If you’re standing in the middle of a crowded Brooklyn intersection today, dodging a delivery bike or waiting for the G train, you’re likely standing on a graveyard. That sounds dark. It is. But it's also the reality of the largest battle of the entire American Revolutionary War. People often ask where was the Battle of Long Island located, thinking they’ll find a single, preserved field with a gift shop and some split-rail fences.
It doesn't work like that.
The "battlefield" is basically the entire footprint of modern-day Brooklyn. We're talking about a massive, sprawling engagement that stretched from the shores of Gravesend all the way up to the heights of Brooklyn Heights and the marshy edges of Gowanus. It wasn't one fight. It was a series of disasters for George Washington.
Imagine 20,000 British and Hessian troops—professionals, well-fed, highly disciplined—landing on the beaches of what we now call South Brooklyn. Washington’s Continental Army was essentially a collection of nervous amateurs staring them down from the hills. It was August 1776. It was humid. It was about to be a bloodbath.
The Landing Zone: Gravesend and Denyse Wharf
The British didn't just appear out of thin air. On August 22, 1776, they began their massive amphibious assault. If you want to see where it started, you head to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Specifically, the area around Denyse Wharf in Fort Hamilton.
They came ashore in waves.
The British Admiral Richard Howe and his brother, General William Howe, orchestrated a landing that was, frankly, a masterpiece of 18th-century logistics. Over 15,000 troops were ferried from Staten Island to the shores of Gravesend Bay in just a few hours. No one stopped them. Washington had spread his troops thin, unsure of where the "big hit" was coming from.
Today, this area is a mix of residential streets and the sprawling grounds of the Poly Prep Country Day School and the Fort Hamilton Army Base. It’s hard to visualize Redcoats marching through a suburban neighborhood, but that’s the geography of it. The British spent several days here, basically chilling and prepping their gear while Washington’s scouts watched from the ridges to the north.
The Guan Heights: The Natural Wall
To understand the geography, you have to look at the "spine" of Brooklyn. There’s a geological feature called the Terminal Moraine—a ridge of hills left behind by a glacier. In 1776, these were known as the Guan Heights.
This ridge was the Americans' primary defensive line.
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There were only a few ways through these hills: the Narrow Road (near the coast), the Flatbush Pass, the Bedford Pass, and the Jamaica Pass. If you’ve ever driven through Prospect Park or climbed the hill at Greenwood Cemetery, you’ve experienced the Guan Heights. These heights are where the "meat" of the battle happened on August 27.
The Americans thought they had the passes covered. They were wrong.
The Fatal Flaw at Jamaica Pass
This is the part of the story that still makes historians shake their heads. General Howe found a local Loyalist (allegedly a farmer named William Howard) who showed the British a "secret" fifth pass: the Jamaica Pass.
It was located way out east, near what is now the intersection of Broadway and Jamaica Avenue in East New York.
Washington’s generals left it almost entirely unguarded. Only five young officers on horseback were stationed there. The British captured them without firing a single shot. By the time the sun came up, 10,000 British troops had swung around the American flank and were marching in behind them.
Battle Hill: The Highest Point in Brooklyn
If you want the most visceral "Battle of Long Island" experience today, you have to go to Green-Wood Cemetery. Specifically, you need to find Battle Hill.
It’s the highest natural point in Brooklyn.
On the morning of the 27th, some of the most intense fighting occurred here. American General William Alexander (who claimed the title Lord Stirling, though the British laughed at him for it) led Delaware and Pennsylvania regiments against the British 40th Regiment of Foot.
It was a nightmare of musketry and bayonet charges.
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From the top of Battle Hill, you can see the Statue of Liberty today. Back then, you would have seen the British fleet clogged in the harbor and the smoke rising from the Flatbush woods. There’s a monument there now—the Altar to Liberty—featuring a statue of Minerva. She’s waving toward the Statue of Liberty. It’s a bit on the nose, but it’s the only place where the topography hasn't been completely erased by brownstones and Starbucks.
