#america250 NY's Revolutionary War hotspots!

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]Welcome back to another episode of a print of history. Today I find myself in Gravesend Bay, Brooklyn, New York, where on this very spot the British launched the largest ever seaborn invasion seen at that time.

[00:00:14]Imagine looking out onto the water and seeing 400 British warships blocking out the entire horizon. Well, on August 22nd, 1776, that's exactly what you would have seen. 1 month prior, the Americans [music] had published a Declaration of Independence. Britain's response? Well, they sent a massive expeditionary force >> [music] >> to quash the rebellion. And so on that day, the British launched flatboats ferrying all their troops to these very beaches, and they weren't alone. Right behind me on Staten Island, thousands of Hessian soldiers were already stationed there waiting [music] for the go-ahead.

[00:00:50]They came over here, too, and no one was here to meet them. George Washington and his army were miles away, leaving New York's backyard totally open >> [music] >> for this British invasion.

[00:01:01]This was almost a disaster for the Americans. George Washington and his army were outflanked [music] and outgunned. And if it wasn't for a last-minute miraculous escape across [music] the river under the cover of darkness, the American Revolution would have ended right there.