Tag: American Revolution

Inwood Native American Caves – ‘City Full of History’ Episode 7

On By Bookworm HistoryIn City Full of History3 Comments

Last time on “City Full of History”, we flew with the ‘Bremen’, the first airplane to cross the Atlantic Ocean non-stop from East to West!  Come along this week as we visit Inwood Hill Park and dig in to the history behind New York City’s Native American Caves!

Inwood Hill Park is a unique place on the island of Manhattan.  While Central Park, Manhattan’s other sprawling woodland area, was designed and built from the ground up, the area that would become Inwood Hill Park was largely undeveloped.  By the end of the nineteenth century only a few small farms and the occasional mansion called the northern tip of Manhattan home.  Because it went mostly untouched the Washington Heights and Inwood areas were ideal for archaeological digging and in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s a dedicated group of amateur archaeologists answered the call.

Continue reading “Inwood Native American Caves – ‘City Full of History’ Episode 7” →

The Great West Point Chain Hoax

On By Bookworm HistoryIn BH Blog1 Comment

Con artists were no strangers to early New York City.  At one time or another, nearly every major landmark in the city had been sold by a ‘matchstick man’ or grifter.  Around the turn of the twentieth century one such fraud was successfully performed by two men who targeted an artifact of slightly less renown: The Great West Point Chain.

Trophy Point-West Point-USMA-Great Chain-Hudson River (2)
Image via Wikicommons user Ahodges7

Continue reading “The Great West Point Chain Hoax” →

Defending the Hudson

On By Bookworm HistoryIn BH Blog2 Comments

It was October, 1777, and the Continental Army had a problem. Although they had just won a resounding victory at Saratoga, they were just as soundly defeated further south at Forts Montgomery and Clinton, key strategic outposts on the Hudson River. With the victory at Fort Montgomery the British quickly set about tearing down the lanky chain the Colonists had stretched across the river to impede the British Navy. Now the Hudson River, and important cities like Poughkeepsie (Continental ship-building hub), Kingston (the state capital), and Albany (the second largest settlement in the state after New York City) lay wide open to attack.

defending-the-hudson-west-point-chain-boom-washingtons-headquarters-bookworm-history-daniel-thurber

Continue reading “Defending the Hudson” →

The Lost Grave of Walter Butler

On By Bookworm HistoryIn BH BlogLeave a comment

It seems like there’s been a surge recently in the discovery of lost tombs.  Richard III was found under a parking lot.  Miguel de Cervantes was found in the convent in Madrid where he was known to have been buried (that may sound a bit backwards, but trust me, it makes sense.  The convent was rebuilt in the 17th century and they lost track of where they put Cervantes*).  All of these fantastic discoveries set me thinking about an interesting “Is he really there?” story from the American Revolution: the final resting place of British Col. Walter Butler.
Continue reading “The Lost Grave of Walter Butler” →