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Battle for New York CityTHE BATTLE FOR NEW YORK CITY AND THE 6 MOST IMPORTANT HOURS IN EARLY AMERICAN HISTORYThe following story is a modified version of the story of this battle as told by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard in the book KILLING ENGLAND, The Brutal Struggle for American Independence.In the early days of the Revolutionary War, General Washington and his American Army (along with the help of a huge population of patriots) had forced the English Army out of Boston. Utilizing the large English naval force, British General Gage made the decision to move his army south to New York City where he planned to capture the city. Knowing that the English plan, General Washington moved his army south where fortifications were constructed both on Manhattan Island and in the modern day portion of New York City called Brooklyn. Washington’s goal was to spoil General Gage’s strategy of taking New York.THE STORY BEGINS General Howe has secretly moved his army into attack position during the night. He has personally led a flanking maneuver by marching his men more than 9 miles under cover of darkness. We pick up the story in the early morning hours of the first day of battle. THE FIGHTING BEGINSWhat follows is a day of continuous fighting with the surrounded American troops battling desperately against a fighting force superior in numbers, weaponry, and discipline. Early on the first morning, the British adopt a tactic of allowing the Americans to fire a volley, and then rush into their ranks to bayonet them as they reload. One group of Americans breaks in terror looking for an escape route but finds its way blocked by a thick marsh (swamp). Under a hail of British bullets, many become mired in the muck. They are quickly shot. Others make it to the safety of deeper water, only to drown. A MARYLAND UNIT’S STORY By noon on the first day of battle, the slaughter was so intense that one Maryland unit had to launch a suicide attack. The Maryland soldiers were led by a bold major named Mordecai Gist. At dawn Gist’s troops numbered two thousand, but by noon only 400 remained. Rather than cower and await their capture or death at the hands of the British, Gist commands his troops to charge the English who are positioned only a few yards away. At first the plan worked. The British were stunned at the valor of these untrained American soldiers as they came running toward them, but the Brits recovered quickly once their cannon fire began. Cannon shot quickly felled Americans by the dozen. But even then the Americans didn’t stop. Stepping over the bodies of their dead comrades, they regrouped six times, charging their enemy again and again. Eventually, however, British reinforcements arrived to turn the tide of battle. When the fighting finally ended, only 10 Maryland soldiers escaped the battle without injury. MASSACHUSETTS MASSACRENot far away a group of Massachusetts soldiers squared off against a unit of Hessian (German) mercenaries. The Hessians, well trained and skillful soldiers, initiated an attack from the south by using Flatbush Road. The surprised Americans, proudly flying a ‘liberty’ flag, were quickly overrun by the Germans. The Americans attempted to surrender.But the New Englanders were son surrounded by a circle of Hessian bayonets. The British had falsely warned the Hessians that the American ‘rebels’ would put to death any soldier they captured. Thus, the Hessians were intent on doing the same thing to the soldiers from Massachusetts. To make matters even worse, the Hessians had been drinking water mixed with rum from their canteens. They were in no mood to show mercy. Thrusting their pointed blades, the Hessians tightened the circle around the Americans, stabbing and hacking at any man who moved. Some of the Americans were run through and impaled to a nearby tree. The boys from Massachusetts tried to put up a good fight, punching and swinging their muskets towards the bayonets, but their efforts were futile. Every patriot in that unit was bayoneted to death. Then the Hessians looted the bodies for whatever they could find of value and left the bodies to rot right where they had fallen as they moved on through Battle Pass and into Brooklyn to continue the fight. THE AMERICANS CATCH A BREAKThe British are in complete control of the battle and poised for a great victory, but then comes a crucial mistake. At a time when General Howe should have continued to fight until having taken all of New York City, he orders a halt to the fighting. American casualties number in the thousands; the English have lost fewer than 100 men. But Howe is determined to wait for another advantage in his slaughter of Americans in order to minimize his own losses. He lacks ladders for scaling the American redoubts and tools for cutting away the sharpened stakes jutting outward from the American fortification. Howe also feels he needs more artillery to continue the siege. He withdraws his soldiers