TBy Rose Adams his weekend will be revolutionary!
A series of tours, lectures,
and festivities commemorating
the Battle of Brooklyn will
sweep the borough this weekend,
as historical organizations honor
the 243rd anniversary of the pivotal
Revolutionary War battle that
helped the Americans secure independence.
The military engagement erupted
on Aug. 27, 1776 when British
forces attacked American encampments
in Brooklyn, in the hopes
of quelling the revolutionary war
before it started. As the 32,000-
person British army descended on
the Americans, one heroic regiment,
known as the Maryland 400,
fought off the closest division of
the British troops, enabling the rest
of the American army to escape to
Manhattan. The Maryland regiment
lost 256 men during the battle
and the British claimed victory, but
the fight was a consequential one,
according to an expert.
“Even though the Americans
lost the battle, they were able to
escape and change the course of
the Revolutionary War,” said Kim
Maier, the executive director of the
Old Stone House, another pivotal
site during the battle.
To commemorate the feat — or
defeat — the Old Stone House and
other Brooklyn organizations will
host a series of events all across
Brooklyn to reenact the battle, dive
into the history of the war, and
remember the lives lost.
Wheel history
Take a guided bike tour of
Washington’s march from the
Old Stone House in Park Slope to
Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Old Stone House (336 Third St.
between Fourth and Fifth avenues
in Gowanus, (718) 768–3195, www.
theoldstonehouse.org. Aug. 24 at
10:30 a.m. $30.
Walk and talk
COURIER L 52 IFE, AUG. 23-29, 2019
A Hunter College archeology
professor will discuss the battle’s
bloody history in Prospect Park,
where British troops first faced off
against the American rebels, during
this three-hour tour through
the park. Legend has it that the
Americans first spotted the British
army charging towards them
while the Americans lounged in a
watermelon patch in today’s Long
Meadow.
Battle of Brooklyn Neighborhood
Walk at Grand Army Plaza Grand
Army Plaza entrance to Prospect
Park between Prospect Park West
and Flatbush Avenue, (718) 768–
3195, www.theoldstonehouse.org.
Aug. 24 at 2 p.m. $12.
A musical man
The concert “A/K/A Benj
(Franklin’s Women)” takes
Benjamin Franklin’s letters and his
fictional stories, many of which star
female characters, and sets them to
music, with the songs accompanied
by a dancer and a narrator.
“A/K/A Benj (Franklin’s
Women)” at Old Stone House. Aug.
24 at 8 p.m., and Aug. 25 at 4 p.m.
$15.
Back to the battle
The final day of Battle Week
features a gigantic culminating
event at Green-Wood Cemetery.
At 10 a.m., a trolley tour will
take visitors around the cemetery,
showing them sites from the
Revolutionary War. An hour later,
history buffs dressed as Redcoats,
American soldiers, and Founding
Fathers will take to the field for a
battle re-enactment, demonstrating
Revolutionary fighting techniques
with horses and smoke-spewing
cannons and muskets. Finally, at
12:30 p.m., a parade will lead the
re-enactors, attendees, and the
Regimental Band of the United
States Merchant Marine Academy
to Battle Hill, where the British
suffered the most casualties out of
any battle on Long Island, followed
by a ceremony to commemorate
the fallen soldiers at 1:15 p.m.
Green-Wood Cemetery 500 25th
St. at Fifth Avenue in Greenwood
Heights, (718) 768-7300, www.
green-wood.com. Aug. 25; 10 a.m.–
1:15 p.m. Free, but registration recommended.
Trolley tours $20.
Veteran’s march
Veterans and their families will
march 17.76 miles from Bay Ridge
to Brooklyn Heights, following
the footsteps of the Revolutionary
Army, and visiting historic sites
along the way. Marchers will also
stop at American Legion posts,
and will eat a catered barbecue
lunch.
