What George Washington learned from Brooklyn Heights
The biggest battle of the American Revolutionary War was fought in Brooklyn, just after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, in the summer of 1776. The Americans were outnumbered two to one, lost badly and were lucky to be able to extricate themselves from what could have been a war-ending disaster. George Washington, in command, learned that his troops must be better armed, better led and better disciplined to take on the Redcoats and that, whenever possible, he should avoid European-style pitched battles. Acting on these lessons for the next seven years, he found a way to survive and, eventually, to prevail.
