For America250, which 1776 battle was the first major battle after the Declaration of Independence?

For America250, the Battle of Long Island was the first major battle after the Declaration of Independence. Fought on August 27, 1776, it was also known as the Battle of Brooklyn.

The British and their German auxiliaries attacked George Washington’s Continental Army on Long Island, near present-day Brooklyn. British forces achieved a major victory, inflicting heavy casualties and forcing Washington to retreat across the East River to Manhattan.

The defeat did not end the American cause. Washington’s army escaped from Brooklyn under cover of darkness, preserving the force needed to continue the war. The campaign demonstrated the strength of the British military and exposed weaknesses in American training, intelligence, and battlefield coordination.

The battle is sometimes confused with Bunker Hill, which occurred earlier, on June 17, 1775, before the Declaration. Saratoga and Yorktown were later turning points. Long Island therefore fits the specific chronology connecting the Declaration’s adoption to the first major campaign afterward.