Squandered Valor: The Untold Story of Battle Hill and the Battle of Brooklyn

On August 27, 1776, less than eight weeks after the Declaration of Independence, a bloody firefight took place on what has come to be known as Battle Hill, in what is now Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. On August 22 the British had landed at least 15,000 Redcoat regulars on the south end of Long Island, separated from the American headquarters in Brooklyn by high ground known as the Heights. General Washington had stationed 3,000 of his best troops to guard three of the four passes through the Heights. However, starting around 9:00 p.m. on August 26, the British surreptitiously marched 10,000 battle-hardened veteran troops around the distant fourth pass and along the Bedford Road towards the American fortified works in downtown Brooklyn. The next morning, more than 25,000 British troops and their Hessian mercenaries surrounded and assaulted the Patriots guarding the passes and Heights. Attacked from both the front and rear, the majority of those American forces retreated, many without firing a shot. Most were able to reach the safety of their fortifications. However, the 300 men under Gen. Samuel Parsons on Battle Hill were stationed the farthest from Brooklyn and received no warning whatsoever before they were caught in the jaws of the British-Hessian pincer movement, hopelessly outnumbered 10 to 1. Despite frantic attempts to escape, most of these 300 troops were captured through absolutely no fault of their own. For the first time in 250 years, Squandered Valor describes their bravery and sacrifice. Read more