Fumbling A Victory: The Battle of Long Island, 1776

Public lecture marking the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution

The British withdrawal from Boston in early 1776 sparked numerous celebrations across the northern colonies and in Congress. Many thought it would lead to a new round of negotiations with London to secure more favourable liberties.

However, John Adams and General George Washington were more committed to the cause and began preparations to meet British General Sir William Howe’s next target − New York. Howe, while regrouping in Halifax, was in correspondence with Lord Germain, Secretary of State for America, on the strategic importance of New York because of its safe and deep harbour, large Loyalist population, location as gateway to Canada via the Hudson valley and its mercantile infrastructure.

By late August 1776, Howe amassed an army of 32,000 men and a flotilla numbering 400 ships with the intent of capturing Long Island and then staging an invasion of New York Island (Manhattan). The battle which ensued was perfectly executed and the British convincingly defeated the American defenders, but Howe’s reluctance to complete the victory and possibly end the rebellion would be hotly debated from his time up to the present. In the battle’s aftermath, American General Israel Putnam was prompted to remark, “Howe is either our friend or no general.”