On the morning of August 27, 1776, as the Battle of Brooklyn raged, 300 men - Huntington's 17th Continental (Connecticut) Regiment, along with a few of Atlee's Lutz's, and Kiechlein's Pennsylvanians and Haslet's Delawares - stormed and captured this vital hill and held it against two British counterattacks by more than 2,000 soldiers. Colonel Joseph Reed reported that the 17th, though tremendously outnumbered, "behaved so as to command the admiration of all who beheld the engagement." These brave Americans inflicted more damage to the British army on Battle Hill than the invader suffered in the rest of the Battle of Brooklyn. Many of these Americans were captured that day after they tried to rejoin their line below, only to learn that it had retreated without them. Upwards of 200 of them later died in captivity.
Presented and dedicated by the Society of the Cincinnati
in the State of Connecticut, August 27, 2013.
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