Brooklyn, Brookland, Breuckelen, New York
Brooklyn, Brookland, Breuckelen, New York
BROOKLYN, BROOKLAND, BREUCKELEN, NEW YORK. A Dutch settlement on the western tip of Long Island, organized into a town in 1646, four years after the settlement had become known as The Ferry. Its name evolved from the Dutch word meaning marshland. (There were numerous variations of the Dutch spelling.) The modern spelling, "Brooklyn," was not standardized until the end of the eighteenth century. "Brooklyn Heights" refers to the high ground close to the ferry where Washington established defensive lines on 27 August 1775 after the disaster of the Battle of Long Island. John Glover's Marbleheaders ferried Washington's army to safety from Brooklyn on the night of 29 August.
SEE ALSO Long Island, New York, Battle of.
revised by Michael Bellesiles