WHAT IS REVOLUTIONARY A Message from our President

WESTCHESTER 250? Erik Weiselberg, Ph.D. and Constance Messerly Kehoe In July 2016 the Congress of the United States passed (and following a lively local President Obama signed) Public Law 114-196, the “United States Revolutionary Westchester 250 program at the Hastings-on- Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016.” The law’s purpose Hudson Library was to establish a Commission to provide for the observance and commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and related events through local, State, national, and © 2019 Frederick Charles international activities planned, encouraged, developed, and coor- Since the summer of 2018, RW250 has organized a series dinated by a national commission representative of appropriate of popular and well-attended programs and appeared at public and private authorities and organization. numerous smaller meetings. We are thrilled with the enthu- siasm expressed by both families and history buffs who Revolutionary Westchester 250 (RW250) is a charitable not-for- have joined us. We are fully committed to a grass roots local profit corporation organized to further the purpose of the effort and an engagement with the many diverse voices in iscover Revolutionary Westchester Semiquincentennial Commission by providing for the observance Westchester County. We appreciate the cooperation and and commemoration of the pivotal role of Westchester County in relationship with the Westchester County Historical Society and the County of Westchester, the Honorable George the American Revolution, the founding of the United States and Latimer, County Executive, in this effort. related events. Please visit RW250.org for further details on our mission What is the Mission of RW250? or upcoming events and our list of strategic partners. Please sign up for our newsletters and updates. We welcome • We strive to build awareness and excitement for the events, volunteers in many capacities. places, ideas and people — both the unsung and the famous — of the Revolutionary War period in Westchester County. Constance Messerly Kehoe President and Director RW250, Inc. • We collaborate with local and regional groups — heritage and Please email me at [email protected] and share historic, art and cultural, and educational — as well as libraries, your thoughts. You may send inquires about how your veterans’ organizations, municipalities, private businesses and organization might nominate a liaison to our Revolutionary others — to promote heritage tourism and to enhance the Westchester 250 Roundtable Group or how to plan a Discover general pleasure and well being of Westchester residents. WORKING TOGETHER WITH YOU program or meeting with RW250. Thank you so much for your interest. Join Us! Revolutionary • We liaise with county, regional, State and national groups to plan and implement 250th Anniversary events and programs. RW250 is registered with the Charities Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney Westchester General under Article 7-A of the New York Executive Law. RW250 will provide support for and directly apply funds to coordinate and execute local programming focused on raising awareness • We publicize events in the areas that relate to the story of the about the role of Westchester County in the Revolutionary War. The registration and supporting Revolutionary War period and the founding of the United States. documents are open to public inspection. RW250 has applied to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status as a public charity described in Sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and, as the date of this printing, is awaiting approval. Donations to RW250 are not currently tax-deductible under the Code until the orga- • We strive to build thoughtful reflection during this commemo- nization obtains tax-exempt status as a charity. If RW250’s application to the Internal Revenue ration about enduring contemporary themes such as: freedom, Service is approved, all donations received by RW250 since its incorporation on March 2, 2017 will be tax-deductible by the donor. The registration and supporting documents are open to public tyranny and democracy, patriotism and American identity, inspection, and RW250’s latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from RW250 (2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, New York 10523) or from the New York State Attorney General’s leadership, citizenship, equality, inequality, opportunity and Charities Bureau (28 Liberty Street, 15th Floor, New York, New York 10005). oppression, class, race and gender, media and public opinion, RW250.org history, folklore and myth and public memory. [email protected] Brochure designed by Pardini Design n Cold Spring ' s 84 Boscobel Goshen Mountainville Mahopac Brewster DANBURY Fort Mines THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR Fortress West Point Constitution Bethel 94 Garrison 684 Ridgebury 1781-1782 The French Alliance (USMA) 22 WEST POINT 9W Mahopac Mahopac Falls 6 Washington-Rochambeau IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY Chester Fort Montgomery Salem Revolutionary Route 6 17 In July of 1781 the French Expeditionary Force, consisting of Fort Independence Continental Village 202 Monroe 32 Dramatic, Sustained and Crucial 6 Old St. Peter's Church 22 4,600 soldiers under the command of General Jean-Baptiste Yorktown Fort Clinton Fort Hill (Hunt's Tavern) 94 Bear 202 Mountain Crompond 35 Ridgefield Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, joined 6,500 soldiers State 35 Park Peekskill Erik Weiselberg, Ph.D.,Village Historian, Irvington, NY LAKE 9 WELSH Verplancks Katonah of the Continental Army in Westchester. The combined armies Stony Point Point John Jay Battlefield Homestead Principal Historian, Revolutionary Westchester 250 17A Kings NEW Pine's spent over six weeks at the Philipsburgh Encampment, stretching CROTON Bridge 7 P StonyFerry RES. a

l i y

s Point

a Bedford GREENWOOD a w Pound

across the entirety of lower Westchester. From camp, they jour- d STERLING LAKE SEBAGO k

