Brooklyn- Saturday, August 22, 2026

 Again, we hope to post more details when we get a chance, but here's an outline of what happened today.

• Drove to Brooklyn via Staten Island.  Traffic was relatively light, though we did get in the wrong lane once and had to turn around.
• Parked at our pre-paid spot in a lot on 38th street.  Had to walk a few blocks with our stuff to 32nd street where our hotel was.  We dropped our stuff off, rested a moment and started in with the day.
• Walked to the edge of the nearby Green-wood Cemetery, an enormous cemetery with many famous New Yorkers buried in it.   It sits on the high ground that the Americans were trying to defend in the battle.
• Brian saw that we were not far from the grave of Clarence McKenzie, a 12-year old drummer boy who was accidentally killed in the early days of the Civil War.  His grave has a life-sized (and it turns out, very detailed statue of a drummer boy on it and Brian wanted some pictures.
• We went to near-by Prospect Park and had to go through quite a bit of it to get to the Battle of Brooklyn re-enactment.  Before we got there, we stopped for some water and a hot dog.  There were many paths and its a huge park, so we took a little while to find our way.
• We arrived at the battle re-enactment after it had started but we got to see some of the most important parts-- the attack by the Hessians in the center and the breaking of the American line when the main British force arrive by surprise on their left. 
• After the battle we and the many people assembled followed the soldiers through the streets of Brooklyn for a mile or more to go to the Old Stone House.  This site was where the "Maryland 400" acted as Washington's rear guard, losing a lot of soldiers as they protected the retreat of the rest of the army.
• There were lots of people and booths to see at the Old Stone House including the museum itself.  Brian and Scott got separated several times but were able to meet up again.
• Scott was able to see the ceremony to re-dedicate the site to the Maryland 400, which included a proclamation from the Maryland governor and a reading of all of the more than 250 men who were killed, wounded or captured there. 
•  When the ceremony was over, we found a McDonald's for a late and much needed lunch.
• We then went to the Rawley Post of the American Legion which sits where the Maryland 400's killed were buried.  They had a dedication ceremony for a new mural about the battle.  Brian is very active in the Sons of the American Legion and had been tipped off about this ceremony.
• We had a few beers at the American Legion before we headed back to the hotel, walking over 20 blocks to get back to the hotel.

More details and color to be added later, we hope.

 

To Fort Lee and Parsippany, New Jersey- Friday, August 21, 2026

      In Scott's continuing quest to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, he didn't want to miss the important anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn this month.  We'll (hopefully) add more description and details later but here's a quick outline of how today went:

• Picked up Brian from his house
• Went to the airport for the rental car
• Stopped at the first travel plaza to try to get the right cords for the phone.
• Wanted to get to Fort Lee NJ before the visitors center closed there.  We didn't make it.  
• Got in the wrong lane and accidentally went over the George Washington Bridge to Manhattan
• Did get to Fort Lee and explored the park there.  It is on the Palisades overlooking the Hudson River, just south of the George Washington Bridge.  The fort itself is a recreation of what was here, but the original fort was started in July 1776, with a sister fort, Fort Washington, across the Hudson River.  The two forts together were meant to keep the British from sailing up the Hudson River to take Manhattan from the north.  Two British ships, The Phoenix and The Rose proved that they could get by the defenses here, though.  Ultimately, after Washington was forced to evacuate New York City, he crossed here in November.   There are some great views of Manhattan from this park, and it seems very well taken care of.  We were very sorry not to have made it in time for the visitor center, with its movie and gift shop.
• Drove a little more than a 1/2 hour to Parsippany, NJ, where our hotel is.  The hotel has got very "New Jersey vibes," if you get our meaning. 
• We had dinner in the Fuddruckers in the parking lot of the hotel.  Scott enjoyed a Buffalo chicken sandwich and would have one again if the occasion arose.  It was tasty, but messy.

     Tomorrow is the day that is most full of activities and we've got to go into Brooklyn early so we're taking it easy tonight.