Washington’s intelligence was inaccurate. He had estimated the British deployment at only 8,000–9,000 men. And—worried that Howe’s landing on Long Island was a feint—Washington added another 1,500 of his troops in Brooklyn, putting them in defensive positions. The concept was sound, but the execution was flawed. Washington didn’t see the battlefield correctly or appreciate the enemy’s potential courses of action—a huge intelligence failure.