what is revolutionary a message from our president ...map (right) shows the 1781-1782 routes of both...
TRANSCRIPT
WHAT IS REVOLUTIONARY WESTCHESTER 250?
In July 2016 the Congress of the United States passed (and
President Obama signed) Public Law 114-196, the “United States
Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016.” The law’s purpose
was to establish a Commission to provide for the observance and
commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the
United States and related events through local, State, national, and
international activities planned, encouraged, developed, and coor-
dinated by a national commission representative of appropriate
public and private authorities and organization.
Revolutionary Westchester 250 (RW250) is a charitable not-for-
profit corporation organized to further the purpose of the
Semiquincentennial Commission by providing for the observance
and commemoration of the pivotal role of Westchester County in
the American Revolution, the founding of the United States and
related events.
What is the Mission of RW250?
• We strive to build awareness and excitement for the events,
places, ideas and people — both the unsung and the famous —
of the Revolutionary War period in Westchester County.
• We collaborate with local and regional groups — heritage and
historic, art and cultural, and educational — as well as libraries,
veterans’ organizations, municipalities, private businesses and
others — to promote heritage tourism and to enhance the
general pleasure and well being of Westchester residents.
• We liaise with county, regional, State and national groups to plan
and implement 250th Anniversary events and programs.
• We publicize events in the areas that relate to the story of the
Revolutionary War period and the founding of the United States.
• We strive to build thoughtful reflection during this commemo-
ration about enduring contemporary themes such as: freedom,
tyranny and democracy, patriotism and American identity,
leadership, citizenship, equality, inequality, opportunity and
oppression, class, race and gender, media and public opinion,
history, folklore and myth and public memory.
Since the summer of 2018, RW250 has organized a series of popular and well-attended programs and appeared at numerous smaller meetings. We are thrilled with the enthu-siasm expressed by both families and history buffs who have joined us. We are fully committed to a grass roots local effort and an engagement with the many diverse voices in Westchester County. We appreciate the cooperation and relationship with the Westchester County Historical Society and the County of Westchester, the Honorable George Latimer, County Executive, in this effort.
Please visit RW250.org for further details on our mission or upcoming events and our list of strategic partners. Please sign up for our newsletters and updates. We welcome volunteers in many capacities.
Constance Messerly Kehoe President and Director RW250, Inc.
Please email me at [email protected] and share your thoughts. You may send inquires about how your organization might nominate a liaison to our Revolutionary Westchester 250 Roundtable Group or how to plan a program or meeting with RW250. Thank you so much for your interest. Join Us!
Erik Weiselberg, Ph.D. and Constance Messerly Kehoe following a lively local Revolutionary Westchester 250 program at the Hastings-on-Hudson Library
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Discover Revolutionary Westchester
Discover Revolutionary Westchester
RW250.org [email protected]
RW250 is registered with the Charities Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General under Article 7-A of the New York Executive Law. RW250 will provide support for and directly apply funds to coordinate and execute local programming focused on raising awareness about the role of Westchester County in the Revolutionary War. The registration and supporting documents are open to public inspection. RW250 has applied to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status as a public charity described in Sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and, as the date of this printing, is awaiting approval. Donations to RW250 are not currently tax-deductible under the Code until the orga-nization obtains tax-exempt status as a charity. If RW250’s application to the Internal Revenue Service is approved, all donations received by RW250 since its incorporation on March 2, 2017 will be tax-deductible by the donor. The registration and supporting documents are open to public inspection, and RW250’s latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from RW250 (2199 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, New York 10523) or from the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau (28 Liberty Street, 15th Floor, New York, New York 10005).
A Message from our President
© 2019 Frederick Charles
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY Dramatic, Sustained and Crucial
Erik Weiselberg, Ph.D.,Village Historian, Irvington, NY Principal Historian, Revolutionary Westchester 250
The Capture of André (Currier & Ives, 1876)
The Battle of White Plains mural, White Plains Public Library
In July of 1781 the French Expeditionary Force, consisting of 4,600 soldiers under the command of General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, joined 6,500 soldiers of the Continental Army in Westchester. The combined armies spent over six weeks at the Philipsburgh Encampment, stretching across the entirety of lower Westchester. From camp, they jour-neyed throughout the county on military, foraging and reconnais-sance missions. At the camp Generals Washington and Rochambeau devised the plan that led to victory over the British at Yorktown in Virginia in October 1781, effectively ending the war in the US.
