T8+-+6.3A

T8 - 6.3A Salena Baker, Savanna Bashore, Meghan Stepanek (Battle of Long Island) = ** A Vicious Battle ** = “Discipline is the soul or an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.” –George Washington. Washington took 10,000 of his 18,000 strong army and led them through Brooklyn, New York to face one of the greatest armies in the world. The British had 40 warships, and an army of 20,000 well trained, and well experienced soldiers. However, General Washington was ready to face General Howe’s army.

During August of 1776, the U.S. troops were stationed in New York, waiting for the British to come in. They thought that they could fight the British, but when they say how many people there were, their thoughts changed. The British had twice the amount of people as the Americans did. They marched in, under William Howe’s command, and forced the Americans out of Brooklyn Heights. With weapons that the British had, the Americans retreated. They knew that the British were very strong, and that they were outnumbered. This was a sad day for the Americans. Many of Washington’s men were slaughtered by the greatest army in the world.

This unfair battle took place in Brooklyn, New York. Washington’s men eventually had to fleet to other areas surrounding New York when a significant amount of men had been killed. The reason the battle even began was due to the revolution. After the declaration was signed and accepted by King John of England, America and the British still went to war. News traveled slowly from the mother country to America, so by the time that the news arrived, the war had already begun. Even though England was willing to give America independence, they were not going to surrender and let the Americans take their pride.

During the battle of Long Island in August 1776, the British outnumbered the Americans by a ratio of 2:1. George Washington and his troops were waiting for General Howe and his troops. They were expecting them to arrive in March of 1776, but they didn’t come until August of 1776. Washington had lost almost a fourth of his men by the time the Battle of Long Island was over. About 300 were killed, 800 were wounded, and 1,000 were captured; while Howe only had 64 killed, 293 wounded and 31 captured. On August 28 th, additional troops were sent to Washington and made his number just short of 9,000. Soon after, Washington realized that he had split up his troops up between Manhattan and Long Island and made it easier for Howe to capture his men. Unfortunately for Howe, there was a tremendous downpour and it prevented him from being able to capture the Americans. Washington realized it was time to withdrawal from camp. The British arrived to empty bunkers. The Americans had lost the battle of Long Island, but they were able to fight another day.

Overall, this was a vicious blood battle between two countries for one thing, pride. Pride was the only reason the revolutionary war occurred. The Battle of Long Island, though brutally lost by the Americans, was a very significant battle. It was significant because this battle set off the beginning of many battles between Washington and Howe’s army. Though outnumbered every time, Washington kept fighting, making him a great leader for America.