Welcome to Call to Decision 

 American Minute with Bill Federer

 August 27

 AUGUST 27, 1776, British General Howe trapped 8,000 American troops
 on Brooklyn Heights.

 Desperate, Washington ferried his army all night across the East
 River.

 Morning came yet half his troops were still in danger. A fog allowed
 the entire army to be evacuated.

 Never again did the British have such a chance to trap the American
 army.

 Major Ben Tallmadge, Washington's Chief of Intelligence, wrote:

 "As the dawn of the next day approached, those of us who remained in
 the trenches became very anxious for our own safety, and when the dawn
 appeared there were several regiments still on duty.

 At this time a very dense fog began to rise off the river, and it
 seemed to settle in a peculiar manner over both encampments.

 I recollect this peculiar providential occurrence perfectly well, and
 so very dense was the atmosphere that I could scarcely discern a man
 at six yards distance...

 We tarried until the sun had risen, but the fog remained as dense as
 ever."

 Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull had written to General George
 Washington, July 13, 1775:

 "May the God of the armies of Israel shower down the blessings of his
 Divine Providence...in the day of battle and danger."