The Battle of Brooklyn, August 27-29, 1776 A Walking Guide to Sites and Monuments Old Stone House & Washington Park 336 Third Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues P.O. Box 150613, Brooklyn, NY 11215 718.768.3195 www.theoldstonehouse.org Using This Guide This guide is offered as a means through which visi- Transportation Resources The following sites are in geographic proximity and can be tors may experience the 1776 Battle of Brooklyn as it Walking: Due to the immense area of the battlefield and the visited together. developed in the fields, orchards, creeks, and country long distances between some of the sites, a walking tour of all sites Sites 1, 21 (The British Landing at Gravesend, Mile- lanes that later became nearly invisible in Brooklyn’s is not very practical. Nearby sites and other attractions which are stone Park, New Utrecht Liberty Pole) densely inhabited nineteenth and twentieth century within walking distance (although here, too, distances might be too Sites 11, 12 (The Red Lion Inn,* Battle Hill in urban expansion. great for some walkers) are listed for each site. Point-to-point tran- Green-Wood Cemetery) It is intended to be much more than a requiem for sit/walking directions are available from www.hopstop.com. Sites 13, 15, 25 (Flatbush Pass/Battle Pass, Mount Car: the dead and wounded of the battle. Land use evolves Curbside parking is problematic in the extreme at some Prospect, Lefferts Homestead) over time, and Brooklyn offers a prism through which locations, easier in others, and easier in general on weekends and Sites 16, 22, 24 (Litchfield Villa, Old First Re- visitors may consider nearly four centuries of the chang- holidays. formed Church and Maryland 400 Monument in Subway and Bus: ing uses of an island’s natural resources, four centuries New York City Transit maps for subways and Prospect Park) of European settlement, rampant industrial and com- buses: www.mta.info/nyct/maps. Printed copies of official MTA bus Sites 17, 18, 19 (The Old Stone House, Third Av- mercial development, and urbanization that both uti- and subway maps may be obtained from the token booth at most enue reputed burial ground, Gowanus Canal) lized and disguised its physical features. Visitors can still subway stations or by calling MTA Customer Assistance at 718- Sites 2, 6, 8 (Red Hook Lane, Cobble Hill Fort, glimpse portions of the Brooklyn that used to be, from 330-3322, 9 AM to 5 PM, weekdays. Bicycles may be carried on Fort Defiance/Red Hook Waterfront) its geophysical shaping by the last glacial retreat to the subway trains but not on buses. Sites 3, 4, 23 (Fort Putnam/present-day Fort Greene, Water Taxi and Ferry: forested, oyster-rich island of the Native Americans, to New York Water Taxi www.nywatertaxi. Brooklyn Navy Yard) its settlement by land-hungry Europeans, post-Civil com provides cross-harbor service from Wall Street to Red Hook/ Sites 5, 10, 20 (Old Fort Greene,* Cornell-Pierre- War industrialization, immigration, and city-building. Ikea, Brooklyn. Bicycles are permitted on watertaxis, and sever- pont House*/flagpole at Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Among our present-day factories, shops and houses, the al sites are accessible by bicycle from Red Hook. NY Waterway Fulton Ferry Landing) war for American independence commenced all around www.nywaterway.com/RoutesSchedules.aspx operates ferry services * indicates an unmarked site. Brooklyn’s streets and parks and underneath its houses. from Wall Street/Pier 11 and East 34 Street/Midtown to Brook- The implications of that war reach out to us from a past lyn Bridge Park/DUMBO and Atlantic Avenue/Brooklyn Bridge Credits that, growing ever more remote, still gives meaning to Park. Bicycles are permitted on ferries (extra charge). the present day, and the relics of that struggle for a re- Bicycle: Downloadable NYC Cycling Maps are available from Text: Marilyn H. Pettit public are worthy of remembrance. the NYC Dept. of City Planning: home2.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/bike/ Contemporary maps and graphic design: The Old Stone House, erected 1699 and rebuilt in cwbm.shtml#maps or www.nyc.gov/bikes. A printed version of The Peter Joseph with Marilyn H. Pettit 1934, was central to the Battle of Brooklyn. It is easily New York City Cycling Map is available free at many bicycle shops Published 2012 Old Stone House of Brooklyn accessible by bicycle, by car, and by New York City sub- or by mail by calling 311 (NYC residents) or 212-720-3667 (others). The author gratefully acknowledges the fol- F way lines and buses, including the B63 bus and the , Other good resources are www.nycbikemaps.com/ or www.ride- lowing institutional libraries and archives: New G ) and trains. This guide covers all recognized Bat- thecity.com/, where point to point directions (and a downloadable York Public