Dr. Samuel B. Hoff is a George Washington Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Delaware State University. He previously served as the university’s ROTC director and is a past recipient of a military history fellowship from West Point.
Ernest Hemingway is credited with saying that all true stories, if carried far enough, end in death. The following is a true story of sacrifice, before there was a Memorial Day commemorated or, for that matter, even a country. The event centered on a crucial battle during the American Revolution.
Fifteen months after the conflict began, the Americans formally declared independence from Britain. The feel-good atmosphere did not last long. Having moved from the north, the British military, under Gen. William Howe, landed in Staten Island, New York, in July 1776, with the goal of taking over New York City. Gen. George Washington’s Continental Army was split between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
On Aug. 22, 1776, the British landed around 15,000 troops, unopposed, at Denyse’s Ferry and Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn, at and near the present Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Several thousand more troops subsequently arrived. Learning of the action at his Manhattan headquarters, Gen. Washington made the first of several critical mistakes. Believing that the landing was diversionary, Washington presumed that the British would remain at Staten Island. Though he sent additional troops to Brooklyn, the move was inadequate to confront Britain directly. Further, it weakened the American eastern flank.
On Aug. 27, 1776, Gen. Howe staged a frontal assault against American forces, starting the Battle of Brooklyn (otherwise known as the Battle of Long Island). But that tactic was a distraction for the main forces. Led by British Gens. Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis, among others, British and Hessian soldiers found an opening at the Jamaica Pass and flanked the American position. Surprised by the British maneuver and outnumbered by more than 2-to-1 in troops, the Americans knew they were in trouble.
Two Continental military regiments deserve special recognition for their heroism during the Battle of Brooklyn. A contingent of Maryland and Delaware soldiers, led by Cols. William Smallwood and John Haslet, respectively, bought time for the American retreat back to fortifications at Brooklyn Heights, but many paid the ultimate sacrifice. Records show that almost 300 troops from those two regiments perished. The vast majority were from Maryland. Though most history books refer to the saving soldiers as the “Maryland 400,” it is more accurate to refer to this group as the “M-D 300.”
Thanks to the aforementioned selfless soldiers, the Americans were then able to stave off complete defeat but were still trapped. Faced with the choice between a direct forward attack or a siege, British Gen. Howe chose the latter to minimize loss of his troops. That gave the Americans one chance to avoid a cataclysmic conclusion, and Gen. Washington made up for previous errors by taking advantage of it. Overnight, between Aug. 29-30, 1776, all American troops remaining in Brooklyn escaped via the East River to Manhattan, aided by thick fog.
The Battle of Brooklyn has many significant aspects. It reversed the momentum toward freedom amid 1,000 American casualties, demonstrating that the path toward nationhood would be difficult. To some, it showed the need for a more disciplined and professional American military, a criticism that Gen. Washington heard and later improved upon. The battle’s final stage has been perpetually debated: Should Gen. Howe be blamed for the successful escape by American forces, or should Gen. Washington be lauded as a genius? Perhaps neither and both. Finally, the 1st Delaware Regiment continued its outstanding service during the remainder of the American Revolution and was considered among the most reliable throughout the conflict.
While the American goal of independence was eventually realized, it was not without thousands of citizen soldiers forfeiting their lives for freedom.
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