Artillery Retreat from Long Island

George Washington holds a torch to light the way as his troops load artillery onto boats for their secretive retreat from Brooklyn on the night of August 29, 1776. British forces led by generals William Howe and Henry Clinton had successfully surprised Washington on August 27, but Howe chose not to pursue the fleeing Continental soldiers after the engagement. Military historians often suggest that had he used more aggressive tactics, he may have incapacitated the Continental Army and effectively won the war. Washington’s retreat, under cover of darkness, preserved the American forces to fight another day. The Werner Company published this colorful chromolithograph of the event in 1899.