ntly no more than a plain breastwork, with
felled trees in front of it, thrown up across the road, and perhaps
extending to the rising ground on the left.[126] At the coast road,
around and beyond the Red Lion, the guards consisted of Hand's
riflemen, half of Atlee's musketry, detachments of New York troops,
and part of Lutz's Pennsylvanians under Major Burd. At the Bedford
Pass, to the left of the Flatbush Road, were stationed Colonel Samuel
Wyllys's Connecticut Continentals, and Colonel Chester's regiment from
the same State, under Lieutenant-Colonel Solomon Wills, of Tolland,
who had seen service in the French war and at Havana. Still further to
the left, Colonel Miles was now encamped a short distance beyond, in
the woods. Between these several passes, sentinels were stationed at
intervals along the crest of the ridge, to keep communication open
from one end of the line to the other.[127]

[Footnote 126: The site of this breastwork is now within the limits of
Prospect Park, and it stood across what is known as "Battle Pass." Dr.
Stiles in his History of Brooklyn, and Mr. Field in vol. ii. of the
L.I. Hist. Society's _Memoirs_, put a well-constructed redoubt at this
point on a hill-top to the left of the road. The account in the _South
Carolina Gazette_ says that the Flatbush Pass guards were posted "near
a mile from the parting of the road [_i.e._, a mile from where the
Flatbush Road branched from the Jamaica Road] where an _abattis_ was
formed across the road, and a breastwork thrown up and defended by two
pieces of cannon." In the original sketch of the "engagement," made by
John Ewing, who was Hand's brother-in-law, and with him on the spot,
there is this reference: "F. Where a considerable Number of our people
were stationed with several Field-pieces & Breast-works made with
Trees felled across the Road to defend themselves when attacked."
(_Document_ 15.) Colonel Miles speaks of "a small redoubt in front of
the village [Flatbush]" (_Document_ 20.) The breastwork across the
road was doubtless the principal defence here, and this was merely
temporary.]

[Footnote 127: The number of men at each of the three passes was about
eight hundred, and on the left of these were Miles' two battalions,
with perhaps five hundred men on duty. Sullivan's orders of August
25th give the detail which was to mount for picket on the following
morning. This detail, therefore, was the one on duty on the night of
the 26th. The order r