The Battle of Brooklyn AKA Long Island, took place Last Saturday, August 25, in Prospect Park, which actually saw combat that day 250 years ago. I have not seen a reenactment in New York City before and have not previously met more than 5 uniformed reenactors at a time. I found it quite impressive. My wife took some photos. A tip of the hat to her.
Jay and I wore our club colors. We were both surprised at
the number of spectators, expecting hundreds and finding thousands.
The Continentals eventually engaged a group of Hessians, who were beyond our line of sight. Later we saw perhaps a score of them. I think the Continentals were near a hundred strong. In time, a similar force of redcoats appeared behind their left flank. The sound system wasn’t strong enough to reach most of the crowd. I hoped most had read up on the battle and knew the redcoats were flanking the Yanks.
The final British charge at the quickstep sent the Continentals flying.
In time, all troops on both sides formed a single line and
fired three volleys.
There was some further marching about.
Hessians then formed with British.
The Continentals paraded before the Crown troops. A Continental officer saluted them and they presented arms. The fellow on the right below with all the gold braid is the Hessian officer. Well into the role, he had a truly imperious walk.
A couple Royal Artillerymen were on their own. The car with the gun and the rest of the crew broke down on the way.
All then headed to 3rd Street and the Old Stone House, which saw combat back in the day, albeit in a different location, later paved over for a large roadway. Here are Hessians forming on a park pathway leading to 3rd Street.
A gunner was actively collecting intelligence about the local area.
The club t-shirts led Fencible emeritus Dennis to us. He took this picture of a soldier and his Galaxy 1776.
We followed the troops to the Old Stone House, where folks mingled. We passed a couple Continentals speaking German. I presume they were from the German Regiment. Now that's historical accuracy.
There were a number of stands, including one from the US
Army Center for Military History. They had small campaign books, gratis. I picked
up one on the New York Campaign 1776, by Ricardo Herrera. Upon opening it later, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the author is indeed
a serious historian, and a former officer. His historical chops were deep; his military knowledge
had a different slant than many of my other books. While he found errors by the
British, he dissected the early Continental army, amateur from top to bottom. I
presume you’ve heard that saying, amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk
logistics. Along with tactical flaws by amateur generals, Washington first and
foremost, there was very poor discipline, disorganized supply and lousy basic
hygiene, which explains the large number of troops on sick call. Keep the
privies away from the fresh water, please. The First Maryland (badly hit
covering the retreat of the army) and the Delaware Regiment were noted for
discipline and steadiness.
The maps aren’t detailed enough for battle scenarios, but
they illuminate the operational issues. A map of the colonies shows population density,
which clarifies why the armies campaigned where they did. It also shows the demarcation
line that Parliament declared, hoping to keep British American settlers from expanding
into Native territory. This last was likely a stronger cause for revolt than
taxes. The only small beef I have is that the poor overall strategic Crown
choices aren’t that clearly explained. But he had only 85 pages to work with. It has
a short appendix and a bibliography adding another 11 pages. Now I’m kicking myself
for not grabbing the two other volumes they had, on the New Jersey and Saratoga
campaigns. Thirteen volumes are noted in the book.
Perhaps they will be at the White Plains reenactment in
October. A young man there said the Army has 40 museums. I only knew about the
one at West Point, must investigate.
