On the evening of July 9, 1776, New Yorkers staged one of the most dramatic acts of defiance in the American Revolution: rebel troops and members of the Sons of Liberty pulled down the gilded equestrian statue of King George III in Bowling Green. Then they chopped it up and shipped it to Connecticut, where the fallen king was transformed into musket balls—so that (as one observer noted), the British "will probably have melted Majesty fired at them."
On the 250th anniversary of this electrifying moment, we’ll virtually return to Bowling Green on that warm July night. What was New York City like in the summer of 1776? Who helped topple the statue? What did the rebels hope to accomplish—and which New Yorkers were horrified by the spectacle?
Tracing the story from the statue’s foundry in England to Bowling Green to Oliver Wolcott’s forge in Litchfield, we’ll explore one of the most vivid scenes of America’s founding year—and follow the surprising afterlife of the statue’s remnants, pieces of which survive today in the collections of numerous museum, incuding the New York Historical.
PLEASE NOTE: A recording of the lecture will be available approximately 24 hours after the presentation. This video will be hosted on Vimeo and a separate email with a link to the recording will be sent to all registrants.