This was the scene yesterday at Brooklyn’s Old Stone House for the commemoration of the Battle of Long Island, which took place 247 years ago today. You can see Brooklyn’s urban sprawl in the distance, which Revolutionary War historians were noting in books about the conflict as early as the 1850s. Friends and I agreed that the event was bigger than last year’s, which was our first time attending. We were talking afterward at the reception with figures from the Maryland State Chapter of the Society of the Cincinnati and local members from various units of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, and all agreed that this was the case. They are expecting it to grow through 2026, the 250th anniversary. I won’t go into details because it’s not my story to tell, but we learned too of several interesting projects in the works. Afterward a small group of us walked down to the nearby American Legion post, in the vicinity of which many men of the Maryland 400 rest today. There is some signage explaining the significance of the site. We stayed for a short time and the Legionnaires treated us graciously. It’s good to see people keeping history alive.

It was a gorgeous day in the city yesterday for the Urban Park Rangers hike in Fort Greene Park commemorating the Prison Ship Martyrs. It was just one event taking place as part of Battle Week, the annual commemoration of the Battle of Long Island. The two rangers were excellent and the crowd engaged. I met a lot of interesting folks. As if one cue, earlier today the editors at Emerging Revolutionary War Era uploaded my article about the history of the martyrs and the monument dedicated to them. If you live in Greater New York, note that events are taking place around the city through next Sunday.