Background
On August 27, 1776, British troops under the command of General William Howe flanked and defeated the American army at the Battle of Long Island. Howe moved his forces and pinned the Americans down at Brooklyn Heights, with the East River to the American rear. On the night of August 29, General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, evacuated his entire army of 9,000 men and their equipment across the water to Manhattan.
On September 15, Howe landed his army at Kip's Bay, Manhattan. After a bombardment of the American positions on the shore, 4,000 British and Hessian troops landed at Battle of Kip's Bay. The American troops began to flee at the sight of the enemy, and even with Washington's arrival on the scene they refused to obey orders and continued to flee.
After scattering the Americans at Kip's Bay, Howe landed 9,000 more troops, but did not cut off the American retreat from New York City. Washington had all of his troops in the City on their way to Harlem Heights by 4:00 pm and they all reached the Heights by nightfall.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Harlem Heights
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