George Washington’s New York

How England’s Treasured Colony Became the Capital of a New Nation

Offi cial Walking Tour Take a Walk Through History

New York City was established by the Dutch on what is perhaps the greatest natural harbor in the world. Then called New Amsterdam, the settlement was ideally positioned for trade, not only across the Atlantic with Europe but also by river to Canada. These lucrative trade routes made the harbor a target as well as a prize.

In 1664, the British captured the Dutch city, and New York became England’s prized colony. Over the years, the British military invested in strong fortifications Walking Tour Stops to protect the harbor city from attack by 1 Castle Clinton/The Battery European rivals, never dreaming when 2 Bowling Green they installed a 100-cannon battery aimed 3 Fraunces Tavern at the harbor mouth that those same cannons would someday be turned on 4 Stone Street its own colonial subjects during the 5 Trinity Church American Revolution. 6 St. Paul’s Chapel/City Hall Park 7 Federal Hall This dramatic story will be revealed Tontine Coffee House, as you walk the route of this tour and trace N.Y.C., ca. 1797, by Francis Guy. Oil on linen, lined This self-guided tour begins with the battery George Washington’s path through New toHistorical fi berglass. Society New-York fortifications that protected the strategic York to experience the city’s transformation harbor from invasion. It concludes on Wall from colonial treasure to the cradle of Street at Federal Hall, the site of America’s revolution and the capital of a new nation. fi rst capitol building.

There you can enjoy the National Parks of New York Harbor Visitor Center and take your photo with the famous statue of George Washington.

The tour should take about 90 minutes, including time to see and explore each site.

Map Imagine the Past

Tune out the traffic and construction of lower Manhattan and imagine a New York filled with a different type of noise – the bustle of sailors and merchants, the clamor of cargo moving on and off ships and the commotion of commerce in a thriving 18th century port.

Look out at the harbor and imagine the

A View of Fort George With fleet of nearly 500 British war ships and the City of New York From supply vessels which filled it. With over the Southwest, circa 1764, by John Carwitham 30,000 soldiers, this was the largest after William Burgis. Hand- colored engraving. invasion force ever mounted by England, New-York Historical Society unequalled until D-Day in the 20th

A Plan of the City of New- century. The battle for New York took York & its Environs, place here in August 1776, resulting surveyed in the Winter, 1775, by John Montresor. in a near-disastrous defeat for George Private Collection Washington’s army. Seven years of occupation followed for the city’s dwindling population.

New York was reborn with Washington’s return and inauguration, as the great general became the first president of the United States, and this became its capital.

Map

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VESEY ST. . THEATER ALLEY 6 ANN ST. BEEKMAN ST. St. Paul’s Chapel/City Hall Park FULTON ST. PEARL ST. WATER ST. World Financial World Trade DEY ST. Center Center Site JOHN ST. GOLD ST.

CORTLANDT ST. FRONT ST. South Street CLIFF ST. MAIDEN LANE Seaport PLATT ST. WILLIAM ST. JOHN ST.

LIBERTY ST. DWAY BROA LI GREENWICH ST. BE RTY Pier 17 CEDAR ST. ST. FLETCHER ST. SOUTH END AV.

MAIDEN LANE SOUTH ST. THAMES ST. CEDAR ST.

T. NY S NASSAU ST. PINE ST. LBA A CARLISLE ST. 5 7 PEARL ST. WASHINGTON ST. Trinity Church Federal Hall WALL ST.

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ELLIS 1 ISLAND Castle Clinton/The Battery GOVERNORS ISLAND

LIBERTY ISLAND Statue of Liberty

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0 500 Map courtesy of The Alliance of Downton New York 1 A Great Harbor

In 1776, you would be walking on water At the time of the Revolution, The here at Castle Clinton. The ground Battery – named for its fierce array of 100 beneath your feet is all 19th century cannons – began at the present-day landfill. Castle Clinton was completed Staten Island Ferry terminal and extended in 1811 after the storm of revolution just to the north of Bowling Green (the had passed. Built as a fortification, it was next stop on this tour). Together with Fort one of the earliest military undertakings George, home to the Commander of of the new nation. The speed of all British forces in North America, the its construction is a testament to how Battery protected colonial New York Southeast Prospect of the quickly and effectively America organized from water attack. Dioramas in the City of New York, 1756. its government. New-York Historical Society Visitor Center at Fort George no longer exists, but during Castle Clinton At that time, Castle Clinton was a man- an excavation for New York’s subway National Monument reveal how the made island connected by a long bridge to system, a piece of the original battery wall New York skyline the harbor shore. It provided a strategic was found. The oldest remaining structural sprouted as the military presence at the northern edge of element in all of Manhattan, this vital piece city expanded north New York harbor, which had been of history was moved here for display at in the 19th and 20th centuries. The protected fi rst by the Dutch and then by Castle Clinton. 1812 diorama the English throughout New York’s provides a good colonial history. sense of the scale of New York City in Washington’s day. The Eruption of 2 Revolution

