The Heights of Guan is a historical name given to a series of hills extending in a ridge along western

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. The ridge extends in an east-northeast direction across the modern-day

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

boroughs of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, with hills varying in height from . The southern slope of the ridge has a relatively steep drop and the northern slope is more gradual. Further to the south is an

outwash plain An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the glacier terminus, terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying r ...

bordered by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Geologically, the ridge is part of the

Harbor Hill Moraine The Harbor Hill Moraine, in the geography of Long Island, forms the northern of two ridges along the "backbone" of Long Island. Description The Harbor Hill Moraine, skirting the North Shore, represents the terminal moraine of the most recent ...

formed 13,000 to 12,000 years ago during the

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated ...

. ''Guan'' is a variant of

Gowanus Gowanus ( ) is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community District 6. Gowanus is bounded by Wyckoff Street o ...

. The Heights of Guan played a strategic role during the

Battle of Brooklyn The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...

, early in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The ridge formed a natural defensive line against an attacking force from the south due to the steepness of the southern slope and the heavily wooded terrain covered in dense brush. There were four passes through the Heights of Guan: *Gowanus Pass: Where 7,000 troops under General James Grant attacked 2,000 troops under

Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (December 27, 1725 – January 15, 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He held a claim to be the male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirl ...

after the initial skirmish at the Red Lion Inn. * Flatbush Pass (Battle Pass): Where the Flatbush Road cut through the pass. The Americans had chopped down a large oak tree called the ''Dongan Oak'' to block the road and the pass at a location which is in today's

Prospect Park Prospect Park may refer to: Businesses * Prospect Park (production company), entertainment production company *Prospect Park Productions NZ, theatre company based in Dunedin, New Zealand Places New Zealand * Prospect Park, New Zealand, a portion ...

. *Bedford Pass: The troops defending this pass retreated toward the Battle Pass after being outflanked. *

Jamaica Pass East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough line to the north; ...

: The lightly guarded pass on the Jamaica road that the British used to outflank the Americans after capturing four American horsemen on guard. Howe forced William Howard, owner of Howard's Tavern located on the

Jamaica Road The A200 is an A roads in Great Britain, A road in London running from London Bridge to Greenwich. Cycleway 4 will follow most of the A200 road. Route Tooley Street The name derives from St Olave's Street, after the Church of Olaf II of ...

to the south of the Heights of Guan, and his fourteen-year-old son, to show him the way to an old Rockaway Indian trail, called the ''Rockaway Path'', which skirted the pass itself. It is in today's Evergreen Cemetery. In the decades after the war, population growth in the Heights was not as rapid as in other nearby rural areas. Roads were improved, however, and with

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

after the mid-19th century various railroads crossed the Heights including the

South Brooklyn Railway The South Brooklyn Railway is a railroad in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is owned by the government of New York City and operated by the New York City Transit Authority. Its original main line ran parallel to 38th Street from th ...

. Prospect Reservoir and

Ridgewood Reservoir Ridgewood Reservoir is a decommissioned 19th century reservoir and freshwater wetland on the border between the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, within what is now Highland Park. Although the reservoir was originally built to sec ...

were built on the Heights to serve the water needs of the growing

City of Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, and

Eastern Parkway Eastern Parkway is a major east–west boulevard in the borough (New York City), New York City borough of Brooklyn. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, it was built between 1870 and 1874 and has been credited as the world's fir ...

later ran along the ridgeline between them.

Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in South Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park and Eighth Avenue (Brooklyn), Prospect Park West to the east, ...

and

Crown Heights Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard to the so ...

became prosperous suburban

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

External links

Historical Marker Database, Evergreen Cemetery, Rockaway Path

References

{{reflist New York (state) in the American Revolution 18th century in Brooklyn 1776 in New York (state) Landforms of Brooklyn