Editing Brooklyn (section)

====Revolutionary War====
{{Further|Battle of Long Island|New York and New Jersey campaign}}
[[File:Battle-of-Long-Island-Map-sml.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The American Revolution's [[Battle of Long Island]] was fought across Kings County.]]
On August 27, 1776, the [[Battle of Long Island]] (also known as the 'Battle of Brooklyn') was fought, the first major engagement fought in the [[American Revolutionary War]] after [[United States Declaration of Independence|independence was declared]], and the largest of the entire conflict. [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British troops]] forced the [[Continental Army]] under [[George Washington]] off the heights near the modern sites of [[Green-Wood Cemetery]], [[Prospect Park (Brooklyn)|Prospect Park]], and [[Grand Army Plaza]].<ref name="McCullough, David 2005">[[David McCullough|McCullough, David]]. ''[[1776 (book)|1776]]''. Simon & Schuster. 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-7432-2671-4}}</ref>

Washington, viewing particularly fierce fighting at the [[Gowanus Canal|Gowanus Creek]] and [[Old Stone House (Brooklyn)|Old Stone House]] from atop a hill near the west end of present-day [[Atlantic Avenue (Brooklyn)|Atlantic Avenue]], was reported to have emotionally exclaimed: "What brave men I must this day lose!".<ref name="McCullough, David 2005"/>

The [[Fortification|fortified]] American positions at [[Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn|Brooklyn Heights]] consequently became untenable and were evacuated a few days later, leaving the British in control of [[New York Harbor]]. While Washington's defeat on the battlefield cast early doubts on his ability as the commander, the [[tactical withdrawal]] of all his troops and supplies across the [[East River]] in a single night is now seen by historians as one of his most brilliant triumphs.<ref name="McCullough, David 2005"/>

The British controlled the surrounding region for the duration of the war, as New York City was soon occupied and became their military and political base of operations in British-held North America for the remainder of the conflict. The [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] residents largely fled or changed their political sentiments, and afterward the British generally enjoyed a dominant [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] sentiment from the residents in Kings County who did not evacuate, though the region was also the center of the fledgling—and largely successful—[[Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War|Patriot intelligence network]], headed by Washington himself.

The British set up a system of [[Prisoners of war in the American Revolutionary War|prison ships]] off the coast of Brooklyn in [[Wallabout Bay]]. More American prisoners of war died on these prison ships than were [[killed in action]] on all the battlefield engagements of the war combined. One result of the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1783 was the [[Evacuation Day (New York)|evacuation of the British from New York City]], which was celebrated by New Yorkers into the 20th century.