Brooklyn’s role in the founding of the United States will take center stage this summer after lawmakers announced $350,000 in funding for a borough-wide programming initiative commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn.

Standing atop Battle Hill at Green-Wood Cemetery — the highest natural point in Brooklyn and the site of key Revolutionary War fighting — state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Members Robert Carroll and Jo Anne Simon joined local cultural and historical organizations on June 17 to announce funding for “Brooklyn 250,” a collaborative effort marking America’s semiquincentennial.

The funding will support free educational programs, exhibitions, walking tours, reenactments and community events highlighting Brooklyn’s pivotal role in the Revolutionary War. It will also fund the creation of a collectible “then-and-now” pamphlet and map showcasing Revolutionary-era sites across the borough.

“We’re here because this year is the 250th commemoration of the Battle of Brooklyn, which took place in August of 1776, the first battle that our nation fought under the name of the United States of America,” Gounardes said. “It has been said that the revolution was signed in Philadelphia, but was was signed in blood here in Brooklyn.”

Green-Wood Cemetery’s historic Battle Hill.Photo by Olivia Seaman

Gounardes noted that the Battle of Brooklyn was the largest battle of the Revolutionary War and said the new funding will help local institutions tell both well-known and overlooked stories from the conflict.

“With this initiative, we’re going to have the opportunity to talk not only about the iconic stories that we know, but the stories that we also overlook, from the Maryland 400 we’re all very familiar with, to the contributions of Black Americans of the era,” he said.

Carroll said the anniversary offers an opportunity to highlight Brooklyn’s often-overlooked place in American history.

“The Battle of Brooklyn, which is often mischaracterized as the Battle of Long Island — Brooklyn is very different than Long Island,” Carroll said. “We may share an island, but we are very different people.”

“This battle has for too long been forgotten,” he added.

The funding will be administered through Green-Wood Cemetery and shared among participating organizations, including the Prospect Park Alliance, Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Center for Brooklyn History and Old Stone House.

Meera Joshi, president of Green-Wood Cemetery, thanked the lawmakers for securing the funding and said it will allow institutions to reach wider audiences through public programming.

“Your funding is funding that will allow us to showcase in ways we wouldn’t otherwise be able to the importance of Brooklyn at this moment of history,” Joshi said.

Joshi highlighted several upcoming events, including Revolutionary War programming around Independence Day, trolley tours and an Aug. 23 Battle of Brooklyn commemoration.

“We’re really using the surroundings and the ability to understand and touch the field to see, but learn the lessons of liberty, freedom, and independence,” she said. “That’s why Brooklyn is the heart of the American Revolution.”

State Sen. Gounardes and Assembly Members Robert Carroll and Jo Anne Simon sponsored the efforts.Photo by Olivia Seaman

At the Center for Brooklyn History, Executive Director Lexi Myers said the institution’s exhibition, “The Battle of Brooklyn: Fought and Remembered,” explores both the battle itself and how generations of Brooklynites have interpreted its legacy.

“As you all know, the Battle of Brooklyn was an extraordinary moment on the road to independence,” Myers said. “Every single person living in Brooklyn today, all 2.7 million, inherit that legacy.”

The exhibition is free and open to the public, with additional tours and programming planned throughout the summer.

Dylan Yeats, director of the historic Lefferts House at Prospect Park, said the anniversary offers an opportunity to tell a broader story of the Revolutionary era.

“Our work to reimagine Lefferts is rooted in telling fuller and more honest history,” Yeats said.

This summer, Prospect Park will feature an outdoor exhibit exploring the roles Black Americans played during the Revolutionary War, along with a reconstructed Revolutionary War redoubt and guided tours.

“We’re very proud to be part of Brooklyn250 because this commemoration is not only about looking back,” Yeats said. “It’s also about helping today’s Brooklynites, especially the young, gain a better understanding of their past and how that past has shaped their present, so they can forge a better future.”

The Fort Greene Park Conservancy will host free walking tours examining the Battle of Brooklyn, the Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument and the park’s Revolutionary War history.

“Fort Greene Park is an important part of Brooklyn Revolutionary history, and it continues to serve as a place for folks to gather, connect with each other, and advocate and organize,” Mia Rubin, the conservancy’s director of programs, said.

At the Old Stone House, Executive Director Kim Maier said the funding will help expand long-standing efforts to commemorate the battle.

“This funding this year from Senator Gounardes and Assembly Member Carroll has made it possible to celebrate and commemorate the importance of this event in a way that’s never been possible in my time,” Maier said.

“This is a relevant battle because it really looks at persistence and it looks at resilience in a way that is particularly meaningful today.”

Brooklyn250 programming will continue throughout the summer and culminate in a series of events around the Aug. 27 anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn, bringing together historical institutions across the borough to commemorate the battle that helped shape the nation’s future.