The Battle of Long Island was one of our largest engagements with the British, and it was also the first one after the Declaration of Independence.

And it was a rout; the Americans got their heads handed to them. The British took New York and they occupied it for the rest of the war. After so many smaller victories, we finally got the lessons that A) this was going to be a long and bloody war, and B) there really isn’t any such thing as an easy victory.

As a result, New York City became a focal point for espionage and intelligence-gathering. If you’ve ever seen the AMC series Turn: Washington’s Spies, you’ll get an idea of some of the things that went on. (The series as a whole isn’t bad, but there are definitely instances of dramatic license that went on. For instance, you can’t row across the Long Island Sound and back overnight. In fact, I’m not sure you can row across the Sound safely at all.)

In tomorrow’s episode, Mike will tell you why it didn’t turn out worse for the American side and then we close out the week with the last chapter of the Battle of Long Island.

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