Walk inland through Battery Park to Bowling Green and you will arrive at the ground that originally had been the water’s edge in colonial times. The Battery and its companion fortification, Fort George, were right here. The Fort, the Battery and a barracks one half mile up Broadway at the city’s northern limit, made up the largest military complex in the region. Pulling Down Statue of The Museum of King George III, New York City, by Johannes Adam Bowling Green was a recreation area for fence remains, enclosing the park. The the American Indian Simon Oertal, ca. 1859. the popular sport of lawn bowling. When statue of King George and the fence post in the beautiful OilHistorical on canvas. Society New-York Alexander Hamilton New York was still a loyal colony in 1770, crowns were melted into two tons of metal U.S. Customs House a statue of King George III was erected and turned into 42,088 musket balls for Reading of the Declaration completed in 1907 of Independence at City approximately where that fountain in George Washington’s Continental Army. occupies the former Hall in Wall Street, 1776, site of Fort George. published by A.S. Barnes Bowling Green Park now stands. & Co., 1880 in History of Across the street, at the City of New York Vol. II 1 Broadway, is the by Martha J. Lamb. Just six years later, after the Declaration spot where General Engraving. Private Collection of Independence was read for the first time George Washington in New York State in the city Commons set up his very fi rst (currently City Hall Park), a throng of New York headquarters in patriots stormed Bowling Green. They June 1776. ripped off the royal crowns that decorated the fence posts and tore down the statue of King George. Today, the original iron 3 A Nest of Spies

A few short blocks away is Fraunces plotted against the British Tavern. On August 23, 1775 tensions were government. When British high between the American colonists officers came to the tavern and the British forces stationed up and to carouse and dine, Fraunces listened down the East Coast. Under the cover closely and relayed their battle plans of darkness, a group of American rebels, to George Washington. including a young student named Alexander Hamilton, began to dismantle In 1783 when the Continental Army the British cannons at the Battery. When was victorious, Washington chose the A Midnight Modern they were discovered, they shot at British Tavern’s Long Room as the site to bid Carefully restored, Conversation, by unknown artist after William Hogarth, boats killing one sailor. In response, the farewell to his officers, a speech that Fraunces Tavern ca. 1780. Engraving. British ship HMS Asia lit up the sky with has gone down in history for its moving provides an Fraunces Tavern Museum/ accurate glimpse Sons of the Revolution cannon fire from the harbor. The first eloquence. In 1789 when New York in the State of New York of the scale and cannon ball blasted through the roof of became America’s first capital, Samuel architectural style Samuel Fraunces, ca.1760. Fraunces Tavern, and this opening salvo Fraunces became the newly-elected of colonial New Collection of Fraunces York. It still operates Tavern Museum/Sons of the Revolutionary War in New York President Washington’s steward. of the Revolution in the earned Fraunces Tavern instant fame. as a restaurant and State of New York houses a museum where you can visit Fraunces Tavern was a popular spot with the Long Room both British officers and colonial and see the memoir merchants. Samuel Fraunces, master of the that documents Washington’s house, was a fervent but undercover famous farewell patriot. He allowed the Sons of Liberty to speech. convene here as they secretly planned and 4 A Daring Escape