Library; New York University Elmer tle of Brooklyn sites, which are scattered throughout 72 iPhone app of the same) are also available. Holmes Bobst Library; Brooklyn Public Library/ square miles of the borough and refers the visitor to as- Tours: New York City hop-on, hop-off tour buses (fee) provide Brooklyn Daily Eagle on-line; Seymour B. Durst sociated sites and views including unmarked sites. The access to some of the sites. For a fairly comprehensive listing see: Old York Library, City University Graduate Cen- visitor may begin at any site or street corner and view www.nytours.us/tours. A number of private tour guides conduct ter; Brooklyn College, City University of New the sites in any order or skip sites that are unmarked at guided tours by appointment. For information contact The Old York; Brooklyn Historical Society Library; Inter- the present time. The street address or intersection for Stone House, 718-768-3195 or [email protected]. net resources. We are also grateful to the following each site is noted, along with the closest subway stops individuals for the use of their personal materials: and bus routes, with suggestions for nearby attractions. Joseph McCarthy, Rick Schwab. i Milestones in the History of The Old Stone House Stone farm house erected by 1699 Vechte family on the pastured east slope of the Gowanus Creek and marshes COLONIAL PERIOD June: British warships and troop trans- 1776 ports arrive in New York Harbor August 22: and camp on Staten Island. British troops are moved from Late winter, early spring: Staten Island to the Brooklyn August 26: General Washington marches the American army from Boston to shore, and camp in Flatbush. British troops march from Flatbush New York and summons additional troops from the middle Atlantic to Jamaica (Brooklyn-Queens county colonies. The main body of the army camps on Brooklyn Heights. July 4: line) to outflank the patriot forces. General William Alexander, Lord Stirling, undertakes the erection American Declaration of of a chain of defensive forts and redoubts on Long Island. Independence published. August 27: Fighting commences in the early September 3: morning hours in multiple locations: 1790: Peace of Paris ends the war 1852: Green-Wood Cemetery, Battle Pass Jacques Cortelyou purchases the between the United States REVOLUTIONARY WAR PERIOD Edwin Litchfield purchases the August 28-29: in Prospect Park, and the Old Stone Vechte farm for his son, Peter and the British Crown. 1783 The American army removes from House. Two thousand American soldiers Cortelyou farm, and the Old Stone September 16: and his new wife, Brooklyn Heights and crosses the are captured, another thousand killed; House becomes part of the soon Battle of Harlem Heights (New Phoebe Voorhees. East River to New York. The Brit- others flee toward the American outposts to be developed Washington Park 1790 York), after which the American November 25, 1783: ish occupy Long Island and New and encampments. recreation site. army marches into Westchester On Evacuation Day, , the York, and offer emancipation to County. Brooklyn Baseball Club - British army and American slaves. the team that became the Monument to loyalists depart New York. Brooklyn Dodgers - plays 1883 “the Maryland 400” its first game at Washington Prison Ships URBANIZATION erected in Park grand opening. Prospect Park. Martyrs’ Monument 1889: erected in 1895 Fort Greene Park. Charles M. Higgins Dodgers win their 1891: 1897 publishes Brooklyn’s first pennant Dodgers move to 1908 MODERN PERIOD Neglected Battle Washington Park II Plaque placed in Third Avenue 1909 Ground, at 3rd Avenue and sidewalk near Seventh Street as a 1910 with photos. 1st street marker for the American soldiers’ Georgia Fraser publishes burial ground. The Stone House at Gowanus: A review of the Fraser’s Bronze tablet erected on the Scenes of the Battle of Long book (The New York wall of a Fifth Avenue row house Island, with photos and maps. Times, April 16) noted commemorates the battle at the Old that the house no longer 1933 Old Stone House rebuilt, using original Stone House. existed. stones. Washington Park, a former Brooklyn Dodger baseball field that surrounds the 1995 House, was renamed J. J. Byrne Park. Old Washington Park opens Stone House used by Brooklyn Parks Depart- at Fourth Avenue with a MODERN PERIOD2003 First Battle Revival Alliance ment as a storage facility, athletic office, and New York State awards renovated turf field. formed by community members to 2009 Name changed comfort station. landmark status to the commemorate the Old Stone House to The Old Stone Old Stone House. 2010 Park regains its original and celebrate its role in the Battle House of Brooklyn. 2011 name, Washington Park, of Brooklyn. A modest exhibit is and J.J.Byrne remains installed and a program schedule is the name of the managed by volunteers.