The Red Lion Inn was a tavern in

Colonial New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Unit ...

located on Long Island in what is today the

New York City borough New York City is composed of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of New York State, making New York City the largest U.S. municipality situated in mult ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

History

The inn named in honor of Henry V of England for the tavern he rested in after the Battle of Agincourt, was at the junction of three country roads: the '' Narrows Road'' which led north from Denyse's Ferry; ''Martense Lane'' which passed through the Heights of Guan to Flatbush, and the ''Gowanus Road'' which led to

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, ...

: this colonial era juncture is the modern day location of Fourth Avenue and 35th Street. In the early morning hours of August 27, 1776, the first shots of the Battle of Brooklyn were fired here when British troops under Major General James Grant encountered American pickets stationed at the Red Lion. According to some accounts the British troops were foraging in a

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varie ...

patch. After an initial exchange of musket fire, the Americans retreated in a panic up the Gowanus Road toward the Vechte house. Major

Edward Burd Edward Burd (February 5, 1749July 24, 1833) was a Revolutionary War officer in Pennsylvania and later a Prothonotary#Chief court clerk, Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Life Burd, the son of Colonel James Burd and Sarah (Shippen) ...

who had been in command was captured along with a lieutenant and 15 privates.

Samuel Holden Parsons Samuel Holden Parsons (May 14, 1737 – November 17, 1789) was an American lawyer, jurist, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 428. in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Countr ...

a lawyer from Connecticut who had secured a commission in the Continental Army and was recently promoted to Brigadier General was Field Officer of the Day. He and Colonel

Samuel John Atlee Samuel John Atlee (1739 – November 25, 1786) was an American soldier and statesman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress for Pennsylvania from 1778 to 1782. Early life Samuel was born in Trenton, New Jer ...

of Pennsylvania, a veteran of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

were stationed further north on the Gowanus Road. The two colonels roused from their sleep by the sound of musket fire managed to intercept some of the troops fleeing from the British at the Red Lion and form them into a

skirmish line Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line, an i ...

. They also sent word to Major General

Israel Putnam Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...

at Brooklyn that the enemy was advancing. At three o'clock General Putnam informed Brigadier General (William Alexander)

Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (1726 – 15 January 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He was considered male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish line ...

and directed him to meet the enemy. Stirling set out with the available companies of the Maryland and Delaware regiments. Stirling's force, totaling about 1,500 men, encountered the British within a half mile of the Red Lion and formed for battle. At daybreak Stirling and Parsons would be reinforced with 400 troops sent by General John Sullivan from those near the Flatbush Pass. The reinforcements brought the total American strength up to 2,100 troops under

's command. The British troops under General Grant, also being reinforced, would reach over 7,000 troops. Stirling's force stood firm under British cannon and musket fire for about four hours. At that point Grant advanced his forces and Stirling gradually fell back along the Gowanus Road toward Brooklyn. Other British forces under General Charles Earl

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

and Hessians under General

Leopold Philip de Heister Leopold Philip de Heister (4 April 1716 Homberg in Niederhessen - 19 November 1777 Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Cassel)''Note that:'' ''has "b. in 1707" for date of birth.'' was a Hessian (soldiers), Hessian general who fought for the Brit ...

were already in Stirling's rear and his force began to come apart as they encountered other American units fleeing west over the fields and along the Port Road to cross the Gowanus marshes to the safety of the main American defensive line at Brooklyn. In the fighting near the Old Stone House and Brouwer's Mills, one battalion of 400 troops from Colonel

William Smallwood William Smallwood (1732February 14, 1792) was an American planter, soldier and politician from Charles County, Maryland. He served in the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major general. He was serving as the fourth Governor ...

1st Maryland Regiment The 1st Maryland Regiment (Smallwood's Regiment) originated with the authorization of a Maryland Battalion of the Maryland State Troops on 14 January 1776. It was organized in the spring at Baltimore, Maryland (three companies) and Annapolis, M ...

led by Major

Mordecai Gist Mordecai Gist (1743–1792) was a member of a prominent Maryland family who became a brigadier general in command of the Maryland Line in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Life Gist was born in Baltimore, Maryland (on ...

and still under

's command, would engage these 2,000 British and Hessian troops to cover the thousands of Americans retreating across the marshes and Gowanus creek. During other nearby fighting, Colonel Atlee was captured by the British and General Parsons was eventually able to escape to the American lines.The campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn By Henry Phelps Johnston p. 176

References

{{coord, 40.6547, -74.0037, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title 1776 in New York (state) History of Brooklyn Taverns in the American Revolution Buildings and structures in Brooklyn Sunset Park, Brooklyn