August 27, 1776 · Middle Theater
August 27, 1776
The largest battle of the entire Revolutionary War. Howe landed 20,000 British and Hessian troops on Long Island in a meticulously planned operation. While an American force held Brooklyn Heights, Howe sent Clinton on a night march through unguarded Jamaica Pass to strike the American left from behind. The encircled American units were destroyed or captured. Only desperate rearguard fighting by Maryland and Delaware troops — 'The Four Hundred' — bought time. On the night of August 29, Washington secretly evacuated 9,000 men across the East River to Manhattan, using every available boat in a thick fog.
Commanders