3. Fort Defiance played a major role in the American Revolution
Fort Defiance in present-day Red Hook was one of the forts that General Nathanael Greene constructed to defend New York. It was the westernmost fort along Brooklyn Heights defending Upper New York Bay from the British. The fort was built in just one night prior to the Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the Revolutionary War. Cannons from the fort shot at two ships, the Phoenix and the HMS Rose, but were unsuccessful in stopping the British ships from bombarding the city.
Some said that the U.S. began at Fort Defiance since it was the first fort to see battle after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The fort complex contained three redoubts connected by trenches. Those at the fort defended it from the HMS Roebuck on the morning of the Battle of Long Island. The fort was abandoned after the war, and the fort is commemorated by a plaque in Valentino Park. A part of Red Hook Lane, a strategic spot for colonists near Fort Defiance, is still named so today in Downtown Brooklyn.