The Battle of Brooklyn was fought 250 years ago this August and remains one of the most under looked battles of the Revolutionary War. It was the first battle after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the war, and could have easily been the last battle for the Continental Army. Yet most Americans, and even Brooklynites, are unaware of the significance of this battle and how some of the sites we pass by every day played a significant role in the founding of our nation.
This article is the second of a multipart series we will be doing to commemorate the Battle of Brooklyn’s 250th anniversary. We will be taking a look at how we got to the battle, the battle itself and also how the battle shaped Brooklyn’s future. In this article we focus on the people on both sides of the war and those caught in the middle of it.
The People of Kings County
During the time of the Revolutionary War, Brooklyn was known as Kings County which encompassed six towns: Bushwick, Brooklyn, Flatlands, Flatbush, New Utrecht and Gravesend. There were approximately 4,100 residents of Kings County by the time of the war and most of the residents were of Dutch heritage with the exception of Gravesend which was comprised of English colonists. 1,500 of the total residents were a mix of slaves and freedmen making Kings County the highest percentage of blacks to whites above the Mason-Dixon line at that time. The major Dutch families relied on slave labor to help maintain their farms and as a result, 60 percent of Kings County white families owned at least one slave at the start of the war. Some accounts point to the slaves of Kings County as being treated fairly. One English visitor observed, “Their blacks… were very free and familiar; sometimes sauntering among the whites at meal time, with hat on head, and freely joining occasionally in conversation, as if they were one and all of the same household.” However, it is hard to believe this to be the truth when it comes to the life of all slaves in Brooklyn. Slavery was a lucrative business and many of the powerful Kings County families, like the Lefferts family whose home still stands in Prospect Park, engaged in and benefited from the slave trade. The Revolutionary War serves as a paradox, as white men fought for their freedom from the bondage of the British empire while owning slaves. This paradox was certainly evident in Kings County.
The white residents of Kings County were fairly neutral to the Patriot cause. Given the amount of wealth amassed by some of the families via an agricultural way of living that had allowed them to thrive for almost a century, they did not see the need for seceding from British rule. In 1775 the New York Provincial Congress was formed which served as a temporary form of government while the 13 colonies shifted from British rule to self governance. The provincial congress was essentially the same as the state government, where each county sent delegates to represent their constituents. The representatives for Kings County were Henry Williams and Jeremiah Remsen, little is known about either of these men and how they may have contributed to the provincial congress. As part of the first provincial congress in May of 1775, one of the resolutions adopted was the enlistment of troops to serve in local militias and the gradual disarmament of loyalists who sided with the British. This resolution divided the residents of Kings County as many signed loyalist oaths to the British while others were enlisted in local militias. Peter Lefferts, a member of the wealthy Flatbush family, was enlisted in the Flatbush Militia in April of 1776 and served as a first lieutenant. To build the fortifications, the Provincial Congress ordered Kings County Officials to supply half of their white males as well as all of the slaves in the county to help build them. They were to work on the project until the fortifications were built and had to use their own tools to do so. Before the fighting would begin in August, many families would flee to avoid being caught in the middle of the battle. When they would return, their houses and farms would be destroyed as a result of the bloody battle.
The Continental Army
General George Washington’s army at this time was a rag tag bunch. Made up of different militias from throughout the colonies, they lacked an official uniform, opting for white linen hunting shirts to distinguish themselves. These hunting shirts were lighter, thus better for the summer heat, compared to the heavy wool red coats of the British. Not only did they lack uniforms, they also lacked a uniformed weapon as most were using whatever hunting gun they had. Some weren’t even armed at all and were forced to become artillery soldiers. They were also very inexperienced and did not have military discipline as fights broke out and firearm safety was pretty much nonexistent. The commanding officers were generally inexperienced as well as only three of those in command — General George Washington, General Israel Putnam and General Richard Henry Lee — had served in the French and Indian Wars. The rest had begun their military careers at the start of the war in 1775 and came from various backgrounds.
The British
The British were a well trained military machine made up entirely of professional soldiers. They were commanded by General William Howe, a veteran of the French and Indian Wars. Contrary to popular belief, some in the British Army were against some of the enforcement measures the British Crown had used against the colonists. Howe himself was outwardly against the Intolerable Acts, a set of laws created by Parliament to punish the American colonies after the Boston Tea Party. Howe believed the British army could not conquer America, however, that was all just fluff as he told British officials privately that he would be prepared to serve in America. Howe was called upon by the King to serve and said that the only reason he accepted was to avoid turning his back on his country in a time of need.
