One step closer to battle: the British and Hessian troops moved from Staten Island to Long Island, in preparation for a major attack on the rebels stationed there. As at Staten Island earlier in the month, the Americans didn’t try to stop them from landing — and even if they had, the landing operations were covered by several British warships, including the Carcass and Thunder, which were bomb ketches (vessels made specifically for bombarding targets on shore). As they pulled back from the shore to their main positions a few miles away, however, the Americans did burn some grain, so as to keep it from falling into enemy hands.
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