Kings County watched, and also, as we have seen, participated in the events which led up to the crisis of active war.
When movements on the part of the British troops led the Continental Congress to consider the raising of men for common defense, the quota of the colony of New York was fixed at 3000, which number the Continental Congress directed them to raise. In obedience to this direction four regiments were raised, the Provincial Congress placing them under the command of Colonels Alexander McDougall, Gozen Van Schaick, James Clinton, and Holmes. The veteran Lamb received an appointment to command a company of artillery.
In Brooklyn an association was formed for mutual protection, and meetings were held weekly for the purpose of drilling, under the supervision of competent officers. Enthusiasm began to manifest itself. Every gun and bayonet was brought into requisition, and put in order and burnished for the coming fray. The meetings for drilling and instruction in the manual of arms, which were held at the Wallabout and other parts of Brooklyn, created much interest among the young men who opposed the Tory party, and prepared them for the service which they were soon after called upon to render.
In March, 1776, the following Brooklyn officers had taken commissions:—Half of Brooklyn: Barent Johnson, captain; Barent Lefferts, first lieutenant; Jost Debevoise, second lieutenant; Martin Schenck, ensign. Half of Brooklyn: Fer'd Suydam, captain; John T. Bergen, first lieutenant; William Brower, second lieutenant; Jacob Stellenwerth, ensign. Kings County was further represented by Rutgert Van Brunt, colonel; Nich. Cowenhoven, lieutenant-colonel; Johannes Titus, first major; John Vanderbilt, second major; Geo. Carpenter, adjutant.[46]
The names of the military officers of this period were and have remained familiar in the history of Brooklyn. The Johnson estate was in the present seventh and nineteenth wards, being in the neighborhood of Kent Avenue, Hewes Street, and Bedford Avenue, a narrow strip also extending along Graham Street to Myrtle Avenue. The Lefferts property was in Flatbush and Bedford. The Schenck farm was situated on the site of the Wallabout Bay, and a portion of it is now occupied as the site of the United States Marine Hospital. The Suydam tract was situated in what was then known as Bushwick, and the Debevoise estate was also in the same section of the city. The Cowenhoven property was situated in what is now the heart of the city. The old house stood in a hollow near where the Atlantic avenue railroad depot now stands. It was an old-fashioned Dutch house, whose massive beams and quaint mantelpieces attracted considerable attention some twenty years ago when it was taken down. The history of this mansion and its occupants would form a very interesting chapter in the history of Brooklyn. The Bergen property was situated at Gowanus. The Vanderbilt farm was in the twentieth ward, between Clermont Avenue and Hamilton Street.
In consequence of the requisition made for troops, the colony of New York presented the appearance of military activity. Steps were taken to erect fortifications. The colony at this time had two governments, each of which was antagonistic to the other, and each one proclaimed the acts and resolutions of the other void and of no effect. Tryon represented the Crown as colonial governor, and the brave General Nathaniel Woodhull, of Long Island, as president pro tem. of the Provincial Congress, also acted as governor, and was so recognized by the party of patriots. Between these claimants for power, a collision soon occurred. The Provincial Congress desired to obtain the removal of the guns on the Battery to the fortifications on the Highlands. Captain John Lamb, the invincible, was directed by the Provincial Congress to secure their removal, and on the 23d of August proceeded, with some of his faithful liberty boys and other citizens, to execute the order. With his band was Alexander Hamilton, then a lad of eighteen, whose life was dedicated to the sacred cause of freedom.
During the early part of the campaign the Tory party had many friends on Long Island. When the British evacuated Boston through the instrumentality of Washington, who succeeded in compelling them to leave, and occupied their deserted quarters, it was supposed that the defeated Royalists would endeavor to retrieve their fortunes by an effort to gain possession of New York. The policy and actions of the troops were closely watched by Washington, who readily saw that the object was to make New York the seat of government, to surround it with a large force, and thereby cut off all communication with the southern colonies. Thus they expected to divide the country and prevent assistance being sent from one section to another. Had this plan been successfully accomplished a continual fire could have been kept up both north and south. Scouts and rangers would have been used to prey upon the people, doing great damage, and intercourse between the different colonies would have been effectually prevented. In order to avoid this calamity, Washington accepted the offer made by General Lee, who proposed to raise a force for the defense of New York. General Lee immediately collected 1200 efficient men, and proceeded to New York, where he arrived in January, 1776, to the great gratification of the patriots, who did not expect to receive so valuable an addition to their population.
Lee was no novice. A man of executive ability and military skill, he saw at once that energetic measures were necessary in order to tread under foot the existing latent love of royalty, which only needed a little encouragement to burst forth into living activity. It is a singular coincidence that on the very day General Lee entered New York with his forces, the British fleet which had been expected arrived at Sandy Hook, under command of Sir Henry Clinton. The British officer did not seem to like the appearance of things in New York, and for some inexplicable reason changed his course somewhat toward the coast of Virginia.
General Lee had realized the height of his ambition in being in command of so important a station. At once steps were taken to garrison and fortify the city and its suburbs.
Long Island and Staten Island were justly looked upon as the natural protectors of the harbor of New York, and prudence dictated the advisability of erecting fortifications and posting troops in these localities to watch the approach of belligerent vessels. The patriots were actuated by one spirit, and widely rendered aid and assistance to the heroic commander. Scouts were placed at prominent points at the Narrows, and fortifications erected at Red Hook Point and elsewhere. Some 400 troops were sent to Brooklyn, and performed patrol duty from the settlement at the Wallabout to Gowanus.