At the same time General Howe sent over in boats from Long Island to the landing at Kip's Bay, near the line of the present Thirty-fourth Street, an army to cut off the city from the northern part of the island.

Washington marched in person with two New England regiments to dispute the landing and give him time for evacuation.

To his rage panic seized his men and they turned and fled, leaving him almost alone not a hundred yards from the enemy.

A stray shot at that moment might have influenced greatly modern history, for, as events were soon to show, Washington was the mainstay of the American cause.

He too had to get away and Howe's force landed easily enough.