Disembarkation of the Troops at Gravesend Bay under the Command of General Collier, R.N. (August 22, 1776)

Disembarkation of the Troops at Gravesend Bay under the Command of General Collier, R.N. (August 22, 1776)

John Baily

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This print, published in London's "Naval Chronicle," shows the landing of British forces on Long Island on August 22, 1776 before the Battle of Long Island on August 27. At the battle, a determined resistance by 250 Maryland troops prevented the main body of the American army from being captured. This allowed the evacuation of the defenses established on Brooklyn Heights during the night of August 29. General George Washington led this operation which carried the entire army over to Manhattan without loss of life, after which they retreated north up the Hudson River.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Disembarkation of the Troops at Gravesend Bay under the Command of General Collier, R.N. (August 22, 1776)Disembarkation of the Troops at Gravesend Bay under the Command of General Collier, R.N. (August 22, 1776)Disembarkation of the Troops at Gravesend Bay under the Command of General Collier, R.N. (August 22, 1776)Disembarkation of the Troops at Gravesend Bay under the Command of General Collier, R.N. (August 22, 1776)Disembarkation of the Troops at Gravesend Bay under the Command of General Collier, R.N. (August 22, 1776)

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.