The Battle of Brooklyn

27 August 1776: The Battle of Brooklyn. Under command of General George Washington, American forces are ensconced on high ground. They expect British General Howe to order a headlong charge. Instead Howe orders several flanking maneouvres. The results are disastrous for the patriots. American forward positions are completely overrun. An extraordinary counter attack by the Maryland 400 allows most of the American advance guard to escape to Brooklyn Heights and rejoin the main body of Washington's forces.

This was the first time many of the American patriots realised just what they were up against - they were quite literally outgunned and outmanned, by the thousands. It was only under the cover of a miraculous thick fog that Washington was able to evacuate his troops from Brooklyn, and it was very shortly after this that the patriots lost New York City altogether - from 1776 to Evacuation Day in 1783 it remained in British loyalist hands, leading to the death of Nathan Hale. General Washington and his American soldiers would go on to wage battle for seven more years after that fateful 1776 August battle...

27 August 2017: I go to Green-Wood Cemetery, home to Battle Hill which saw some of the heaviest bloodshed during this battle, to watch a re-enactment of the Battle of Brooklyn. I mean, come on - a Revolutionary War battle at a historic cemetery? That hits like at least seven points on my checklist, I am so there!

I am dead serious about the checklist thing. I am so unbelievably glad that I went to this event - it crossed multiple things off of the NYC bucket list that I have floating around in my brain space. Visit Green-Wood Cemetery and see its famous parrots? Check. Visit a nautical pirate tavern (more on that later)? Check. Attend a Revolutionary War re-enactment and network with re-enactors? Check!

Though granted, I admit I have totally met some of these re-enactors before, at various events the National Park Service has hosted at Hamilton Grange and Federal Hall.

Here they are at the Grange - Plus I'm pretty sure the guy playing Washington was my guide at Van Cortlandt House!

Anyway, yes, it's true that I get to a lot of Revolutionary-themed places and events. But this one is particularly special. It's a yearly event, yes, but it just so happens that last year it happened just before I moved! I just missed it, which is so unfair! So I'd been looking forward to this event for an entire year. I had pretty high expectations for it. Did it meet those expectations?

I'd say the mood for the day was set during the moments before the battle re-enactment started, when the living history re-enactors were just mingling with the curious crowd. I heard some of the Green-Wood Parrots before I saw them, and as I craned my neck trying to see them, one of the re-enactors, a patriot in blue with a rich grey beard, pointed out their massive nest to me atop the gothic-style cemetery gate. 

He then saw my mjölnir pendant and greeted me in literal Old Norse. (I tell ya, re-enactors are something else.) My Viking ass completely geeked out on this, and I'm half convinced he was a Norse deity - he did kind of look like my mental picture of Njörd, and the latter half of the day did end up taking on a nautical theme, and he did disappear mysteriously after our conversation...

I am serious about that setting the tone of the day, though. That part is no joke. That was a precursor to both the kindness of the re-enactors and the fact that my interest in the Vikings actually did end up being a talking point with many of them.

The woman playing Martha Washington, for example (and I have met her like 3 times prior and still cannot remember her name because I am terrible with names, so for now I'mma call her Martha and I am sorry), was telling me about the Norwegian history of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and a small Scandinavian History Museum there that hasn't got a permanent home yet, but still I'm glad it exists and I'd love to visit it next time it's in one of its temporary spaces! We had a rather lengthy conversation not just about re-enactment but about the Varangian Guard and Viking graffiti! 

The purists out there might scoff - I was there for the Revolution; doesn't talking about a completely different era of history ruin the illusion? I would counter back that the view of the Manhattan skyline and all the modern spectators on their iPhones (myself included) did a good job of that before the Vikings were brought up. It was a fun conversation and I am no purist. I am a nerd, first and foremost, and I'll have my fun wherever I can get it.

And then? It was battle time.

