a frontal assault on Guan Heights. As the British disjointedly attacked the American center and right, Howe's flanking maneuver put the patriots a terrible position of being surrounded as the few men guarding the left flank broke. Washington smartly chose to retreat to Brooklyn. In perhaps one of the greatest moments of sacrifice recorded in warfare, the Maryland 400 fought a delaying rear guard action to give the continentals time to pull off the Guan Heights. The Maryland 400, was really about 370 men who fought to the last. They were from the 1st Maryland Regiment, which was created on June 14, 1775, the same date as the birth of the US Army. They heeded the call of the First Continental Congress to create militias in defense of the homeland. Led by Colonel William Smallwood, the Marylander's repeatedly charged into the British Marines far superior force on the far right flank of the line. When it was over, 256 Marylanders were dead, about 100 captured and just a dozen made it through the swamp back to Continental lines. George Washington, who had been watching from a redoubt on nearby Cobble Hill was reported to have said, "Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose!". If you have ever wondered why Maryland's called the, "Old Line State", it was because of this action. The battle was over by just before noon on the 27th.
With only the waters of the East River to his back, Washington faced the loss of his entire army. Inexplicably, General Howe chose not to press his advantage and ordered his men to dig in. This decision is most curious, but it was believed that he thought the British Navy was to cut off Washington's escape from the water. They never arrived. This was just the first of what I will only call divine interventions that saved our nation. I know there are many who do not believe in that kind of thing, but what happened next is truly inexplicable other than by the hand of something higher. It wouldn't be the last time this sort of thing would happen. The British settled in for the night with hopes of a surrender by Washington the following morning and an end to the rebellion. However, heavy rain and winds kept both camps in place on the 28th and the British Navy moored in place. Washington, however, had other ideas. Though not the polished tactician of a seasoned veteran, Washington proved to be rather adept at craftiness and resiliency. Gathering every boat they could find, he started to extract his army a little at a time across to New York on the night of the 29th. He had troops along the contact line keep fires burning to fool the British to their plans. Many of the oarsmen made as many as eleven trips across, but by day light, he still had a third of his army in Brooklyn. The Divine Hand played its part once again as a thick fog rolled in covering the water and far inland. This was a fog that had never been seen before in New York or since. It was so thick you could not see a foot in front of you. Despite being only 600 yards away, the British never knew what the continentals were doing. By 6am, Washington stepped into the last boat and crossed the river to safety. It wasn't until about 11am, when the wind died down and the British moved forward to discover the Americans had vanished.
When you consider that there would be no United States of America if a heavy fog hadn't rolled in, you can only say something higher played a role. Washington continued to elude the British every time they thought they had him. Losing most of the battles, yet winning the war by luck, craftiness or higher intentions, it doesn't matter. We are here and the super power of the world, no less. Something similar happened during the War of 1812, where an epic storm appeared out of no where to put out the fires from burning down Washington and allowing the small American Army to escape a sure defeat. During the French and Indian War, Washington, with his first command, stood out on the battlefield like a beacon, with his tall, slim stature, wearing a red coat and often riding a horse. Many times Indian marksman would say they tried to kill him during several engagements. He survived, with bullet holes throughout his coat and hat. One time, during the Revolution, a British sharpshooter had Washington dead to rites as he rode his horse on a reconnaissance mission, far in front of the line. The sharpshooter was Patrick Ferguson, a Scot who was responsible for creating the first sharpshooter regiment in the British Army and the man who all but invented the breechloading, light rifle that could fire 6 rounds per minute. Due to an arrogance only the British Army could employ at the time, the sharpshooters were refused to become an essential part of the army by General Howe himself. Who feared a loss of glory to the upstart Ferguson. One day, during the lead up to the Battle of Brandywine near Chadd's Ford, PA in 1777, Ferguson and a handful of his sharpshooters were scouting well beyond range of their own lines when they heard the sounds of horses. Staying concealed, they spotted a hussar, followed by another rider in buff and blue with "a remarkable large cocked hat." This was obviously an officer of great distinction and after first ordering his men to fire upon them, the quickly rescinded the order. In an era gone by, the chivalrous nature of men raised with honor was never to shoot a man going about his business unless in the heat of battle. Calling out to the riders to halt in hopes of capturing them, they both bolted across the field instead. Shooting a man in the back was unheard of and Ferguson let them go. The man in the cocked hat was George Washington and at the range they were, Ferguson could've gotten off 4 or five rounds before they were out of site. Fog, chivalry, epic storms from no where...this nation owes you a debt of gratitude. The world is a better place because of these miracles. In the worlds of the underdog, surviving for another day is literally the name of the game. Hope takes time to gather and those endowed with superior numbers or superiority of themselves, often under estimate how valuable time is. Or maybe something else was entirely at work here. We will never know.
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