Stroll through the winding streets that ready to cut the troops off if their escape reflect New York’s colonial development became known. On August 29, under to Stone Street, one of the first roads cover of night, the troops crossed the river paved with stone in Dutch New York and in silence. With this brilliant retreat, a treasured reminder of what the city Washington succeeded in saving the looked like in the 18th century. As you Continental Army to fight another day, walk the length of the street, now but at great cost. The British achieved filled with lively outdoor cafes, recall that their strategic objective of capturing New on July 9, 1776, the Declaration of York City, and held it for seven long years. Washington‘s escape from Independence was read in the Commons Unlike Boston and Brooklyn Heights, by and King George’s statue at Bowling As you reach the end of Stone Street, look J.C. Armytage; published Philadelphia, much by Virtue & Co., 1860. Green was toppled. to your right towards the East River. of the colonial Engraving.Historical Society New-York Imagine Washington’s troops as they came landscape of New York was destroyed. General George Washington was desperate ashore undetected and passed through We will discover the to hold New York, but the British out- Manhattan to escape. Many historians reasons for that as maneuvered him in the Battle of Brooklyn consider this to be the greatest military the tour continues (also known as the Battle of Long Island), retreat of all time. at Trinity Church. the first battle after independence was declared. Washington calculated that his outnumbered troops would have to retreat across the East River to join the rest of the army in Manhattan – or face annihilation. It would be a daring move as the huge British fleet lay at anchor in the harbor, 5 The Great Fire

The charred ruin of Trinity Church was Several important historical figures from replaced in 1846 by this beautiful building the Revolutionary War are buried in the that stands before you. Along with the churchyard, including Alexander original structure of Trinity Church, much Hamilton, the rebel student who had tried of New York erupted in flames just weeks to remove the cannon from the Battery after Washington retreated to the north and later became Washington’s trusted with his troops. Washington had proposed aide. He served his new country as burning the city down rather than leave it America’s first Secretary of the Treasury. to the British to occupy. Congress forbade Ruin of Trinity Church, the massive destruction, but somehow the As you stand facing the Broadway entrance During the long 1780, by John Evers after general’s intentions were realized anyway. of Trinity Church, look to the right towards Thomas Barrow, ca.1841. British occupation Phelps Stokes Collection, Color Lithograph. I.N. of the decimated New York Public Library On September 21, 1776, fire raced the treetops. They mark the northern up Broadway, across to the west, then boundary of developed New York City in city, the population of New York dropped toward Trinity Church. It was consumed 1776, today’s City Hall Park. Look to your signifi cantly to only in minutes. left to the trees in Bowling Green Park – 12,000 people. the southernmost point. For all its vital Disease, another fi re Originally the main entrance of the church commercial importance, in Washington’s in 1778 and the loss of manpower to faced the waterfront. From its doors you day the city was only a brief walk from the war emptied the could see straight across the Hudson River one end to the other. streets of the once to New Jersey. Its steeple had been the bustling city. tallest point in New York and a landmark visible from the harbor. When The Burnt Church was rebuilt, the new entrance faced Broadway. A New 6 American City

Washington rode down Broadway passing But St. Paul’s has sheltered more than St. Paul’s Chapel when he liberated presidents and survived more than New York City after seven years of British Revolutionary arson. Just one block away occupation. Only two blocks north of from the now hallowed ground of the Trinity Church, St. Paul’s survived the former World Trade Center complex, the Great Fire thanks to an impromptu bucket attacks on September 11th left St. Paul’s brigade. Washington worshiped here Chapel virtually unscathed. During the before his retreat from the city in 1776, eight-month relief effort, firefighters, and it was still standing to greet the police officers, and construction workers Evacuation Day & victorious colonial army after the long used its sanctuary as a place of refuge and Just up the street is Washington’s Triumphal years of the Revolutionary War. New York rest. As they slept in its pews, their heavy Entry in New York City, City Hall Park, once November 25, 1783, was now an American city. work belts left deep dents in the 18th the city’s Commons. published by F.P. and century wood. Despite some controversy, In 1777, British L.York Restein, Historical 1879. Society Chromolithograph. New- barracks, an armory Six years later, Washington returned to St. it was decided the pews would be restored. and a prison for Paul’s as president-elect and prayed here American soldiers on his Inauguration Day in 1789. During stood there. That all the seventeen months of his New York changed after Evacuation Day on presidency, St. Paul’s served as his family November 25, 1783, church, and the pew where he and his wife when the British Martha worshipped is on view inside. were forced to leave New York. Today, Washington’s presidential desk is preserved in the Governor’s Room of City Hall. 7 Birth of a Nation

