The Battle of Long Island was the largest of the American Revolution and the first fought after the Declaration of Independence.
While an American defeat, it helped to establish the pattern that would eventually win the eight-year war for the Americans. The British, with superior transportation, supplies and training, could mount an attack on almost any American position. Although the British could take the ground, they would suffer casualties and fail to annihilate the American army, requiring the British to prepare for another battle. This steadily eroded the king's purse, demoralized the soldiers, turned public opinion at home against the war, encouraged England's enemies abroad and allowed Americans to receive the training and develop the tactics that resulted in ultimate victory.
Washington, in Manhattan, had left much of the preparation of the defenses in Brooklyn to subordinates. In a sense, the Americans had become victims of their own success in the Battle of Bunker Hill outside Boston. They expected the British to greatly underestimate their abilities and attempt a frontal assault on a fixed positio
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