Battle of Long Island: When the American Revolution Almost Died in Brooklyn

On this day 250 years ago, the largest battle of the Revolutionary War was fought. The Battle of Long Island, fought mostly in the heart of modern-day Brooklyn — and sometimes denominated the Battle of Brooklyn — was a smashing victory for the British and a nearly catastrophic American loss that would have ended the war.

When the American Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, things were looking up. Sure, Americans had yet to bring any allies openly into the war — declaring independence was a first step in that direction — and their wintertime invasion of Quebec had proved a disaster that Ben Franklin’s fact-finding mission had put out of its misery. But the British occupation of Boston, which turned into a patriot siege of the city after the Pyrrhic victory of the British at Bunker Hill in June 1775, ended with liberation of the city by the Continental Army in March 1776. In late June 1776, yet another miraculous patriot victory turned the British back from Charleston.

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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On this day 250 years ago, the largest battle of the Revolutionary War was fought. The Battle of Long Island, fought mostly in the heart of modern-day Brooklyn — and sometimes denominated the Battle of Brooklyn — was a smashing victory for the British and a nearly catastrophic American loss that would have ended the war.

When the American Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, things were looking up. Sure, Americans had yet to bring any allies openly into the war — declaring independence was a first step in that direction — and their wintertime invasion of Quebec had proved a disaster that Ben Franklin’s fact-finding mission had put out of its misery. But the British occupation of Boston, which turned into a patriot siege of the city after the Pyrrhic victory of the British at Bunker Hill in June 1775, ended with liberation of the city by the Continental Army in March 1776. In late June 1776, yet another miraculous patriot victory turned the British back from Charleston.