Denyse’s Ferry – Gravesend Bay
Revolutionary War Heritage Trail
At the time of the American Revolution, travelers from Long Island boarded a ferry that took them across the Narrows to Staten Island near this point. In the summer of 1776, a British fleet commanded by Admiral Lord Richard Howe sailed up through the Narrows and prepared to attack the City of New York. On August 22, 1776, Lord Howe deposited the first of approximately 20,000 troops on the Brooklyn shore near the ferry landing. Their camps stretched east towards New Lots.
Early in the morning of August 27, 1776, the British attacked. One column marched up the Narrows Road and skirmished with American troops posted near the Red Lion Inn, near present-day Green-Wood Cemetery. A second column moved up the Flatbush Road through what is now Prospect Park. Meanwhile, the main enemy force swung east through New Lots to Jamaica, completely undetected. At daybreak, they were behind the Americans and ready to strike.
Marker is on Belt Pkwy, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
