The Sleeping Bag Program Spring Walk, 6/13/2021
While raising needed funds to assist the homeless, we will be walking along some very historic steps in the history of Brooklyn, based upon the Battle of Long Island renamed the Battle of Brooklyn took place on between August 27 & August 29 1776 and was the first official battle of the revolutionary war of the new nation. Join us @ 9am for all or part of this Walk:
(The British were coming with superior numbers. They landed in the southern most part of Long Island and were going to proceed through the densely wooded area towards Manhattan. There were four passes: a) the Guon (later known as Gowanus) which is ~5th Ave with fighting at Battle Hill (Greenwood Cemetery); b) Flatbush Pass which is East Drive in Prospect Park; c) the tiny Bedford Pass; and d) Jamaica Pass (between Brooklyn and Queens). The British did the impossible and force marched via Kings Highway to the Jamaica Pass surrounding our troops. George Washington successfully retreated to Brooklyn Heights in large part because of the Maryland 400 (About 264 Maryland militia). The British had us in a siege between themselves (i.e., hell) and the East River (i.e., high water). Later that night, GW crossed the East River with the help of the Massachusetts Boatmen to Manhattan and while we lost that battle, we did not lose the war!)
Start at 501 6th St Brooklyn, NY 11215
Head northwest on 6th St toward 7th Ave 0.3 mi
Turn left onto 5th Ave 1.0 mi
Turn left onto Main Entrance Greenwood Cemetery 0.1 mi
Turn left onto Battle Avenue 308 ft
Turn left onto Bay View Avenue 0.2 mi
Turn left onto Battle Avenue 476 ft
Minerva Statue Brooklyn, NY 11218 38 min (1.8 mi)
(The Altar to Liberty: Minerva monument: The Battle of Long Island renamed the Battle of Brooklyn is commemorated with a monument, which includes a bronze statue of Minerva near the top of Battle Hill, the highest point of Brooklyn, in Green-Wood Cemetery. The statue stands in the northwest corner of the cemetery and gazes directly at the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The annual Battle of Long Island commemoration is held inside the main Gothic arch entrance to Green-Wood Cemetery.)
Head back to Battle Ave & turn right onto Border Ave
Notice the Henry Chadwick Grave
Make a left onto the entrance on prospect park west
Prospect Park West Entrance Brooklyn, NY 11218 8 min (0.4 mi)Head northeast toward 20th St 105 ft
Continue onto Prospect Park West 0.4 mi
At the traffic circle, take the 4th exit onto West Dr 0.4 mi
Slight left onto Center Dr 397 ft
Slight right 246 ft
Turn right 0.1 mi
Turn left 246 ft
Maryland Monument Brooklyn, NY 11226 22 min (1.1 mi)
(The Monument commemorates the heroic action of the Maryland 400 at the Stone House) Head south toward Well House Dr Take the stairs 253 ft Turn left onto Well House Dr 98 ft Slight right to stay on Well House Dr 0.4 mi Continue onto East Dr 0.1 mi Head north on East Dr toward Midwood trail 0.2 mi (Note the Battle Pass Marker & Dongan Oak Monument, a large granite boulder with a brass plaque affixed, and another marker lies near the road for the Dongan Oak, a very large and old tree felled to block the pass from the British advance.) Continue onto Grand Army Plaza/Plaza St W 0.6 mi Turn onto Flatbush Ave 0.3 mi Chipotle 347 Flatbush Ave Brooklyn, NY 11238 36 min (1.7 mi) LUNCH………………………………………………………..11am (approx.) Head northwest on Flatbush Ave toward Carlton Ave 23 ft Turn right onto Carlton Ave 0.6 mi Slight left toward Cumberland St 397 ft Turn right onto Cumberland St 0.3 mi Continue onto Washington Park 0.2 mi Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument 22 min (1.1 mi) (The Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument is a freestanding Doric column in Fort Greene memorializing all those who died while kept prisoner on the British ships just off the shore of Brooklyn, in Wallabout Bay. NB: More people died that way than from actual battles.) Head towards Dekalb Ave 0.1 mi Turn right onto Dekalb Ave 0.4 mi Turn left onto Bond St 0.2 mi Turn right onto Atlantic Ave 0.4 mi Turn left onto Court St 75 ft Trader Joe's 130 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 22 min (1.1 mi) (NB: Where George Washington observed the Maryland 400 and a plaque has the quote ‘Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose!’)
Head south on Court St toward Pacific St 0.5 mi Turn left onto Union St 0.8 mi Turn right onto 4th Ave 0.3 mi Turn left onto 3rd St 472 ft Old Stone House 336 3rd St, Brooklyn, NY 11215 33 min (1.6 mi) (The Old Stone House: A re-constructed farmhouse (c.1699) that was at the center of the Marylanders' delaying actions serves as a museum of the battle. It is located in J.J. Byrne Park, at Third Street and Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, and features models and maps. NB: The Marylanders did not just defend; they attacked A British force of thousands!) Head northwest on 3rd St toward 4th Ave 433 ft Turn left onto 4th Ave 0.3 mi Turn right onto 9th St 0.1 mi American Legion 193 9th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215 10 min (0.5 mi)
(The 256 dead troops of the Maryland 400 were buried by the British in a mass grave on a hillock on farmer Adrian Van Brunt's land on the outskirts of the marsh. It was from this battle that Maryland gained its nickname the "Old Line State". The Maryland soldiers grave was originally marked with a memorial that stated: "Burial place of ye 256 Maryland soldiers who fell in ye combat at ye Cortelyou House on ye 27th day of August 1776." Yet as the years went by, their story and burial place faded from public memory.
However, not everyone has forgotten the Maryland Regiment, and their grave has been rediscovered where it remains in a fenced-off lot at the intersection of Third avenue and 8th Street in Brooklyn. Despite previous plans for a memorial park, merely a simple placard on the adjacent American Legion building indicates the site from the street.) Head southeast on 9th St toward 4th Ave 0.1 mi Turn left onto 4th Ave 0.1 mi Turn right onto 6th St 0.5 mi 501 6th St Brooklyn, NY 11215 17 min (0.8 mi) Walk should finish around 1pm