New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Battle of Brandywine

The Marquis de Lafayette: A Short Biography

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George Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon, 1784 by Rossiter and Mignot, 18592024 will mark the 200th anniversary of the return of the Marquis de Lafayette (Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette) to America. In 1824, almost 50 years after the start of the American Revolution, the 68-year-old Lafayette was invited by President James Monroe, an old Revolutionary War comrade and lifelong friend, to tour the United States.

Lafayette’s visit was one the major events of the early 19th century. It had the effect of unifying a country sometime fractured by electoral discord and reminding Americans of their hard won democracy. [Read more…] about The Marquis de Lafayette: A Short Biography

Black Bombardier Ned Hector at Brandywine

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re-enactor Noah Lewis as Revolutionary War soldier Edward “Ned” HectorIn February of 1777, with the American colonies engaged in a seemingly hopeless war with the world’s foremost military power, Edward “Ned” Hector enlisted in a state militia unit known as Proctor’s Third Pennsylvania Artillery, where he was assigned duties as a bombardier, one of the three rear positions on the cannon.

This fact, in and of itself, would not seem significant, but Ned Hector was African American, one of perhaps 5,000 African Americans who fought with the Continental Army in the War for Independence. [Read more…] about Black Bombardier Ned Hector at Brandywine