A day to remember July 3, 1776 when the British troops landed on Staten Island. The British recognized the strategic importance of New York as the focal point for communications between the northern and southern colonies. Washington also recognized this, and in April of 1776 he marched his troops from Boston to New York. He positioned his troops on the western end of Long Island in anticipation of the British arrival.  The American outpost of Colonel Edward Hand's sent word that the British were preparing to cross Long Island from Staten Island on August 22, at dawn. There were three frigates, the Phoenix, Rose, and Greyhound, and two bomb ketches named Carcass and Thunder, in Gravesend Bay. The British boats returned to Staten Island and landed in Gravesend Bay under the command of General William Howe they were finally ready to attack the Patriots and hopefully end the rebellion. The odds were now about three British to one American soldier plus their mighty fleet of the British War ships.

    The British continued the supply of many troops and eventually had the strength of 20,000 British and Hessian Troops against only 10,000 of The American Continental Army. From this point of view it looked like it was going to be an unfair advantage for the Americans from the beginning. The British stood out in their bright red coats, which made them look like Lobsters. While Washington's army with no uniform to call their own dressed with the best that they had. Both armies were armed with muskets and guns and ready to do battle. The brave continental army with hardly any experience in war went to do battle with the great mighty British army. When George Washington arrived on August 27, he wasted no time on blaming who lost the battle of Long Island. Remaining cool, calm, and confident, he oversaw the construction of new fortifications on Brooklyn Heights, and took command of the Continental Army. "AIM...FIRE!" as George Washington yelled and pointing  towards the  "lobster back" British.  And I began to see  the start of a great battle unfolding. All at once I heard the battle cry of both sides unable to determine weather it was out of fear or excitement for what lay ahead of these brave souls. I wondered how many of these men were going to survive and how many of these brave soldiers was it going to be their last day on Earth.

    Once engaged, the Americans fought valiantly and successfully until they were attacked from the rear. Was this partly because of bad strategic planning and overconfidence on defeating the British at Bunker Hill, Boston? By the end of this bloody battle American losses were close to 1,000 killed and over a thousand captured, British losses were not as devastating. Washington began to see that he underestimated the mighty British Army. Did he also begin to realize that he didn't have an adequate amount of soldiers to fight the battle?

    Finally Washington and his men could see that they were completely cut off and could either be overrun or starved out. They needed to regroup, admit defeat to themselves, and find a way to get off the island. Washington a strong and loyal leader refused to leave his men behind and shared their hardships of bad weather no shelter and no food. It seems because of this Washington earned their devotion and respect, while retreating I was able to confirm this when I came upon a tired and weary soldier and asked him how did he feel on surviving the battle. His simple answer to me was “I would be willing to do battle time and time again until I bring freedom to my homeland under the command of the brave George Washington.” Another soldier by the name of Sean Murphy age 22 approached me and confirmed his loyalty to Washington and the cause for freedom crying, “I shall not rest until we have driven those lobster backs from our land!” On the night of 30 August, with the good fortune of inclement weather and under the cover of dense fog they withdrew from the island unbeknownst to the British with the help of local fishermen and lived to fight another day against the British.

Americans:	Information About the War:	British:
	Location of Battle: Long Island, New York
	Date of Battle: 27th of August 1776
	Weather Condition of the Battle: About 78-82 degrees Fahrenheit, with rain, fog, and high winds
Casualties/Wounded on American side: About 300 dead and 650 wounded	(General George Washington)(General William Howe)	Casualties/Wounded on British side: About 63 dead and 314 wounded
Leader(s) on the American side: General George Washington		Leader(s) on British side: General William Howe