Washington first faced the army of Howe in the Battle of Long Island, 27 August 1776. At this battle, Howe was able to turn the American left flank and inflict severe casualties, nearly capturing Washington's entire army. Troubled by these developments, Washington nonetheless continued his efforts in New York. He occupied Harlem Heights; and upriver he ordered the construction of Fort Washington and Fort Lee, positioned on opposite sides of the Hudson River. On March of 1776, George Washington's army went to New York where he stationed it in New York City and Brooklyn. Several New England regiments from other states marched down and met Washington. Some famous Brooklynites include: Israel Putnam, John Durkee, Henry Knox, and Nathaniel Greene.
    The British army arrived under the command of General William Howe with 15,000 soldiers. Washington had about 20,000 soldiers in New York. He built "Fort Washington" in northern Manhattan, and built "The Battery", a line of cannon artillery near New York Harbor. Washington spread his troops out over both sides of the East River and up and down Manhattan Island. When the British arrived, the Americans were shocked, they had never seen a flotilla that large. Daniel McCurtain, an eyewitness wrote, "the whole bay was full of shipping as it could be. I ... thought all London afloat."
    Knox's battery was a great force, but unfortunately as planned by the British, the artillery was pointed in the wrong direction. Their plan consisted of landing in Staten Island and through July, more and more transport ships met the British Fleet. Generals Clinton and Cornwallis also sailed into the New York Harbor. Together, they made up Britain's greatest expeditionary force to date, ready to attack Washington.
    To reinforce the British, they also brought in German mercenaries (Hessians) to help, and the presence of the Germans was greatly resented by the American population. But none of this mattered to Washington because without a navy to control the waters, he was faced with a divided force. Also, Washington's army was barely more than a mob. His army was undisciplined and had little respect for military rank. They had little or no experience with artillery.
On August 22,1776 Howe began to move. Instead of facing Knox's artillery, he smartly moved 88 frigates under a bridge into Grave's End. 15,000 men landed in Brooklyn with commanders Clinton, Cornwallis, and Count von Donop.
    Later the wind in New York Harbor favored Washington and prevented Howe from sailing warships up the East River. Meanwhile, in Boston the English were underestimating the power of the Americans. Washington fortified the hilltops and the southern slopes in Red Hook and Flatbush. 10,000 British troops marched around the Americans, and after camping for 5 days, marched east to the Jamaica Pass which was unguarded by the Americans. There they surprised the Americans and attacked them from behind. The British attacked from Bedford and the Americans fled in all directions and were chased into the woods.
On August 26, 1776 Washington came over to Brooklyn and realized that he had maneuvered his troop into a trap. Aside from the flanking maneuver, the British drove forward from Brooklyn's western shoreline. On August 29th Washington decided it was time to leave Brooklyn. He knew that if the British discovered his retreat, half of his army and most of its commanders would be caught in a massacre of British fire and bayonets.
    Washington's Army was in deadly peril during the moment of withdrawal. While Washington's misjudgment put the army in extreme danger, the strength of his leadership enabled him to save he force. When the British arrived at Brooklyn Heights that next morning, they found nothing more than some rusted buckets.