During the summer of 1776, General George Washington knew that the city of New York had to be held. He also knew that the city could not be held. “Whoever commands the sea must command the town,” General Charles Lee wrote from New York earlier. By the end of June, the British commanded the sea.
From a vast fleet anchored off Staten Island, the largest expeditionary force in British history began landing thousands of regular troops and German mercenaries. Only days later, the Second Continental Congress formally declared independence. “The fate of unborn millions,” Washington wrote to his men, “will now depend on the courage and conduct of this army.” [Read more…] about Sudden and Violent: The Battle of Brooklyn
In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Friederike Baer, an Associate Professor of History at Penn State Abbington College, joins us to explore the lives and wartime experiences of the 30,000 German soldiers the British Crown hired and dispatched to North America during the 
The City of New Rochelle, the last home of Thomas Paine, is beginning to undergo something of an economic renaissance. A number of the City’s tremendous historical resources however, remain neglected.
Brown’s Brewing Company in Hoosick Falls and Troy, NY, has brewed a special beer in tribute to the Germans that served at the Battle of Bennington which took place in the Town of Hoosick in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War.