History of the American Revolution
The raid and capture of Turtle Bay Depot, New York City, on July 20, 1775, a British military storehouse and magazine, was another cog in the wheel that churned towards a war upon which there was no going back. It was a bold and decisive move by leaders of the militant branch of the New …
Growing up in the late 50’s and 60’s in New Jersey, just across the river from New York City, nearly every evening I was glued to one of our three local TV stations: channel five, nine, or eleven. Every night they showcased a plethora of black and white classics from the 30’s and 40’s. Besides …
The stakes were first laid for Fort George in 1625, marking the official seal of New Amsterdam and what would become New York City. From pine palisade to earthen embankments to stone fortress, the fortification was reconstructed many times by the Dutch and English on the tip of Manhattan Island, mainly with African slave labor. …
July 5th, 1777, Fort Ticonderoga, New York, fell to British General Burgoyne’s forces, however the northern army, consisting largely of continental troops, disciplined and experienced fighters, was saved. But perhaps more importantly, New York and all of New England was ignited. There was no solid bastion left to thwart a British invasion from the north. …
The wounded guardsmen and Tory prisoners were “laid upon the floor, weltering in their blood… the faithful Sheldon [guardsman] sat on a bench, his body bent forward, and a bayonet dripping with blood lying before him which he had just drawn out of his breast…” So describes the aftermath of one of the many prisoner …
One year after the famed Boston Tea Party, an American company of militia, during a raging snowstorm, attacked a British Fort. Cannon and shots were fired while farmers and sailors stormed the fortification. They came to blows with the defenders and wounded the English commander and another soldier. This clash between armed British subjects firing …
It is the summer of 1775. Hostilities have erupted between England and her colonies in America. Among a host of concerns and preparations by New York City’s patriots and Provincial Congress is the defense of Manhattan and the surrounding region. On June 26th, 1775, the New York Provincial Congress met as a body for the …
During the mid 1700’s, New York City catered to the darker side of life with its many ‘disorderly houses’, ‘tipling shops’, and brothels. They were all located in a seething slum of shacks and portable houses on land owned and leased by the largest Anglican Parish in the city: Trinity Church. It was for that …
The Weedon Tavern, Fredericksburg, Virginia, was named for George Weedon, a man who fought in the French and Indian War and was later named a Brigadier General in the American Revolutionary War. He was a friend of George Washington and many of the influential men of the time. He married into the tavern business and …
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 …
Long jaw, prominent nose, strong features with an air of aristocracy, Joseph Reed was very charming if not intensely astute in all things business and politics. No wonder he and his lovely wife Esther caught the eye of the newly appointed supreme commander of American forces. He would hold the title of His Excellency’s Secretary, …
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 …
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 …