“ Farming was the chief occupation of the early settlers. On the 23rd of August 1776 the village was occupied by General Cornwallis’s division of the invading force under Lord Howe, and on the 27th, at the disastrous battle of Long Island (or “battle of Flatbush,” as it is sometimes called) , “Flatbush Pass,” an important strategic point, was vigorously defended by General Sullivan’s troops. ”