TALBOT'S EXPLOIT; BROOKLYN FORTIFIED. from gaining any material advantage. In the vicinity of New York, this partisan warfare consisted chiefly of attempts to blow up the British ships, and among those who thus became renowned was Captain Silas Talbot. He had obtained command of a fireship and shortly after the arrival of the British fleet an attack was made. Laying his ship alongside the Asia, a 64, and fastening the two together with grappling irons, Talbot set fire set fire to the combustibles in his ship. He waited to see that the conflagration had gained sufficient headway before he attempted to escape, and as a result he received many painful burns. He was carried to the Jersey shore where he received medical attention, and upon his recovery was promoted to the rank and pay of a major. In the meantime the other ships of the British fleet had succeeded in detaching the fireship from the Asia, which was thus extricated from her perilous situation. But this attack warned the British that greater precautions were necessary and the ships therefore dropped down the river and anchored below the city.* Washington expected that the British would attack by the way of Long Island and made all his arrangements in accordance with this supposition. General Greene was sent to Brooklyn to carefully study the situation, and fortifications were erected, extending See the account in Henry T. Tuckerman, Life of Silas Talbot, Commodore in the U. S. Navy, pp. 22-30. 443 from Gowanus Cove on the south to Wallabout Bay on the north;* 9,000 troops, under General Sullivan, were also sent to Brooklyn. Extending from southwest to northeast across the island and about two and one-half miles in front of the intrenchments, was a densely wooded heights which formed a natural barrier across the island. It was crossed by three roads: one on the left eastwardly toward Bedford Hills, and thence by a pass through Bedford Hills to the village of Jamaica; another, direct to Flatbush in the center; and a third to the right of the lines by Gowanus Cove to the Narrows and Gravesend Bay. About the middle of August, General Greene became very ill, when General Sullivan was placed in command, to be succeeded by General Putnam,† who was but little acquainted with the territory. It was probably because of his lack of knowledge that Putnam insufficiently guarded the road to Jamaica, and through his negligence in this respect the British were afforded an opportunity to assault the Americans in the front and rear at the same time; those in the rear being able to approach without opposition. The confusion and lack of discipline at this time resulted in only partial fulfill *See the description of these works in Johnston, Campaign of 1776, p. 64 et seq. † See G. W. Greene, Life of Greene, vol. i., pp. 157-158; Livingston, Life of Putnam, pp. 293294; Force, American Archives, 5th series, vol. i., pp. 916, 1231; Trevelyan, American Revolution, vol. ii., pp. 274-275; F. V. Greene, Life of Greene, P. 41. Johnston, Campaign of 1776, pp. 149-150. Late in August, the British force, 15,000 strong, with about 40 cannon, made preparations for an assault. † * Putnam afterward said that he had paid horsemen $50 to patrol in the direction from which he suspected that Howe would attempt to flank the Americans. See Onderdonk, Revolutionary Incidents of Long Island, pp. 140-142. See also Trevelyan, American Revolution, vol. ii., pp. 276277. The particulars of the debarkation and later movements are in the reports and letters of the the lower road; and General Clinton, Earl Percy, and General Charles Cornwallis were to advance with the right wing toward Jamaica by way of the unprotected road previously men Howes and Sir George Collyer (Force, American Archives, 5th series, vol. i., pp. 1235-1236). On the preparations for the battle, see Carrington, Battles of the Revolution, pp. 201-206; Fisher, Struggles for American Independence, vol. i., p. 490 et seq. and authorities cited. THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND. 445 the Americans into the trap which had been laid for them. Marching rapidly through Bedford, Clinton threw himself upon the flanks of the Americans, who, being thus caught between a double fire, were tioned, for the purpose of turning the American left, striking them in flank and cutting off retreat. The British executed their plans with complete success. On the night of the 26th Clinton's division passed the narrows over a marsh near the village of New Lots, and, ascertaining from a sentry who had been captured that the Jamaica road was practically unguarded (only five commissioned officers having been detailed as a special patrol*), hastened to occupy this road and also the Bedford pass. General Sullivan was entirely ignorant of the fact that Clinton had left even the Flatlands.