logo
episode-header-image
Today
1h 42m

The Battle of New York Explained

History Hit
About this episode

Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Hudson, the East River - today, these are the very heart and soul of New York City. But in 1776, they were the battlefield on which the American Revolution nearly died. Today Dan explains this crucial battle, fought between the largest invasion fleet North America had ever seen and George Washington's Continental Army.


Written by Dan Snow and edited by Dougal Patmore.


We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6


Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Sep 3
The Rise & Fall of Babylon
Babylon has a PR problem, and it's 2,600 years in the making.The Bible remembers it as the ultimate city of sin, the place that crushed Jerusalem and dragged the Jewish people into exile. But if you look beyond this chapter, you find history's first true megacity. An ancient metr ... Show More
48m 32s
Aug 31
Templar's Tunnels, HMS Victory and Troy: History's Best Historical Sites with Dan Jones
The two great Dans of history - Dan Snow and Dan Jones - team up to explore the stories behind some of the world's best historical sites. Dan Jones explains the mysteries of the Templars' Tunnels in the Old City of Acre and Dan Snow tells the story of Nelson's last moments on HMS ... Show More
32m 38s
Aug 27
The Brutal History of The First Warplanes
Flying aces, flaming wreckage and deadly dogfights in the skies defined the First World War’s brutal air war. From fragile reconnaissance planes to lethal fighter aircraft, aerial warfare evolved at astonishing speed. Today we hear the stories of legendary aces like the Red Baron ... Show More
50m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
Bottles in the Basement
Deep in the cellars of one of England’s grandest country homes, covered in dirt and cobwebs, lay dozens of bottles of ancient rum.Their discovery set off a frenzy among collectors vying to own the oldest rum in the world. But where did they come from and who produced them? Sealed ... Show More
36m 38s
May 2024
American Castaways: Treachery & Survival in the Falklands
<p>Today we dive into the little-known true story of American castaways abandoned on the Falkland Islands during the War of 1812 ― a tale of treachery, shipwreck, isolation and a desperate struggle for survival.</p><br><p>In this fascinating episode, best-selling author Eric Jay ... Show More
32m 49s
Mar 2024
The Whisky War: Denmark v Canada
In 1984, a diplomatic dispute broke out between Canada and Denmark over the ownership of a tiny island in the Arctic.The fight for Hans Island off the coast of Greenland became known as the Whisky War. Both sides would leave a bottle of alcohol for the enemies after raising their ... Show More
9 m
May 2019
The Sinking of Atlantis
A legend, used as a political allegory by the ancient philosopher Plato. But over the centuries, countless amateur historians and archaeologists have asserted that the lost island really existed - and one of them may have actually located it. Parcasters - If you lived through the ... Show More
49m 37s
Sep 2024
190. Rags to Riches: The Scots in India
In the wake of Culloden, much of Scotland was on its knees. Crippled by defeat and the subsequent backlash of the British government, along with famine and poverty, they were in dire need of new horizons. The nascent British Empire would provide it. The Scottish Highlanders had d ... Show More
51m 7s
Aug 2025
Disaster Favours the Daring: Shipwreck at Honda Point
In 1923, legendary navigator Captain Dolly Hunter led a squadron of warships into America’s worst peacetime naval catastrophe. The mission was supposed to be a speed trial, a display of the squadron’s skill. But it ended in a maritime pile-up, with some destroyers stranded on roc ... Show More
39m 57s
Jun 2024
Ghost ships
A shadow fleet of old and poorly maintained ships is cruising the high seas, often hiding their true identities through a series of shell companies.Their numbers have grown massively since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Lloyd’s List estimates as many as 12% of tankers a ... Show More
17m 28s