Meanwhile for the colonists

*George Washington had begun to recruit and train a militia when tensions first arose with the British. *Washington rallied 23,000 men to New York’s defense, but he was vastly outnumbered. (Most of his troops were untrained recruits with poor equipment.) *The battle for New York ended in late August with an American retreat following heavy losses. Michael Graham, a Continental army volunteer, described the chaotic withdrawal on August 27, 1776.