Which battle was the largest engagement of the American Revolutionary War by troop deployment and combat?

The Battle of Long Island was the largest engagement of the American Revolutionary War by troop deployment and combat.

Also called the Battle of Brooklyn, it was fought on August 27, 1776, in and around present-day Brooklyn. British and German forces under General William Howe attacked George Washington’s Continental Army, which was defending New York. The British won and gained control of Long Island, forcing Washington to evacuate his army from Brooklyn Heights several days later.

About 20,000 British and Hessian troops faced roughly 10,000 American troops during the battle. The American defeat exposed the danger of defending New York against a larger army supported by the Royal Navy. Washington’s nighttime withdrawal across the East River saved the Continental Army from capture.

The battle is sometimes confused with Saratoga or Yorktown because those campaigns were strategically decisive. Long Island, however, was the war’s biggest battle in terms of troop deployment and combat, and it was the first major battle after the Declaration of Independence.