The Old Stone House and the "Immortal 400"
The most famous—and tragic—geographic marker is the Old Stone House. You’ll find it in J.J. Byrne Playground in Park Slope.
Wait. The house there now is a reconstruction. The original was destroyed, but it sits on the same general site.
This was the scene of the "Maryland 400" sacrifice. As the American lines collapsed, the British were closing in on the only escape route: the Vechte-Cortelyou House (the Stone House) and the surrounding Gowanus marshes. To buy time for the rest of the army to flee, Lord Stirling led about 260 to 400 soldiers from the 1st Maryland Regiment in a suicidal charge against the British position at the house.
They charged. They were pushed back. They charged again.
They did this six times.
Most of them died or were captured. Washington, watching from a nearby hill (likely Cobble Hill), famously supposedly cried out, "Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose!" Whether he actually said that is debated, but the sentiment was real. Those Marylanders are basically the reason the American Revolution didn't end that Tuesday afternoon.
The Great Escape: Fulton Ferry
By the evening of August 29, Washington was trapped. His back was to the East River, and the British were digging siege trenches. He was done.
Except for the fog.
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The final "location" of the Battle of Long Island is Fulton Ferry Landing, right under the Brooklyn Bridge. Under the cover of a providential heavy fog and the darkness of night, Washington orchestrated a silent evacuation. He gathered every boat he could find—flatbottoms, rowboats, sailboats—and moved 9,000 men across the river to Manhattan.
The British didn't realize they were gone until the sun came up and the last boat was out of musket range.
If you go to the Brooklyn side of the bridge today, near the River Café, you’re standing where the American experiment almost died. If the wind had been different, or the fog hadn't rolled in, the British Navy would have sailed up the East River and cut Washington off. History over.
Why the Geography Still Matters
The reason people get confused about where the Battle of Long Island was located is that the city grew over it. We didn't preserve it like Gettysburg.
- Prospect Park: The "Battle Pass" is clearly marked near the zoo. You can see the rugged terrain the Americans tried to defend.
- Fort Greene Park: This was the site of Fort Putnam, part of the inner defense line. It now holds the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument, dedicated to the thousands who died on British hulls in Wallabout Bay.
- Gowanus Canal: Back then, it was a marshy creek filled with drowning soldiers trying to escape. Now, it’s a Superfund site with expensive condos.
Surprising Details You Won't Find in Most Textbooks
Most people think the "Battle of Long Island" and the "Battle of Brooklyn" are different things. They aren't. They’re the same event. Also, it’s worth noting that the British actually liked the geography of Brooklyn. Many of the officers found the climate and the soil remarkably similar to the English countryside.
Another weird fact: the Marylanders who died at the Old Stone House are likely buried under a nondescript lot on 3rd Avenue. There’s a small plaque, but for years, it was just a place where people parked cars.
Actionable Steps for History Buffs
If you actually want to see the locations, don't just wander around blindly. Do this:
- Start at Green-Wood Cemetery: It’s the only place where the elevation makes sense. Go to Battle Hill. Look toward the harbor.
- Visit the Old Stone House in Park Slope: They have a great permanent exhibit. It’s small, but it anchors the narrative of the Maryland 400.
- Walk the Battle Pass in Prospect Park: It’s near the East Drive. Look for the "Dongan Oak" monument. You’ll see why the British had such a hard time coming straight up the middle.
- End at Brooklyn Bridge Park: Stand at the ferry landing and look at Manhattan. Realize that on August 30, 1776, that short trip across the water was the only thing keeping the United States from being a failed footnote in British history.
Understanding where the Battle of Long Island was located requires a bit of imagination. You have to peel back the asphalt and the subway lines. But once you see the ridges and the water, it becomes clear: Brooklyn wasn't just a borough; it was a fortress that failed, and a trap that Washington barely escaped.