Battle of Brooklyn Ruck March
for Veterans and Families. Starts
at John Paul Jones Park (Shore
Parkway 101st St. between Fort
Hamilton Parkway and Fourth
Avenue in Bay Ridge, www.nycveteransalliance.
org). Aug. 25, 6:30
a.m.–5:30 p.m. $45.
Revolutionary talk
A historian will dive into
the life of Dr. Joseph Warren,
a Massachusetts patriot who
played an important part in the
Revolutionary War, and who
enlisted Paul Revere to the cause.
“A Founding Martyr” at
Brooklyn Historical Society 128
Pierrepont St. at Clinton street in
Brooklyn Heights, (718) 222-4111,
www.brooklynhistory.org. Aug. 27
at 6:30 p.m. $10.
By Aidan Graham He’s re-writing the history
books!
A new novel
breathes vivid life into the story
of the revolutionary heroes
who sacrificed themselves on
the Brooklyn battlefield during
the fight to start a new nation.
“Saving Washington: The
Forgotten Story of the Maryland
400 and the Battle of Brooklyn”
follows two fictional soldiers as
they go on the historical suicide
mission to rescue George
Washington — and America’s
chance at freedom, said the
book’s author, who will read
from his book at Green-Wood
Cemetery battle re-enactment
on Aug. 25.
“If not the bravery of
these 400 kids, Washington
would have been captured, the
Continental Army would’ve
been destroyed, and the revolution
would have been over
that day,” said Chris Formant.
“And this happened only six
weeks after the signing of the
Declaration of Independence.”
The rag-tag colonial army
was outgunned, outmanned,
and surrounded by their redcoated
oppressors, forcing
the Maryland 400 to fend off
the coming onslaught while
Washington and his troops fled
across the East River. The event
is commemorated in Brooklyn
every year, but elsewhere, the
epic sacrifice has been largely
forgotten, said Formant.
“We celebrate winners. We
don’t celebrate defeat,” he said.
“And we got our butts kicked,
and Washington was humiliated.
Even the people who were
scribing it at the time wanted to
forget. So it was lost to history.”
In his book, Formant spins
a gripping, fact-based narrative,
seen through the eyes of
a young white soldier named
Joshua Bolton and his childhood
friend Ben Wright, a freed black
man.
“Every war is fought by teenagers,
so I decided to tell this
story through the eyes of two
teenagers — why they enlisted,
what were their emotions and
motivations,” he said.
To his surprise, Formant’s
research revealed a religious
undercurrent that guided the
soldiers.
“I was always taught that the
revolution was fought over taxes
… but there are no teenagers
that have ever been born on the
face of the earth who would go
on a suicide mission over taxes.
I wanted to uncover what was
really going on at the time,” he
said. “What I found was that
they felt that God had put them
on this mission, and they really
had to do this… It was as close
to a religious revolt as we’ve
ever had in our history.”
Including a black man in the
regiment is based on the real
history of the Continental army,
according to Formant.
“I went and looked up pension
records, and discovered
something very interesting —
there were African Americans
who fought in this unit, both free
and slaves,” he said. “I found at
least three African Americans
who were awarded pensions for
being a part of this regiment.”
“Saving Washington” reading
by Chris Formant at Green-
Wood Cemetery (Fifth Avenue
at 25th Street in Green-Wood
Heights, www.green-wood.com).
Aug. 25 at 11 a.m. Free.
Boom!: Soldiers from the Continental army will face off against the Redcoats during
a Battle of Brooklyn re-enactment on Aug. 25. Photo by Stefano Giovannini
On the spot: Chris Formant will read from his new novel, “Saving Washington,”
at the Old Stone House on Aug. 23, telling the tale of the Battle of Brooklyn at
the same place that the conflict came to a head. Noam Galai
Hey George!: Green-Wood Cemetery’s
Battle of Brooklyn event on Aug. 25 will
feature historical re-enactors portraying
George and Martha Washington.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
Lost in history
ON THE WARPATH
Tours remember the Battle of Brooklyn
Book follows fallen soldiers
from the Battle of Brooklyn
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