Because of the loudness of the cannon fire, and the danger of the firearms and horses, spectators weren't allowed to get too close, which made it difficult to get good photos, though I also totally understand why we shouldn't get too close. I've heard many a re-enactment horror story, and even have a few of my own from my re-enactor days. (Though nothing as bad as a hole in the face that one of my friends can tell you about, ouch!) 

Though it wasn't always easy to follow - I am small and couldn't see over the crowd for some parts of it - it was pretty freaking cool, though sparsely populated. There were only so many re-enactors on either side, so it seemed more like a small skirmish than a large important historical battle, though even that was the most I'd ever seen. There were still moments that gave the tiniest glimpse of what it must have been like - a British officer firing a pistol from atop a horse, Patriot soldiers in hodgepodge outfits darting into the bushes for a sneak attack, the air thick with the sulfurous scent of gunpowder...

After the battle, there was a parade leading through the cemetery to its highest point (and the highest point in all of Brooklyn), Battle Hill, a significant spot during the  Battle of Brooklyn. Now there's a statue of the goddess Minerva, waving to her girlfriend the Statue of Liberty:

There was a commemorative ceremony that actually wasn't terribly unlike the Nathan Hale ceremony last September, albeit on a larger scale, which I guess makes sense. 

There was a welcome speech, a performance of the National Anthem by the Regimental Band of the US Merchant Marine Academy, a speech by historian Eugene Procknow (don't think I didn't catch your subtle "Hamilton" reference, Procknow!), a performance of "Amazing Grace" by a Scottish bagpiper (honestly is there any better way to perform that song than on bagpipes?), a wreath laying ceremony, a non-denominational prayer (which I was a little iffy about but whatevs, this isn't for me), and a gun salute while the Marine Academy band played "Taps".

In which my dumb ass almost forgot to move out of the way in time to not get shot.

And then, it was over. But my day wasn't.

I said good bye to the friendly re-enactors and then met up with my friend to tag along with her and her chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (a group I have long admired from afar but can sadly probably never join, being descended from immigrants and all, unless there's some part of my family history no one knows about, like we're secretly descended from Tadeusz Kosciuszko or something. Which we are not.) and go to a tavern only a few blocks away from the cemetery.

This was no ordinary tavern, though. This was one I'd read about on Untapped Cities, one with a theme very near and dear to my heart.

This was the Sea Witch Tavern.

This place's nautical/pirate theme was everything I dreamed of, even if their Irish Coffee was waaaaay lacking. (A shot of whiskey in a cuppa Joe does not an Irish Coffee make - when will I find a good Irish Coffee on this coast?!) Other than that small complaint, though, this place is the best! 

I'm really not much of a bar person, but I'm a sucker for a well-executed theme, especially if it's a theme I already liked. I've always been partial to pirates, and this place really delivers on its theme.

We're talking wood-paneled walls like a ship, skulls and bones scattered around (thus why I question if this may be more pirate-nautical than sailor-nautical), a rad mermaid mural, a fish tank behind the bar and koi ponds out in the garden, and model ships on the walls. I was all about this. And honestly, my only complaint was that the Irish Coffee wasn't great, and if that's the worst you can say about a place, then that's pretty good. The prices were reasonable and the food (I just got fried eggs and toast, I am a person of simple tastes who just likes breakfast food, like Ron Swanson in a dress) was delicious.

That mermaid mural I mentioned.

Not once did I feel like an intruder or an outsider. The DAR Knickerbocker Chapter was nothing but welcoming to me, and even told me I was welcome to tag along with them at other events even if I'm not officially one of them. Good food, good company, a good piratey vibe? What more could I have asked for, really?

Well. I guess for the subway getting home not to have been 50 shades of fucked up. I could have asked for that.

From a Revolutionary War Battle in the morning, to a Pirate pub in the afternoon, with Viking touches in between, it certainly was a unique Sunday. It wasn't quite what I was expecting out of the Battle of Brooklyn, but - like so many things here in New York - I enjoyed the hell out of it anyway.

Plus I got to hold a musket!

Photo by Lindsey

So all in all, I think this might become a yearly tradition for me. 

-Nym