8,000 Troops Escape!

Did You Know?

It was the War for Independence and the British were closing in on New York.  Ships with masts as thick as a forest crowded the NY harbor.  32,000 troops were preparing for battle.  General Washington ordered a day of fasting and prayer in anticipation of the battle.  The Continental Army was expecting an attack from the sea, but instead 10,000 British troops were quickly marching through the night to launch a surprise attack.  Washington and his troops were trapped.  A desperate decision was made to evacuate the entire army across the East River – troops, horses and cannons.  The next morning, as the sun began to rise, half of the men had yet to cross.  Miraculously, thick fog rose from the river.  Major Ben Tallmadge reported, “[The fog] seemed to settle in a peculiar manner over both encampments…so very dense was the atmosphere that I could scarcely discern a man at six yards distance.”  The fog stayed, though the sun had fully risen.  Washington was on the last boat that ferried across the river.  Never again would the British have such an opportunity to capture the entire Continental Army.

To learn more check out this book, Miracles in American History by Susie Federer.