Washington’s Retreat | Part 4 of 5: The Decision at Four Chimneys

Part 1: The Patriot Who Called Brooklyn Home

Part 2: The Fort Built to Save New York

Part 3: The View From Cobble Hill

Washington has just suffered his greatest defeat of the American Revolution, and now he has a decision to make. Does he try to hold off another British attack, or is it possible for him and his men to escape across the East River to Manhattan?

Welcome to the Four Chimneys house, where one of the most consequential decisions of the American Revolution would be made.

As the name suggests, the Four Chimneys house was a large home distinguished by its four chimneys, sitting near the bluff of what is today Brooklyn Heights. During the Battle of Brooklyn, the house served as George Washington’s headquarters and became the nerve center of the American defenses.

By the evening of August 27, 1776, the situation was dire.

Earlier that day, the British had outmaneuvered Washington’s army, slipping thousands of troops through the lightly defended Jamaica Pass and attacking the Americans from the rear. American soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured by the hundreds, while the survivors retreated back toward the fortified lines in Brooklyn Heights.

Washington now had roughly 9,000 men concentrated in Brooklyn, with the East River behind them and a much larger British army in front of them. Even worse, the British fleet controlled the surrounding waters. If British warships managed to move into the East River, Washington’s escape route to Manhattan could be cut off entirely.

For the moment, the British did not launch an all-out assault. Instead, they began digging trenches and moving steadily closer to the American lines.

Washington initially prepared to defend Brooklyn Heights. But as the hours passed, it became increasingly clear just how dangerous the situation was. His army was exhausted, supplies were limited, rain had soaked the soldiers and their ammunition, and the British were tightening the noose.

On August 29, Washington gathered his senior officers for a council of war here at the Four Chimneys house. The decision they reached was enormous: abandon Brooklyn. But there was a problem. They had to move thousands of soldiers, horses, artillery, ammunition, and supplies across the East River without the British realizing what was happening.

That night, Washington quietly began withdrawing his army toward the Brooklyn ferry landing. Soldiers from Colonel John Glover’s Massachusetts regiment, many of them experienced sailors and fishermen, were tasked with rowing the army across the river. And then Washington got incredibly lucky.

The winds that could have allowed British warships to sail into the East River failed to cooperate. Later, as daylight approached and thousands of Americans still remained in Brooklyn, a dense fog settled over the area, helping conceal the evacuation from the British.

Boat after boat crossed the river.

By the morning of August 30, nearly the entire American army had escaped to Manhattan. Washington himself is traditionally said to have remained until the final stages of the evacuation.

The British had won the Battle of Brooklyn. But they had failed to destroy Washington’s army.

And that distinction may have changed the course of the Revolution.

Washington learned an important lesson here. He did not need to win every battle to win the war. His army itself was more valuable than any individual piece of territory. As long as the Continental Army survived, so did the Revolution.

He chose to save his army, and because he did, the American Revolution lived to fight another day.

The Americans escaped in the night, but by morning, Brooklyn belonged to the British. Tomorrow, we enter the occupied city.