Commanding officers all came from money, as some came from the noble classes while others simply had their families purchase them commissions. This system was established so that only those who were trusted would be in charge of the military. The system was also unique because those who did not want to go and fight in a certain place could sell their commission and pick up another commission in another unit heading to a desired place. Regiments were formed by recruiting officers who often coerced desired individuals with payment. Some officers tricked people into service by getting men drunk and forcing money into their hands as once they received a payment they could not back out of service. On average each soldier had served about 10 years in the British army, staying with their regiment throughout which formed strong bonds.
The British army had companies with different specialties. The Grenadiers were regarded as the elite unit where most of those within it were tall and strong. As their name suggests, the Grenadiers worked with grenades and were used to perform assaults on enemy positions. The Grenadiers served on the right flank while the light infantry served on the left side. The light infantry troops were the fastest soldiers and were marksmen. They were good in skirmishes and used cover to attack the enemy from a distance. The rest of the land soldiers were standard infantry troops that formed the body of the column. As mentioned before, the infantry wore red wool coats which were not ideal in the humid summer months. They were armed with the best rifle at that time called the British Pattern 1769 Short Land Musket aka the Brown Bess. The musket weighed ten pounds, an awfully heavy weapon to be carrying while marching on average 10 to 15 miles a day.
The British land troops were backed up by a formidable naval presence as 200-400 ships arrived in New York Harbor under Admiral Richard Howe, the brother of General William Howe. Like his brother, he was also sympathetic to the Patriot cause but saw no other choice but to serve for the British. Howe’s primary objective was to blockade the American coast, a task for which he did not have enough ships to accomplish at the time of the Battle of Brooklyn.
The Hessians
The Declaration of Independence is a list of grievances as to why the crown had overstepped its rule of the 13 Colonies. One of these grievances outlined by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin is:
“He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.”
At the time of the Revolutionary War, Germany was not a unified country and was instead composed of hundreds of states. Each of these states created standing armies to defend themselves from the others and the soldiers within these armies were well trained. Some of the poorer states found a way to make money by renting out their soldiers to foreign countries as mercenaries. One of the states, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassell, became well known for contracting out their soldiers throughout Europe. With the British Army standing fairly small at the start of the Revolutionary War, states in Germany like Hesse-Kassell, seized upon the opportunity to make some money and sent entire units across the Atlantic Ocean to fight for the British. The first time these troops, known as Hessians, were used was during the Battle of Brooklyn as 8,000 of them arrived with the British in early August led by General Leopold Philip de Heister. De Heister was an experienced general, having served in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War.
Hessian soldiers had to register for military services at the age of seven and could be recruited for service between the ages of 16-30. Their training was very strict and centered around discipline. Those who attempted to dodge their military service were severely punished by beating by the entire company. This was fairly rare however as Hessians took pride in being soldiers. Like the British Army, Hessian soldiers were split into specialized groups. The Jagers were the elite company and used short riffles that were best used in woodland fighting. Unlike the British, Hessians wore either green or blue uniforms and most donned mustaches. Hessians would become known as some of the most brutal soldiers throughout the war. On the other hand, Hessians viewed the Continental Army as undisciplined at the start of the war as a result of the Continental Armies poor performance at the Battle of Brooklyn. They also found the practice of slavery in America to be brutal and even recruited slaves to join their ranks as servants or music men.
Upcoming Battle of Brooklyn Events
Here is a great graphic with the list of events happening this weekend in honor of the Battle of Brooklyn. I highly recommend attending the reenactment in Prospect Park which will be happening rain or shine according to the Prospect Park Alliance.
Another event I would like to highlight is the Proclamation of Historical Significance in Red Hook. As mentioned in my previous article, Red Hook was home to Fort Defiance which played a crucial role in defending New York Harbor. The fort has long been forgotten. However, in a new article I am working on for Cobble Hill Collective, remnants of the fort have been found in recent years, spurring a community movement to educate the public about Red Hook’s past. The organization is called Friends of Fort Defiance and they are some of the most dedicated people I have had the pleasure of interviewing. They were gracious enough to share some materials with me about the event which you can find below!