The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail now preserves and interprets the 680 miles of routes taken by American and French troops from 1781-1782 and com- memorates the role of the critical French-American alliance in the victory over British forces at the siege of Yorktown, Virginia.
Map (right) shows the 1781-1782 routes of both the French and American armies and the Odell House, Rochambeau’s headquarters.
As the region between the lines, Westchester became a deadly cauldron beset by military patrols and roving bands of marauders who foraged for food and supplies, fought in vicious skirmishes and carried out cold-blooded raids. Conflicting loyalties divided families and set neighbor against neighbor. Women became sole providers and de facto combatants by defending homes, and engaging in espionage and intelligence operations. All residents of Westchester, whether free or enslaved, were forced to make tough compromises. By the end of 1779 the British shifted their attention to the southern theater; nonetheless, British and Hessian troops continued to occupy New York City, and Westchester remained a highly contested battleground until November of 1783 when General Washington proceeded through the county to oversee the evacuation of the British from New York City.
Watercolor by French officer Jean Baptiste Antoine de Verger (1762-1851) depicting troops at Yorktown, VA in 1781. The Rhode Island Regiment (far left) served in Westchester in 1781. (Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library).
Source: Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.
Discover Westchester’s Revolutionary history and ponder the enduring issues of today. Explore our many heritage sites. Uncover our dramatic and under told story.
From 1776 to 1783 British and Continental forces
maneuvered to take advantage of Westchester
County’s strategic position at the center of the
newly-formed United States of America. Situated
between the Hudson River and the Long Island
Sound, Westchester served as the northern approach
to New York City. Both armies craved the resources
of Westchester’s bountiful farmlands: grain, cattle
and other livestock, and material goods.
The capture of Major John André by three militiamen in Tarrytown on September 23, 1780, stopped traitor Benedict Arnold’s plot to deliver the plans of the stronghold at West Point to the British.
PhilipsburgManor
YONKERS
WHITEPLAINS
TARRYTOWN
Hartsdale
Old St. Peter's Church
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BoscobelFortConstitutionFortress West Point
Continental VillageOld St. Peter's Church
Fort Hill
VerplancksPoint
KingsFerry
Van CortlandtManor
DeWintHouse Odell
House Jacob Purdy HouseMiller HouseBattle/White Plains Park
Stony PointBattlefield
CampRamapough
John JayHomestead
PhilipsburgManor
St. Paul's Church
Philipse Manor Hall
FortLee
Van Cortlandt Mansion MuseumValentine-Varian House/Museum of Bronx History
Fort MontgomeryFort Independence
Fort Clinton Bear Mountain StatePark
YONKERSPATERSON
STAMFORD
NORWALK
WHITE PLAINS
GREENWICH
RYE
DANBURY
(USMA)WEST POINT
PARAMUS
HACKENSACK
TARRYTOWN
NYACK
Yorktown(Hunt's Tavern)
Crompond
Katonah
Pine'sBridge
Chappaqua
Pleasantville
Mount Kisco(North Castle)
PoundRidge
Salem
Bedford
Mahopac
MahopacMines
MahopacFalls
BrewsterGoshen Mountainville
StonyPoint
Haverstraw
NanuetPearlRiver
Piermont
Hastings-on-Hudson
DobbsFerry
Hartsdale
(Philipsburg)Greenburgh
NewCity
SpringValley
Suffern
Peekskill
Ossining
Croton-on-Hudson
Monroe
Chester
Ridgewood
Englewood
Morrisania
Passaic
Ridgefield
Cold Spring
Garrison BethelRidgebury
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Washington-RochambeauRevolutionary Route
North
0 1 510 Kilometers
10 Miles
MT. VERNONNEW ROCHELLE
LONG ISLAND SOUND
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Hudson River ValleyNational Heritage Area boundary
ashington-RochambeauWRevolutionary RoutesTroop Camp Sites
Thanks to W3R for their support
1780 The Traitor, the Spy and the Captors
1776-1783 Occupation and Civil War
For more information go to www.nps.gov/waro
The Battle of White Plains (October 28, 1776) was a dramatic, full-scale conventional encounter. General George Washington preserved the Continental Army and won a victory at Trenton in December.
Legacies Revolution Then and Now
1781-1782 The French Alliance
1776 Conventional War