The Forgotten Four Months: New York’s Role in Saving the Revolution

August through November, 1776 was crucial to the existence of the United States. While July of that year saw the country’s birth with the Declaration of Independence, the extent our fledging nation teetered on collapse over the next four months is often forgotten. New York City and Westchester County were the site of the period’s most significant events that allowed the new nation to endure. That remarkable heritage has been overshadowed by more memorable events of our Revolution – Trenton, Valley Forge, Saratoga, and Yorktown. Without the local engagements of the last part of 1776, those more celebrated events would never occur. This talk will inform on the history and archaeology of the achievements that occurred during that fateful August to November period. The historic landscapes of those events have been lost to development and are unwittingly passed by commuters or those on holiday. This presentation will raise awareness of those sites whether driving on the Bronx River and Hutchinson River Parkways or on Central Avenue, swimming at Orchard Beach, playing golf in Pelham, or taking classes at Columbia University. All generations should recall the actions of that time as our country’s semiquincentennial year approaches.

This talk will be led by Eugene J. Boesch is a professional archaeologist, historic preservation specialist, and author with over 49 years experience investigating Pre-Contact and European-Indigenous Contact period, Historic period, Industrial, and Military sites archaeology in the eastern United States and other areas both nationally and overseas. Dr. Boesch has a Ph.D. and other graduate and professional degrees in Anthropology and related fields, is a member of the Register of Professional Archaeologists, and teaches at various local universities. Dr. Boesch is guest curator for the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Nan Rothschild Archaeological Repository and in 2022 was awarded the Excellence in Historic Preservation Award by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Recently, his work includes documentation of 19 th and early 20 th century industrial sites in the New York City region for federal and state agencies as part of Superfund Site Remediation projects Locally, Eugene serves as President of the Mahopac Public Library Board of Trustees and is a member of the Westchester County Historic Preservation Advisory Committee and The Carmel Historical Society.