America’s 250th birthday celebration saw the world’s largest fireworks display in the skies above Washington D.C.—840,537 explosions over the course of 40 minutes. July 4th marked the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence.
But before the ink was dry on the Declaration, the world’s most powerful navy was already landing the most massive expeditionary force that it had ever assembled. New York harbor was being filled with more than 400 ships and 32,000 soldiers. All to crush the revolution before it ever got out of the starting blocks.
By taking New York and controlling the Hudson River, the Redcoats aimed to cut New England off from the rest of the colonies and make quick work of the Continental army under George Washington’s command.
British maneuvers placed Washington in an impossible position. Defending the island forced him to divide his troops—already gravely fewer than those of the Brits. His army was outmanned, untrained, underequipped, and outmaneuvered and the results were predictable. By late summer the colonists had been on the short side of several skirmishes and battles.
Then, on August 27, 1776, an attack on Brooklyn Heights, New York inflicted a thousand casualties on the colonists while pushing Washington’s remaining 9,000 troops against the banks of the East River.
Like the ancient Israelites with their back to the Red Sea, the colonial army faced a stark choice between surrender and certain annihilation. And they had no Moses to part the waters. Such was the hopeless situation of the infant Republic as the sun set on August 28th, 1776.
When things could hardly get worse, they did. On August 29, the temperature suddenly dropped and ushered in “such heavy rains. . . as can hardly be remembered,” according to a local Brooklyn pastor. These torrential rains flooded their defensive trenchworks, soaked their gunpowder, and pelted unsheltered soldiers.
But the same rains also hampered British operations. Five ships had been dispatched to cut off any colonial retreat, but were unable to navigate against the northerly gale. This left the mile-wide channel open for one impossible maneuver.
Against all odds and the advice of his generals, Washington decided to attempt a stealth midnight crossing of the East River. With overwhelming British forces within earshot, he undertook to row 9,000 men and tons of equipment across the East River without being heard or seen.
When the gale subsided around 11 p.m., men, horses, supplies, and cannons were quietly loaded into a ragtag armada of fishing boats. Cloth was wrapped around wheels to muffle the clank of steel and troops were ordered not even to speak in the black night air.
Then came the most wondrous fortune of all. A thick fog descended on the region that added additional cover and muffling effect. So thick was the veil, according to eyewitness accounts, that soldiers could not see each other beyond the range of 20 feet.
God used the very forces of nature to assist Washington in a feat that has been dubbed the “Miracle of Brooklyn Heights.” Even when the dawn threatened to expose the operation to the watchful British, that soupy fog persisted until the last boat was underway.
Only then did the nearby Redcoats perceive what had happened under their noses. Rushing to the banks of the East River they vainly attempted to fire on an army that was now out of range. Having spent the night in anticipation of landing the final blow on the rebel colonists, they entered the camp only to find silent cart tracks.
While July 4th is celebrated with the noise of artillery shells, how shall we celebrate the silent miracle of August 29th?
I suggest that the silent prayers of the faithful are more fitting and more powerful than 840,537 fireworks. Today’s 250th anniversary marks not the achievement of men but the providence of God.
I am fully aware that some will mock my suggestion. The atheist mind looks at the Miracle of Brooklyn Heights and chalks it up to random chance. But those who actually know God know that there is no such thing as random chance. Fables about the Fates were a thing in pagan Rome. But America’s founders knew better.
God still intervenes in human affairs. Jesus rose from the dead to be the King of kings. And He still knows how to perform miracles.
That’s why the fickle winds of political fortune should never drive you to despair as though power could make evil inevitable. They are and remain the instruments of God who rules the course of history according to His good and gracious will.
As we mark the 250th anniversary of the Miracle of Brooklyn Heights, let us do so with humility, prayer, and steadfast faith in the God who gave success to the founders of this great nation.
Jonathan Lange is a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod pastor in Evanston and Kemmerer and serves the Wyoming Pastors Network. Follow his blog at https://jonathanlange.substack.com/. Email: JLange64@protonmail.com
