"The Battle of Brooklyn" exhibition currently on view at the New-York Historical Society, provides an absolutely fascinating afternoon for any history buff. If General Howe had decided to continue his siege after he defeated Washington that day in August, the Revolutionary War would have ended by nightfall. One man’s hesitation and a new country came into being. Washington saved the remainder of his men when fog rolled in as they escaped with their horses on rafts across the East River to Manhattan. Found out that Brooklyn (Brooklin) was named after a stream that ran through it. Not as exotic as I had hoped.
By Dr. Elin Lake-Ewald, President of O'Toole-Ewald Art Associates Inc. (OTE)
John Trumbull (1756–1843), George Washington (1732–1799), 1780. Metropolitan Museum of Art Bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924, 24.109.88
Franz Xaver Habermann (1721–1796), engraved by J. Chéreau, Représentation du feu terrible à nouvelle Yorck, 1776. New-York Historical Society Library
William Joy (1803–1867), Forcing the Hudson River Passage, ca. 1835. Oil on canvas. New-York Historical Society, Gift of the Travelers Insurance Company.
Find out more about "The Battle of Brooklyn" exhibition at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.