Commemorate the 246th Anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn This Week

The annual family-friendly day of music, demonstrations and hands-on activities to honor the Battle of Brooklyn returns to Green-Wood Cemetery this weekend.

Part of the larger Battle Week calendar of events organized by Old Stone House, the outdoor event on the grounds of the historic cemetery is meant to bring to life the dramatic events of 1776. The event this year, in partnership with the New-York Historical Society and Wyckoff House Museum, is dubbed “An Eighteenth-Century American Faire” and includes a focus on the diverse world of Revolutionary-era New York.

Background of the Battle

The Battle of Brooklyn (also called the Battle of Long Island) was fought on August 27, 1776, and is considered one of America’s greatest losses during our war for independence. The carnage all happened one summer night: The British, who had amassed a large number of troops on Staten Island, stealthily attacked George Washington and his Continental Army at their camp in Brooklyn. Washington was greatly outnumbered and realized the only way to save his army was to flee to Manhattan.

While the rest of the troops escaped Brooklyn Heights across the river, Washington sent 400 boys from Baltimore, known as the Maryland 400, on a suicide mission: to distract the British and buy the rest of the troops time. And so a great battle was fought near the present day site of the Old Stone House. (The one standing in Park Slope today is a 1933 re-creation of the original.)

All 400 boys — the entire 1st Maryland Regiment — were killed, but the Continental Army was able to escape, and later won the war.

This Year’s Event

Costumed interpreters, musicians and more will be at Green-Wood Cemetery from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 28. The event is free — a donation of $5 per person to support programming at the cemetery is recommended — and registration is required. For more information and to register visit the event page online.

For the full calendar of Battle Week events, including a ceremony at the Prison Ships Martyrs Memorial in Fort Greene and a play at Old Stone House, visit the Battle Week event page online.

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