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from the Continental Congress to assume command of the rebel forces, which had British forces hemmed in at Boston.

The war shifted to New York after the British evacuated Boston in March 1776.

Once a British stronghold, New York became so politically turbulent that in October 1775, the royal governor, William Tryon, fled the city for the safety of a warship anchored in the bay off Manhattan.

American troops began arriving in New York in early 1776 and soon controlled the town. A handful of English warships, including the 44-gun Phoenix, remained in the harbor. The ships had been there since mid-1775. The governor hadn’t returned to the city.

An American commander, Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, came to New York with a detachment of New England soldiers on Feb. 4. He soon began directing the construction of earthen defenses along the town’s extensive waterfront. More and more rebel troops arrived during the next few months. Washington arrived on April 13.

The British followed, but not immediately. In late June, a British fleet sailed into the bay, bringing soldiers from Canada. In New

York, the fleet’s arrival prompted fears of a British attack on Manhattan, but no attack came. Instead, British soldiers landed on nearby Staten Island and set up camp. Over the next month, more British ships entered the bay and landed thousands of additional troops on Staten Island.