LAKE e r Mount Kisco s Ridge Croton-on- Van Cortlandt a

LAKE 87 y P (North Castle) a Hudson Manor r From 1776 to 1783 British and Continental forces Haverstraw w e neyed throughout the county on military, foraging and reconnais- k v I i 202 n r t a R e 684 P r s l Chappaqua t e l t i a Ossining

a t M

t sance missions. At the camp Generals Washington and Rochambeau e

New 22 maneuvered to take advantage of Westchester S w

City a

c P i a S

r n NORWALK k o

devised the plan that led to victory over the British at Yorktown in w c Pleasantville

a a North T y County’s strategic position at the center of the Spring Virginia in October 1781, effectively ending the war in the US. Valley Philipsburg Suffern 87 Manor 15 newly-formed United States of America. Situated 287 NYACK Manor 95 10 Kilometers Nanuet Camp 87 The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National 287 287 TTARARRRYTOWNYTOWN 0 1 5 10 Miles Ramapough Pearl 9W STAMFORD between the Hudson River and the Long Island River Piermont 287 Historic Trail now preserves and interprets the 680 miles of routes GREENWICH Lake WHITE Tappan Dobbs Hartsdale Sound, Westchester served as the northern approach taken by American and French troops from 1781-1782 and com- DeWint Ferry PLAINS 287 OdellWHITE y House a PLAINS y Jacob Purdy House w House a memorates the role of the critical French-American alliance in the k w r Hastings-on- k to New York City. Both armies craved the resources a

208 r Miller House P a

Ridgewood Hudson Greenburgh P

e y r

t e Battle/White Plains Park a

a (Philipsburg) iv RYE t R victory over British forces at the siege of Yorktown, Virginia. w n

S k o

s r n

n i a 9 h Philipse of Westchester’s bountiful farmlands: grain, cattle e Oradell P tc d r u Reservoir e Manor Hall a t H G a t s PARAMUS r 95 LONG ISLAND SOUND e YONKERSYONKERS and other livestock, and material goods. Map (right) shows the 1781-1782 routes of both the French and t 208 n 20 I MT. VERNON St. Paul's Church PATERSON 4 American armies and the Odell House, Rochambeau’s headquarters. s NEW ROCHELLE e Englewood d a 80 s i HACKENSACK l a P Van Cortlandt Mansion Museum 95 Valentine-Varian House/ For more information go Hudson River Valley 80 y a P a l i s a d e s Museum of Bronx History

National Heritage Area boundary w

k 95 r Passaic to www.nps.gov/waro a Fort P 95 Lee e 21 Washington-Rochambeau t Revolutionary Routes a 9A Morrisania Troop Camp Sites Source: Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.

The Battle of White Plains mural, White Plains Public Library 1780 The Traitor, the Spy and the Captors Conventional War The capture of Major John André by three militiamen in Tarrytown 1776 on September 23, 1780, stopped traitor Benedict Arnold’s plot to The Battle of White Plains (October 28, 1776) was a deliver the plans of the stronghold at West Point to the British. dramatic, full-scale conventional encounter. General George Washington preserved the Continental Army and won a victory at Trenton in December. 1776-1783 Occupation and Civil War As the region between the lines, Westchester became a deadly cauldron beset by military patrols and roving bands of marauders Watercolor by French officer Jean Baptiste Antoine de Verger (1762-1851) who foraged for food and supplies, fought in vicious skirmishes and depicting troops at Yorktown, VA in 1781. The Rhode Island Regiment carried out cold-blooded raids. Conflicting loyalties divided families (far left) served in Westchester in 1781. (Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library). and set neighbor against neighbor. Women became sole providers and de facto combatants by defending homes, and engaging in espionage and intelligence operations. All residents of Westchester, Legacies Revolution Then and Now whether free or enslaved, were forced to make tough compromises. By the end of 1779 the British shifted their attention to the southern Discover Westchester’s Revolutionary history and ponder the theater; nonetheless, British and Hessian troops continued to enduring issues of today. Explore our many heritage sites. occupy New York City, and Westchester remained a highly contested Uncover our dramatic and under told story. battleground until November of 1783 when General Washington proceeded through the county to oversee the evacuation of the British from New York City. Thanks to W3R The Capture of André (Currier & Ives, 1876) for their support