A History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County, Volume I.

by Stephen M. Ostrander

The resolution having been passed, a committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, was appointed to prepare and draft a declaration of independence.

Washington was in command in New York about a month, and in the early part of May, 1776, left for Philadelphia. General Putnam was placed in command at New York, and General Greene was assigned to Brooklyn to take charge of the fortifications. Washington was led to visit Philadelphia to consult with the Continental Congress upon the necessary measures to be adopted in order to carry on the campaign. This conference led to the issuance of an order authorizing the commander-in-chief to direct the building of as many fire rafts, galleys, boats, and batteries as might be required for the immediate defense of the port of New York, the Hudson River, and the Sound.

The Provincial Congress of New York, at its session in May, declared the province to be independent of Great Britain, but did not adopt a formal constitution until the following year.

Meanwhile the Continental Congress was not inactive. The committee to which was referred the important duty of drafting the Declaration of Independence worked faithfully, and on the 28th of June, 1776, the paper prepared by Thomas Jefferson was presented for the consideration of the body.

The document was finally adopted on the 4th of July. It was not signed, however, until August. The representatives from New York who signed it were William Floyd of Suffolk County, Philip Livingston of New York, Francis Lewis, who, as we have seen, at one time lived in Brooklyn and owned a large estate there, and Lewis Morris of Westchester. Robert R. Livingston's name should have been appended, but he was called to New York to attend the Provincial Congress before it was engrossed and ready to receive the signatures of the members, and thus his name does not appear on the immortal document. However, as one of its framers he will be forever identified with this glorious manifesto.

Just prior to the adoption of the Declaration, New York was placed in a critical position. On the 23d of June, General Howe with a large fleet appeared before the city, and on the 2d of July took possession of a portion of Staten Island, where he found many adherents of the cause of royalty. Soon after he was joined by his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, with a large fleet from England, and also by Sir Henry Clinton, with the troops under his command. He was thus placed in command of an army consisting of 24,000 well-disciplined men from England. This was not all. The Tory inhabitants flocked to his standard, and although not in many respects as efficient soldiers as the troops from England, still their knowledge of the country rendered them invaluable as aids in prospecting and giving information.

Washington had no such force. To cope with this army he had only 20,000 volunteer recruits, whose knowledge of military tactics was but limited, and many of whom were incapacitated for service. Moreover, had they been disciplined, he had neither the arms nor the ammunition necessary to properly equip them.

Meanwhile provision had been made for the election of delegates to the fourth Provincial Congress of New York. As New York was in a state of siege, it was deemed best to assemble at the court house in White Plains, twenty-six miles from New York. The body met on the 9th of July. Kings County was represented by Theodorus Polhemus. On the first day of the session the Declaration of Independence was read and unanimously adopted. On the following day the title of the body was changed from that of the Provincial Congress of the Colony of New York to that of the Convention of the Representatives of the State of New York. It continued to sit at White Plains until the 27th day of July, when it adjourned to meet at Harlem on the 29th.

It is needless to say that the news of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence occasioned much excitement and enthusiasm in New York and Brooklyn.

Steps were taken to fortify New York and prevent the entry of the enemy. Guns were placed on the Battery, and barricades erected at prominent points on the East and North rivers. The authorities were not content with erecting and planting guns on the water sides, but also appropriated the various hillocks for fortifications. One of these was known as Rutger's, and stood at the brow of the New Bowery, at or near its present junction with Chatham Street. Fortifications and barricades were also constructed at Jersey City and on Brooklyn Heights. The site of Fort Greene, now a beautiful park, was considered a very important position, and a line of works was hastily constructed which extended from the Wallabout to Gowanus Bay, thereby securing a complete chain of defense to the rest of the island.