Answer:
The statement is true. In 1776, General William Howe defeated George Washington in New York.
Explanation:
The War of Independence began in the spring of 1775 with the Battle of Lexington and Concord, which was immediately followed by the siege of Boston by militia and later the Continental Army. When settlers set up artillery on the nearby heights, General William Howe preferred to evacuate the city by sea and retreat to Halifax. British troops regrouped and received reinforcements from Europe.
A strategy was set up on the British side, and New York was chosen as the first target, for its central position, its great useful port for the mighty British navy, and the largest number of loyalists among its population. The capture of New York was aimed to separate New England from other colonies, and open the way to Philadelphia, the most populous city, and the meeting place of the Second Continental Congress.
Aware of the key role of New York, George Washington, while traveling from Philadelphia to Boston to oversee the siege, ordered General Charles Lee to organize defense and fortifications.
The British troops landed on Long Island in August 1776. In the ensuing battle, Washington and its army were beaten and forced to retreat, for the first time in a long series that first led them to the peninsula where Manhattan is today, then on the heights of Harlem, on the other side of the Hudson in New Jersey, and finally in November 1776 beyond the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, leaving the control of New York to the British Army and the Loyalists.