+ General Grant began his advance at midnight along the lower road and early in the morning came into contact with the Americans under (William Alexander) Lord Stirling. At day break De Heister also began his advance, assaulting the troops on the crest of the hills under Colonel Edward Hand. In addition to this, one of the British war vessels maintained a steady fire upon the fort at Red Hook, the object being to draw the attention of the Americans from the movements on the left. When Clinton signalled that he was prepared to move, the whole British line advanced to the attack, forced the various passages without serious difficulty, and gradually drove *Livingston, Life of Putnam, p. 297; Lamb, City of New York, vol. ii., p. 109. Bancroft, vol. v., p. 31; Carrington, Battles of the Revolution, pp. 205-206; Fisher, Struggle for American Independence, vol. i., p. 495; Irving, Life of Washington, vol. ii., pp. 340-341. out mercy by the Hessians.* Some rallied in groups and made a brief stand with their rifles from rocks or behind trees. The whole pass was a scene of carnage, resounding with the clash of arms, the tramp of horses, the volleying of firearms, and the cries *Onderdonk, Revolutionary Incidents of Suffolk and Kings Counties, p. 138. See also the version in Lowell, Hessians in the Revolution, pp. 59-69. 446 DEFEAT OF THE AMERICANS. of the combatants, with now and then the dreary braying of the trumpet. The British swept down upon the Americans in such numbers that only a few of the latter were able to cut their way through the lines of the enemy, fighting desperately as they went;† others took refuge in the hills in the hope of escaping during the night; but the greater part were either killed or captured, among the prisoners being General Sullivan himself.‡ Stirling's corps, meanwhile, was maintaining a steady front against the British column under Grant. Realizing his danger, Stirling attempted to make good his retreat to the camp, but being cut off by Cornwallis and his troops, he was compelled to fight desperately and sell himself as dearly as possible. In the struggle which followed more than 250 men perished, but a part of the troops succeeded in effecting an escape across the Gowanus Creek. Lord Stirling, however, was made prisoner.§ Washing *Irving, Life of Washington, vol. ii., p. 345. Lamb, City of New York, vol. ii., p. 110. Johnston, Campaign of 1776, pp. 139-186; Bancroft, vol. v., p. 32; Fiske, American Revolution, vol. i., p. 208; Trevelyan, American Revolution, vol. ii., pp. 277-279. See Stirling's report in Force, American Archives, 5th series, vol. i., p. 1245. § Trevelyan, American Revolution, vol. ii., pp. 279-282; Charles F. Adams, The Battle of Long Island, in American Historical Review, vol. iii., p. 650 et seq.; Lamb, City of New York, vol. ii., pp. 110-111; Johnston, The Campaign of 1776, p. 186 et seq.; Thomas W. Field, Battle of Long Island; Carrington, Battles of the Revolution, pp. 207-211; The Orders of Mercer, Sullivan and Stirling, in American Historical Review, vol. iii., p. 302 et seq. ton had witnessed the battle from a hill within the lines and was greatly dejected by the result. "Good God!" cried hé, what brave fellows I must this day lose!"* The British victory was complete, their loss amounting to only 400, while the American loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners was about 1,000. Had the British been commanded by any other general than Howe, the American works would have been stormed and a decisive defeat inflicted upon the Americans. Washington expected that Howe would follow this course, but the latter ordered his troops to abandon the pursuit and to establish an encampment in front of the American lines, preparatory to conducting a regular siege. What his idea in adopting this course may Bancroft, vol. v., pp. 32-33; Irving, Life of Washington, vol. ii., pp. 346-347. The loss of the Americans is greatly exaggerated by many writers. Howe said Washington's losses totaled 3,300 and English historians, such as Massey, Jesse, and Adolphus, have taken his estimate without question, while Stedman places the loss at 2,000. American writers also vary greatly in their estimates. Lossing (Field-Book of the Revolution, vol. ii., p. 604 note), states the loss to have been 1,650; Carrington, 970; Marshall, 1,000; Irving, 2,000; Bancroft, 800; Sparks, 1,1001,200; Field, 2,000; but Johnston (Campaign of 1776, p. 202 et seq.) quite conclusively shows that Washington's estimate of 1,000 is correct. Johnston (p. 195) states also that the British and Hessians lost about an equal number, as does Knox in a letter to his wife August 28 (Brooks, Life of Knox, p. 62), while Carrington (p. 212) says that the British loss was "just four hundred." Marshall discusses at length, and very ably, the question as to the expediency of Washington's attempting to defend Long Island. See Life of Washington, vol. i., pp. 92-94. |