On this day August 27, 1776 Continental Army soldiers from Delaware and Maryland lost over 500 men combined in an effort to let the Continental Army live to fight another day. The combined British Forces with Hessian mercenaries totalled about 30,000. The American side totalled between 15,000 to 20,000. Not only was the American side outnumbered, the British had control of the waterways around Long Island.
It is hard to visualize a battle happening at Brooklyn but it happened. Three very good resources are:
1. David McCullough's 1776 Illustrated Version.
2. The Maryland 400 in the Battle of Long Island, 1776 by Linda Davis Reno
3. The Battle of Brooklyn, 1776 by John J. Gallagher
General Washington saw the Marylanders charge the British forces six times and said: "Good God, what brave fellows we have lost this day!" Most Marylander do not know that this even happened and further do not know that Washington gave Maryland the unique priviledge of flying their flag at the same height as the United States' flag because of this.
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