History Matters

  The morning of November 16, 1776, brought a terrible test for George Washington and his Continental Army. On the northern end of Manhattan Island, overlooking the Hudson River, about 3,000 American soldiers were preparing to defend Fort Washington. Across from them stood a much larger British and Hessian army, […]

British soldiers advanced toward the American defenses at Breed’s Hill on June 17, 1775. The fighting was fierce, and the colonial defenders were running low on ammunition. Among the men standing their ground was a young African American patriot named Peter Salem. Born into slavery, he had never known the […]

New York City had fallen into British hands, General George Washington’s Continental Army was retreating, and thousands of British and Hessian troops were determined to crush the rebellion. As American soldiers moved north through Westchester County, New York, they soon faced another test of their courage at White Plains. The […]

General Washington was moving his army away from New York City. The British army and navy controlled the city and were trying to capture the American Army. On the morning of October 18, 1776, British ships appeared along the shores of Pell’s Point in New York. As thousands of British […]

She was born in 1725 in Oyster Bay, New York. Her name was Patience Lovell, and she would become one of the most unusual and remarkable artists of the American colonial period. Long before wax figures became a familiar attraction in museums, Patience was bringing people to life in wax, […]

The American colonies were at war, but no one knew how it would end. British soldiers and American militiamen had already fought at Lexington and Concord. The Continental Army surrounded Boston, and the bloody fighting at Bunker Hill had shown that American farmers and tradesmen were willing to stand and […]