2026 The Battle of Brooklyn – Portraits

The Clash
Written By Tom Musante

A reenactor at the Battle of Brooklyn August 2026

The more of these events I do the more I come to realize they all take on their own personalities regarding my images and what subjects I’m drawn to. For Brooklyn it was most definitely candid portraits and street scenes. I did capture compelling images of the battle and retreat, but in post-production I was drawn to the faces of this event. Please see my Battle of Brooklyn Gallery for the complete set of images.

The Day

On Saturday August 22nd  I attended the 250th reenactment of the Battle of Brooklyn as part of the Brigade of the American Revolution (BAR). This was my first event since joining and the event was truly amazing! Upon arriving there was some confusion among the organizers regarding the space and the actual field of battle causing some concern for the quality of the event. Leadership came together and resolved the issues, and the reenactors gave the crowd of 9,500 as estimated by the organizers quite the show.

The March Down Third

After the retreat of the Continental forces the group marched down Third Street to the Old Stone House for the commemoration of the Maryland 400. Roughly 400 men of the 1st Maryland Regiment, under Lord Stirling and Major Mordecai Gist, charged the British position at the Old Stone House multiple times to hold the line while Washington's army escaped. Most of them did not come back. An American who was there wrote a few days later that Washington, watching from the Brooklyn lines, wrung his hands and cried out, "Good God! What brave fellows I must this day lose!"

I'll post links below regarding the history of the battle and the Maryland 400.

For More Information on:

Somers, New York

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Sources

  • All Photgraphs by Tom Musante 2026

  • Lord Stirling to George Washington, 29 August 1776 — Founders Online, National Archives (editorial note 6, for the Washington quote)

  • Finding the Maryland 400 — Maryland State Archives

  • The Old Stone House of Brooklyn

  • Prospect Park Alliance — Battle of Brooklyn 250th Anniversary Reenactment

Tom Musante http://tommusante.com
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