New York City - June 1776 - an extraordinary description from an English visitor just weeks before the signing of the Declaration of Independence

This is a rather extraordinary description of New York City written from the perspective of an English visitor in June 1776, just weeks prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

New York City is at the very brink of revolution. On July 9, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was read to the colonial troops. A mob of patriots then tore down the grand statue of King George III in Bowling Green, the statue described in this manuscript, and the lead from the statue was melted into musket balls to fire against the British troops.

This is just one of so many interesting threads that this manuscript pulls on. The Liberty Pole, the college in its infancy (today’s Columbia University), the Battery’s beautiful views of the Jersey shore and Staten Island, the ¾ mile road called Broadway, and of course a few swipes at the colonists the visitor meets.

Please hit the Full Record below to learn so much more about this document. It is a fun read. When you read it, remember New York City at that time essentially went from the Battery, as it was called then, at the bottom of the island up just to where City Hall stands today. This small portion, to put in perspective, essentially means today it would be about another fifty blocks up to the Empire State Building and about seventy-five blocks to Central Park. So this small portion of today’s Manhattan is what this visitor so vividly describes. Enjoy!