Non-Profit Dedicated to Historical Education of the American Revolution and the Colonial Period
In 1776, Trinity Church stood along Broadway on the high ground opposite the west end of Wall Street. It was one of three churches in the Anglican parish in New York City; the other two were St. Paul’s, located further north on Broadway and St. George’s to the east on Beekman’s Street. New York was …
As a small boy, Harold Goldstein recalls being taken on a walking tour of New York City’s waterfront. He describes something that astonished and delighted him: “a number of small harbors, inlets from the East River, rectangular in shape and about the size of a city block, in which rusty freighters and even a few …
A letter written by Peter Schaghen from the ship Arms of Amsterdam in November 1626 is the first to refer to the island as Manhattes. The Dutch, early on began calling the Native Americans who resided on the island they settled as well as to the surrounding region as Manhattan Indians, however no such tribe …
Royal Colonies were established in North America by England, France, Netherlands and Sweden. Spain launched earlier settlements and claimed lands south of the present Canadian border clear to the Pacific Ocean, but only established outposts and missionaries, particularly in Florida, which they maintained until 1763 when British took control. Different nations claimed many of the …
Maryland Regiment at the Battle of Long Island Tuesday, August 27, 1776. Since dawn, four hundred young men from Maryland exchanged volley for volley with some of England’s finest troops. Colonists from influential families, the former Baltimore Independent Cadets were experiencing their baptism of fire. In company with soldiers from Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, they …
The vast majority of music performed and heard in the colonies of America was melodies carried down from generation to generation over the centuries; ballads and bawdy drinking songs that told stories of love, adventures, battles, political strife, and humorous tales. Hymns both secular and sacred were always popular and many new ones were composed …
McGowan’s pass was once a prominent feature in the lives of those who traveled beyond New York City’s frontier to the New York Highlands and the colonies of New England. During the colonial period, three main routes were open to one leaving New York City bound for northern destinations. Two were by water and one …
Each, axe in hand, attacked the honored tree, Sweating eternal war with Liberty. But e’er it fell, not mindless of its wrong, Avenged it took one destined head along. A Tory soldier on its topmost limb, The genius of the shade looked stern at him, And marked him out that self-same hour to dine, Where unsnuffed lamps burn low at Pluto’s shrine. …
Cato Alexander (1781 – 1858) was a freed African American slave who, in the early 1800’s, opened a tavern at the four mile stone north of New York City just west of the Boston Post Road (present day 54th and 2nd Ave.). The house/Inn was built in 1712 and was close to the famed Beekman …
The Beekman mansion was built by James Beekman (1732-1807) in1763; some sources list 1764. Like many wealthy New Yorkers, it was constructed as a second or summer home in the countryside of Manhattan Island north of New York City. Though modest in exterior, its interior was considered one of the most elegant in all the …
The Colonel Roger Morris House is the oldest remaining residence in New York City, built in 1765. Compared to other major cities of the world, New York City ranks among the lowest in the preservation of its architectural culture. The Morris House, unlike the rest of the colonial estates that dotted Manhattan Island, survived for …
The Apthorpe[1] or Apthorp mansion (both names are in common use – the family vault uses Apthorp) carved its place in American history early in the Revolutionary War. In the estate’s elaborate living room, General George Washington devised the plan that would send Nathan Hale to spy on the British on Long Island. It was …
Cliveden (Chew) House & Its Role in Battle of Germantown The Americans advanced in force caving in pickets, outposts and all resistance. One hundred British regulars, outnumbered with shot canisters full and plenty of powder, streamed inside the stately country mansion of wealthy Quaker loyalist Benjamin Chew, Pennsylvania supreme court justice. The British commander, battle …
It is the year 1663. The big day has arrived. The town of Walloon[1] is brimming with anticipation. This small Dutch settlement on the Long Island shore – the nucleus of the future Brooklyn – has its residents eagerly preparing their carriages for a jaunt to the ferry crossing the East River to New Amsterdam. …