Order of Battle of The Battle of Long Island - British and Hessian Forces

British and Hessian Forces

The British Army at the start of the campaign was drawn from three sources. The first was troops that had been in the Siege of Boston, which ended when the British evacuated their troops from the city to Halifax, Nova Scotia in March 1776. The second was new levies raised in the British Isles, including a significant number of Irish troops. The third was troops provided by several small German principalities of the Holy Roman Empire. After the war broke out in 1775, the British government realized that it would need more troops than it could raise on its own to fight the war, so it sought to hire troops from willing third parties in Europe. Only a few German rulers were willing to provide troops. The single largest contingent, with more than 12,000 arriving in North America in 1776, came from the Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel. All of the German troops with the British at the start of the New York campaign were from Hesse-Kassel, and were under the command of Lt. Gen. Leopold Philip von Heister. A regiment from Waldeck that was also destined for the New York theater did not arrive until after Manhattan was occupied.

Some of the troops sent from Europe had first been directed at operations in the southern colonies, under the direction of Lt. Gen. Henry Clinton. The expedition attempted to occupy Charleston, South Carolina, but was repulsed in the June Battle of Sullivan's Island; it then sailed for New York to join the army as it gathered on Staten Island in July and August. Clinton served as General Howe's second in command.

It was common practice at this time for regiments of the British Army to include companies of light infantry and grenadiers, composed of troops with specialized abilities and training. When an army was assembled, these companies were often separated from their regiments and formed into separate light infantry and grenadier battalions.

The Royal Navy, despite dominating the harbor, played only a limited role in the battle. HMS Roebuck penetrated as far as Red Hook on August 26, but her guns never came within range of American positions. The navy did provide some logistical support for the battle. It resupplied General James Grant's troops with gunpowder and ammunition late in the battle, and also landed 2,000 Royal Marines to share in the victory.

The primary source for this data is a return of troops prepared by General Howe on August 22, 1776, five days before the battle, and presented by historian David Hackett Fischer. Howe's report did not include a breakdown of individual unit sizes. Although a more detailed return for August 27 appears to have once existed, none of the listed sources reproduces it. According to a summary of that return, the strength of the British land forces under Howe's command was 24,464 fit for duty. This number does not include a brigade of Loyalists raised by Oliver De Lancey, Sr., or the marines, who were not under Howe's command. Howe's headcount, including officers and those unfit for duty, came to 31,625. The casualty figures for British units are from a casualty-only return prepared by General Howe, reprinted by Field. It includes a detailed breakdown by unit of British casualties, and a summary of Hessian casualties.