In 1776, hard fighting took place between colonial forces and British troops in New York.
Today, just few traces remain.
Today, just few traces remain.
Two brothers, General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe, joined forces on Staten Island. They sailed into New York harbor in the summer of 1776 with the largest British expeditionary force ever assembled—32,000 soldiers. Their force included thousands of German mercenaries, or soldiers who fight solely for money. The Americans called these troops Hessians, because many of them came from the German region of Hesse.
As an early supporter of American independence, George Washington had begun to recruit and train a militia when tensions first arose with the British. Washington rallied 23,000 men to New York’s defense, but he was vastly outnumbered. Most of his troops were untrained recruits with poor equipment. The battle for New York ended in late August with an American retreat following heavy losses. By late fall, the British had pushed Washington’s army across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. The vast majority of Washington’s men had either deserted or had been killed or captured. Fewer than 8,000 men remained under Washington’s command, and the terms of their enlistment were due to end on December 31. Washington desperately needed some kind of victory for his men to keep them from going home. |