and makes camp out of the reach of American muskets.Despite enormous casualties the Americans are not overwhelmed. Nevertheless, the Americans are in desperate need of help. Then rain begins to fall. The rain saves the Americans. It pours in torrents all through the afternoon and night. Muskets become useless as the flints and powder are drenched. The earthen redoubts behind which the Americans cower become nothing but mud and waist deep puddles. There is nowhere to take cover from the elements, so men doze standing up while others lay shivering in the muck. Early the next morning British cannons open fire on the American position, making life even more miserable for Washington’s army. But the Brits do not attack. The weather forbids it. On the evening of August 29, fateful decisions are made that will change Washington’s situation. Rather than endure a British attack, which will end up in the capture and the probable hanging of General Washington and imprisonment of his army, Washington decides the time has come to send his troops back to American fortifications on Manhattan Island. Better to retreat and live to fight another day than to hang by the neck until dead.The general’s plan to ferry 9,000 men, wagons, horses, and cannons across a turbulent river in the dead of night seems downright foolish. Washington opposed this extraordinarily dangerous retreat until this afternoon when his advisors convinced him that he had no other choice.EVACUATION OF TROOPS ACROSS THE EAST RIVERThe evacuation has begun, but the general and his army are at the mercy of the wind, tides, rain, and most of all darkness. Everything not already across the river will be lost if the retreat is not completed by sunrise when the Brits will see that the Americans are on the run. One by one Washington’s troops have been pulled from the front lines with orders to march in absolute silence. No talking or coughing is allowed. Wagon wheels are wrapped in cloth to ensure quiet, and officers have been instructed to give their orders in face to face whispers. Should they be heard, the superior British army would slaughter the Americans, hang their general, and end the quest for American independence. It is imperative that this retreat be flawless.As the beach below becomes choked with men and equipment, soldiers can no longer make their way down to the boats. A line forms up the steps and onto the ridge overlooking the beach. The backlog of soldiers waiting to get to the boats stretches for a quarter of a mile. Then panic begins to sweep through the ranks. After suffering devastation from General Howe’s army, fighting in mud and water up to their knees, seeing friends and fellow soldiers run through by bayonets, the thought of being attacked while on this beach tests the limits of their fears. Washington notices that the soldiers on the beach are no longer following orders. One group of men has boarded a boat and is preparing to cast off before given the order to do so. Washington sees this, races down the stairs, and pushes his way through the throng of soldiers. He bends down and picks up a large rock with two hands, then lifts it over his head. “Damn you” he shouts as his voice carriers through the quiet and all attention is focused on him. “Leave this boat instantly, or I will sink it” he roars as he threatens to send the rock through the hull of the boat. The threat works. The men follow their orders again. The first wave of rowboats shoves off for the mile long journey to Manhattan. Like the wagons, the oars are wrapped in cloth to muffle their sound. Most boats are so overloaded that the water is just 2 or 3 inches from the gunwales—but they are afloat. Thanks to a group of Massachusetts soldiers who worked as fishermen before the war, the boats are helmed by capable seamen. The time is 11:00 p.m. Sunrise is at 5:24 a.m. The most important 6 hours in America’s short history are about to take place. George Washington vows to be the LAST soldier to leave the beach…The hour of 5:24 comes and goes. Although dawn has arrived, Washington’s retreat continues. A fog so dense that one soldier says that he “can hardly discern a man at six years distance” makes it possible for the boats to go back and forth from Brooklyn to Manhattan without being detected. But General Washington knows that time is running out. Soon the fog will lift, and the Brits will know about the retreat of his army… It is now 7:00 a.m. Washington steps onto the last heavy-laden boat. His entire army is safely across the river. The only items left behind are a few cannon too heavy to pull through the mud. Washington, as promised, is the last man to leave. Halfway across the East River, he turns and watches with relief as the first astonished units of the British army arrive at the ferry landing. With the fog lifting, the enemy sees the general clearly—but can do nothing.George Washington and his army are safe. They live to fight another day. ................
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