Joe:
Outside the Wicomico Civic Center there is a plaque that goes unnoticed by many Delmarvans. On August 27, 1776 Many soldiers from Delaware and Maryland gave up their lives in a battle that we lost to the British at Brooklyn. One Maryland group charged British forces that outnumbered them five times so that the rest of the Continental Army could escape. Because of their bravery, General Washington gave the order that Maryland could fly their flag at the same height as the United States flag. During the battle, 261 soldiers from Delaware died and 256 soldiers from Maryland died. Take note today to see how many public displays of flags reflect General Washington's order and also how many do not know it even exists.
Phil Webster
P.S. This is an article that I wrote on the subject of Maryland and Delaware's contribution to the Battle of Brooklyn. If you would like to use it, you may.
The Sacrifice of Delaware and Maryland at the Battle of BrooklynDuring the first part of July, 1776 most of the Continental Congress was meeting in Philadelphia. The Declaration of Independence was written during that time period. John Jay and others of the New York delegation were in New York. They had to deal with the pressing problem of 82 British ships of the line off the shores of New York City.
The British army had already engaged the American militia in 1775 in the Boston region (Lexington and Concord). The British military leadership decided to go for New York. If they could capture New York and take the Hudson River, they could sever the colonies into two parts and win the war. In August, they struck and landed British marines similar to what was seen at Normandy in World War II. American troops were outnumbered and easily defeated.
On August 22, the British landed with 15,000 troops. The American forces under George Washington (General Israel Putnam of Bunker Hill fame was in charge of the Brooklyn section) only numbered 8,000. The British added to their superiority by landing about 5,000 Hessians. At the time of the battle, British forces numbered over 30,000. Severely outnumbered and out-trained, the Americans were no match for the British. It could have been all over for the American cause at this point. The Maryland and Delaware battalions gave up their lives so that the rest of the army could retreat.
With 400 Marylanders against a force of 2,000 British led by Lieutenant Colonel James Grant of the (and they were being reinforced in addition to the 2,000) the leaders Sterling and Gist made a daring decision. The Marylanders charged into the rain of British fire. Sterling led six charges into swelling British reinforcements and Cornwallis’ light cannon. The Marylanders’ sacrificial bravery allowed the rest of the Continentals in the field to escape across the Gowanus Creek and live to fight another day. Maryland lost 256 men and Delaware lost 261 men on that day. A Worcester company lost two-thirds of its men.
“The scene of the conflict was within a mile of the American lines, and wilst
Smallwood was hastening to their aid [Smallwood had been assigned to a court martial hearing], Stirling prepared to make a last effort to check the advance of the enemy and give time for a portion of his command to make good its retreat. For this purpose, he selected four hundred men from the Maryland battalion, under Major Gist, placed himself at their head, and, having ordered all the other troops to make the best of their way through the creek, advanced against Cornwallis’ brigade. As they drew out between the two bodies of the enemy, it was thought by the lookers on from the camp, that they were about to surrender, but as with fixed bayonets they rushed to the charge upon the overwhelming force opposed to them, fear and sorrow filled every heart, and Washington himself wrung his hands, exclaiming, ‘Good God! What brave fellows I must this day lose.’ Five times this little band charged upon the powerful forces of Cornwallis; and each time driven back, again gathered their energies for a fiercer assault, until at last upon the sixth, the heavy column of the British reeled under the repeated shocks and began to give way in confusion.
“But in the very moment that victory seemed within their grasp, Grant’s brigade [British] assailed them in the rear, and fresh troops, the Hessians of De Heister, came to the aid of Cornwallis in front. Already outnumbered more than ten to one, with their ranks thinned by terrific slaughter, and worn down by long fighting, these devoted men could no longer make head against their foes. A portion, with Lord Stirling at their head, surrendered themselves prisoners of war; while three companies, animated by the most determined valor, cut their way through the crowded ranks of the enemy, and maintained their order until they reached the marsh, where, from the nature of the ground, they were compelled to break, and escape as quick as possible to the edge of the creek. This desperate conflict gave time to the remainder of the brigade to make good its retreat across the marsh and swim the water, bringing with them twenty-eight prisoners. A heavy cannonade from four field pieces, was kept up by the enemy upon the retreating troops, and a strong column of Hessians advanced to attack them in the marsh, where they must have all been cut off, as their guns were already wet and muddy, but for the unlooked for fire of the reinforcements from Smallwood, on the opposite shore, which drove the pursuers back to the main land where they formed some six hundred yards distant, while the remnant of the Marylanders swam the creek. Several of them, as well as some of the Pennsylvanians and Delawares, were drowned in the attempt, or perished in the marsh. Capt. Thomas’ men aided in bringing over the exhausted survivors.
