The Battle of Brooklyn was one of the most important battles of the American Revolution. On March 16, 2026, as part of its ongoing America 250 celebration this year, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Eastern District) hosted a special civics event on the Battle of Brooklyn at the Theodore Roosevelt U.S. Courthouse in Brooklyn. Over 75 students and faculty from the Seth Low Intermediate School 96; the Christa McAuliffe Intermediate School 187; and Intermediate School 98 – the Bay Academy for the Arts and Sciences; as well as judges and court staff, attended the program, which was held in the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein Ceremonial Courtroom. This article provides an overview of the Battle of Brooklyn and the Eastern District civics event. 

The Battle 

The Battle of Brooklyn, often called the Battle of Long Island, was fought between August 22 and 30, 1776. As the late historian David McCullough notes in his book, 1776, the Battle of Brooklyn “had been the first great battle of the Revolution, and by far the largest battle ever fought in North America until then. Counting both armies and the Royal Navy, more than 40,000 men had taken part.” The British capture of Brooklyn occurred over the course of three days—August 27, 1776 to August 29, 1776—with the main fighting of the battle occurring on August 27, 1776. 

Many Americans, however, died before the battle even began. As historian Rick Atkinson notes in his book, The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777, Volume One of the Revolution Trilogy, “summer diseases had lacerated the army.” General George Washington wrote to John Hancock that “dysentery prevails considerable in the army at this time.” Typhoid, typhus, malaria, and lice also prevailed; one American doctor wrote, “the air of the whole city seems infected.” On August 15, 1776—a little more than a week before the battle began—Washington learned that the newly-promoted commander of the American defenses on Long Island, Nathanael Greene, had been confined to bed with a raging fever. As Atkinson notes, Washington “scrambled to find a replacement who knew something about” how the Americans would defend Long Island. Israel Putnam ultimately took over the battlefront, despite having no qualifications other than seniority. 

The actual fighting—which only lasted hours on August 27, 1776—was brutal. Per McCullough, Washington likely watched the battle from a vantage point on Brooklyn Heights. (Indeed, the present day Trader Joe’s in Cobble Hill has a plaque affixed to its side that reads “near this place during the Revolutionary War stood the Ponkiesberg Fortification from which General George Washington is said to have observed the fighting at Gowanus during the Battle of Long Island”). Washington was reported to have stated during the fighting, “Good God! What brave fellows we must this day lose!” 

Washington ultimately called a meeting on August 29, 1776 with his generals at the Livingston mansion in Brooklyn Heights, overlooking the East River, and determined that retreat, rather than continued fighting, was the best option. (A tablet currently sits on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, which marks the land upon which Washington decided with the Council of War “to withdraw the American Army from Long Island.”). Per McCullough, Washington would later estimate in a report to Congress that about 700 to 1,000 of his men had been killed or taken prisoner. British General William Howe estimated the total American casualties, including killed and wounded, at 3,300. As Atkinson notes, “no battle in the eight-year war would be larger in the number of combatants . . . and few would be more lopsided.” 

Thankfully, as McCullough notes, “circumstances—fate, luck, Providence, the hand of God, as would often be said—intervened.” A heavy fog settled over Brooklyn—a fog so thick that one soldier remarked that one “could scarcely discern a man at six yards distance.” In a single night, 9,000 American troops escaped across the East River. (The only men captured were three who had remained in Brooklyn to plunder). Washington was on one of the last boats going through the mist into Manhattan; he later wrote to Hancock that “for forty-eight hours preceding” the trip across the East River, “I had hardly been off my horse and never closed my eyes.” 

As McCullough summarized, “as resounding as the British victory had been, it was not a decisive victory. The war had not been denied a stroke by a superior force of professional soldiers. Washington and his 9,000 troops had survived to fight another day.” The late historian Charles Higgins remarked, “[t]he Declaration was signed in ink in Philadelphia, but it was signed and sealed in blood in Brooklyn.”

The “Battle of Brooklyn” Program 

As noted above, on March 16, 2026, over 75 students from three local middle schools attended a special civics program at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Chief Judge Margo K. Brodie welcomed the students. Chief Judge Brodie noted that “while the Americans were defeated in the battle, General George Washington’s leadership and the Continental Army’s miraculous escape allowed America to fight on for freedom.”

Two speakers presented during the program: Justin Batt, Curator of the Harbor Defense Museum at Fort Hamilton, and Maggie Weber, the Director of Education at the Old Stone House of Brooklyn. 

Mr. Batt spoke about the lead-up to the battle, and particularly how the Continental Army tried to prepare for the invasion of British troops, given the many pathways available to the British into New York City and Long Island. Mr. Batt provided maps of the Battle to the students, which helped them to understand both the topography and the movement of the troops in August 1776. Mr. Batt also explained how the Battle of Brooklyn is often considered the largest amphibious assault in American military history until D-Day.

Ms. Weber spoke about how the Old Stone House was the culminating site of the Battle of Brooklyn. While the Americans lost the battle, the British failed to capture General Washington and his army, who withdrew across the East River to fight again and, eventually, win the Revolutionary War.

Ms. Weber also asked the students to sign—with quill pens—the Declaration of Independence and/or a Loyalty Oath to King George III. She discussed what real New Yorkers living in the then-farmlands of Brooklyn and Long Island had to contemplate when signing one (or both) of these documents. Her words helped to ensure the students understood the bravery of those signing the Declaration, as they risked their lives, families, and properties by rebelling against Great Britain. She quoted Ben Franklin’s famous words: “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” 

The students asked questions and were engaged (and inspired) throughout the patriotic program. The students were provided lunch courtesy of the Federal Bar Foundation. 

The Court expressed its thanks to Mr. Batt, Ms. Weber, the Federal Bar Foundation, and the Justice Resource Center for all of their help, along with Michael Loguercio, Debra Lesser, Michael Seif, Alana Chill, and Aja Stephens for their great work behind the scenes.

Those interested in learning more about the Battle of Brooklyn (and New York City history in general) are encouraged to visit the Old Stone House (https://theoldstonehouse.org/) and the Harbor Defense Museum at Ft. Hamilton (https://home.army.mil/hamilton/about/garrison/harbor-defense-museum).

* * *

Editor’s note: The author, Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo, is a member of the Board of Editors of the Federal Bar Council Quarterly.