Federal Hall, formerly the British city at the intersection of Wall and Broad hall, became the seat of the new American streets. Dressed in a plain suit of American government. The population of New York cloth, Washington stepped out on the doubled from 12,000 to 24,000 within second-floor balcony of Federal Hall. The just two years of the war’s end and need for a Bible had been forgotten, reconstruction proceeded quickly. The and someone had to run to a nearby shop guns at the Battery were removed and the to find one. Washington placed his stones from a demolished Fort George right hand on its pages, and the Governor became landfill to build a Battery of New York administered the oath of First in War, First in Peace promenade. The most accessible city in office. Then, overcome with emotion, While making your and First in the Heart of His America by sea, New York was already he called out to the crowd, “Long live Countrymen, Inauguration way up the steps of Washington, April 30, filled with inns and taverns when it was George Washington, President of the of Federal Hall, take 1789, from an engraving a moment to take byNew-York Montbaron Historical and Society chosen as the nation’s capital in 1788. United States!” Gautschi. Color lithograph. your picture with the statue of George On April 23, 1789, the president-elect The Federal Hall of Washington’s day was Washington. It landed at the foot of Wall Street on the replaced in 1842 with this building in marks the exact East River. Escorted by two marching the Greek Revival style, which served as height he stood while taking the bands and cheered on by thousands of the U.S. Customs House and Sub-Treasury oath of offi ce. American citizens, the presidential and is today a National Park Service site. procession made its way to Cherry Street, Historical exhibits inside include the iron the site of the first presidential mansion. railing from the original balcony where Washington took the oath of office and One week later, on April 30th, the the Bible he used. cannons at the Battery boomed at dawn, awakening New Yorkers to celebrate Inauguration Day. A large crowd assembled George Washington’s Presidency

Though New York’s tenure as the nation’s capital lasted a short seventeen months, George and “Lady” Washington enjoyed their time in the most cosmopolitan city in North America. The President often took walks along the water’s edge at the Battery and rode his canary yellow-colored carriage through the cobblestoned streets. known as “the deal,” it was decided the Washington Attends Entertaining was a top priority and Federal government, not the states, would Visit the National Congress, Wall Street, 1789. Martha Washington held social receptions assume the Revolutionary War debts if, ColorHistorical Engraving. Society New-York Parks of New York every Friday evening. Official presidential and only if, the national capital was Harbor Visitor dinners were grand and the official changed to satisfy southern congressmen Center inside The Republican Court (Lady Federal Hall where Washington’s Reception presidential steward, Sam Fraunces, who wanted a more central location. you can learn more Day), by Daniel Huntington, 1861. Oil on canvas. planned the menu. The former tavern Hamilton and Jefferson agreed and the about New York’s Brooklyn Museum owner took great pride in his new capital was moved to Philadelphia for the history. position, but he was fired when he interim. Ten years later, the capital was offended Washington’s sense of propriety. moved again to a newly constructed city He had the audacity to dine on the same on the Potomac River – known today as food and wine he served the President. Washington D.C.

The war had left America a nation in debt In late August, 1790, the President and and the northern states, including First Lady left New York as they came, on New York, had yet to pay off their overdue a barge across the Hudson. Washington credit. On June 20, 1790 Alexander would never again see the city he had both Hamilton visited Thomas Jefferson’s house lost and liberated. on Maiden Lane. In what would become The Conservancy is a non-profi t partner of the National Parks of New York Harbor. George Washington’s New York was produced by the Conservancy with generous support from The History Channel and the Alliance for Downtown New York.

www.history.com www.DowntownNY.com

With special thanks for use of their collections

FRAUNCES TAVERN MUSEUM

Visit all the National Monuments, Memorials and Historic Sites: National Parks of African Burial Ground New York Harbor Castle Clinton Federal Hall Governors Island Grant’s Tomb Hamilton Grange Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island St. Paul’s Church Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace

Affi liated site: Lower Eastside Tenement Museum

Gateway National Recreation Area:

In Brooklyn, NY: Canarsie Pier Floyd Bennet Field

In Queens, NY: Breezy Point Fort Tilden Jacob Riis Park

In Brooklyn and Queens, NY: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

In Staten Island, NY: Great Kills Park Fort Wadsworth Miller Field

In Monmouth County, NJ: Sandy Hook Fort Hancock

Cover image: For more information visit George Washington, a www.nyharborparks.org reproduction of an original by Gilbert Stuart. New-York Historical Society

National Park Service The National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy wishes to thank the National Park Service (NPS) for assisting in the creation of this walking tour. Established in 1916, NPS manages 391 park sites across the United States, including the ten national parks with 23 separate historic and recreational treasures that make up the National Parks of New York Harbor. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/npnh.