“Stirling’s and the Marylanders’ gallant action allowed the rest of the Americans remaining in the field to escape across the Gowanus Creek and survive. Only seven men crossing the Gowanus were lost through drowning. But the Marylanders had sacrificed themselves for the sake of the army. Out of barely 400 men, 256 lay dead in front of the Old Stone House. Over a hundred others were wounded and/or captured. Only Gist and nine others managed to regain the American lines.”[1]
Gallagher, although exact casualty numbers cannot be determined, gave the following:
Huntington’s 7th Continentals (Connecticut) 199
Smallwood’s Maryland Regiment 267 (including 11 killed earlier)
Atlee’s Pennsylvania Militia 27
Hazlet’s Delaware Battalion 261
Miles’ Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment 209
In total, a confirmed 1,120 soldiers lost their lives in the Patriot cause that day[2]
At 9:00 A.M. General Washington watched five ships, Roebuck, Asia, Renown, Preston and Repulse headed for the East River with a favorable tide and wind. Those ships would have sealed off the retreat. They would also bring firepower and possibly more troops. As David McCullough states in 1776:
“Then miraculously the wind had veered off to the north. The ships, after tacking to and fro, trying to gain headway, at last gave up. Only the Roebuck could ‘fetch high enough’ to threaten the battery at Red Hook with a few random shots.”
Remember the Roebuck, it will be a thorn in the side of Delmarva throughout the War for Independence. There will be sightings on our rivers in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays.
That day, Tuesday, August 27 saw British casualties at 59 killed and 267 wounded. According to General Howe [British], Rebel losses were over 3,000; 1,000 were prisoners and 2,000 Americans had been killed, drowned or wounded. British General Grant stated in a letter to General Harvey: “If a good bleeding can bring those Bible-faced Yankees to their senses, the fever of independency should soon abate.”[3] American estimates were 300 killed and over 1,000 taken prisoner.
This same Grant had made a speech at the House of Commons saying that he could beat the Americans with 5,000 soldiers.[4]
When Washington was informed of the sacrifice of the Maryland and Delaware groups, he wrung his hands and said: “Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose!” The British General Howe did not follow up the attack immediately and waited a few days. A two day nor’easter storm hit the area on Wednesday and Thursday (August 28 and 29). Calm hit the area about midnight on Thursday. The continual storm kept the British ships out of the area.
Major Mordecai Gist and nine others made it back to the American camp the next morning. They were the only ones of the Marylanders to have made it back safely.
On the night of August 29th and the morning of the 30th, Washington called on the Marbleheaders under John Glover and the 27th Massachusetts to lead a retreat by boat across the East River. They would join up with the main body of the American forces under Henry Knox at the foot of Manhattan Island. The skill of the Marbleheaders cannot be overlooked. The British could hear what was going on even if they could not see. Some estimates say they made about 11 trips that evening. They had to paddle extremely quietly. When they got far enough away from shore, they had to stroke powerfully to fight the current in the East River. Getting horses, cannon, supplies and men across was no easy matter.
General McDougall, in charge of the embarkation, wrote General Washington that the evacuation would not be possible that night. The rain stopped and at 11:00 PM of the 29th, the wind died down.
A divine fog set in so that the American forces could retreat. If there had been a storm, circumstances would have been different. The Americans would not have been able to take their heavy guns across because the small boats would have sunk with heavy wake. If the weather had been clear, the British ships would have seen them and had a shooting gallery massacre.
When dawn came, there were still many Americans in the trenches. An eyewitness account (Major Ben Tallmadge) relates: “a very dense fog began to rise [out of the ground and off the river], and it seemed to settle in a peculiar manner over both encampments. I recollect this peculiar providential occurrence perfectly well, and so very dense was the atmosphere that I could scarcely discern a man at six yards distance.”[5] The fog remained until the last boat, with Washington in it, left. When it lifted, the shocked British ran to the shore and fired their guns at them, but the Americans were out of range. The only people captured were some petty thieves who were trying to rummage through the Continental Army’s leftovers. God’s Providence was looking over our weak army and allowed us to keep fighting another day. The evacuation on the 29th and 30th was also made possible by the sacrifice by the brave Delaware and Maryland battalions on the 27th who sacrificed their lives so that the struggle could go on.
Most battlefields are left alone in a sort of sacred remembrance to those who died on the field. People will go out and see Gettysburg, Manassas, Antietam, Valley Forge, Yorktown, etc. and remember their sacrifice. Brooklyn is not in the American psyche as a place of remembrance but it should be. The city grew up all around the battleground and streets and buildings mark the site now. One has to work hard to visualize the scene nowadays. There is a monument to the Maryland and Delaware battalions that fought there. Further reading on the subject can be found in a book entitiled “The Battle of Brooklyn, 1776” by John J. Gallagher.
Thank You Phil!
