"The Battle of Brooklyn" at the NY HIstoric Soc-Worth Beating any Crowds to Catch

Actually, there were no crowds at the exhibit which just opened at the NY Historic Soc "The Battle of Brooklyn."  Perhaps, like most, people don't know that the Battle of Brooklyn in Aug. 1776 was the 1st, the biggest, most costly battle of the Amer Revolution which almost cost Washington's rag-tag soldiers the end to our War for Independence.  Who knew?  Did you?  Did you know that the British Royal Army aligned themselves on Staten Island ready to take out the impertinent rapscallions who dared to defy King George III and his imperialist & omnipotent battalions.  Gen. Washington strategically placed his soldiers in Brooklyn (Brooklyn Heights & Crown Heights,) to combat the British.  The bloodiest battle of the entire  Revolutionary War occured on August 22, 1776.  There were an estimated 200 American casualties and 900 taken prisoner.  The British casualties were 61 &  31 held captive.  The battle itself lasted less than 4 hours.   This battle was the 1st & almost last of the war.  The defeat led  Washington to a call a retreat from Brooklyn to Manhattan undercover of night. It's believed the British army would have annihilated the makeshift American army had they remained.  An unsigned leaflet recovered of a NY Pocket Almanac '1776 reads…"this fatal day independence declared by the Congress - rivers of blood will flow in consequence of it - no peace for many years."  King George III underestimated the American colonists and overtaxed them - all leading to a BIG MISTAKE on his part costing a long & deadly conflict before giving birth to our independence.  How did the American colonist go from fighting alongside British soldiers in the French & Indian Wars merely 13 years prior, to calling for war against Great Britain?  The exhibit houses rare antiquities & correspondences between many of our prominent founding fathers:  Washington, Adams, Franklin as well as King George's Proclamations.  There are poignant letters from citizens describing their experiences during the years 1775-1783.  Many of these documents are illegible; transcripts are needed to decipher the information.  The exhibit posed numerous questions.  How did Adams gain the authority to call upon troops?  How was it slaves worked to build fortresses in Brooklyn?  How was forgery detected (which almost derailed the fighting) & how was information circulated?  The historic significance of the artifacts is awe-inspiring.  I appreciate the application of current technology with  touch screens to give detailed information.  I'm in anticipation of the discussion that accompanies this exhibit in October.  New York is home to the first battles of the Revolutionary War, the inauguration of it's 1st President and the NY Historic Soc on CPW.