Sharon Lorenzo’s Tour to Honor America’s Independence Day Independence Hall, Philadelphia- Chestnut St. Everyone will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation in his or her own way this summer. I have chosen to share how my... The post My Revolutionary Trail: Remembering the Independence of 1776 appeared first on Sharp Eye.
Sharon Lorenzo’s Tour to Honor America’s Independence Day
Independence Hall, Philadelphia- Chestnut St.
Everyone will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation in his or her own way this summer. I have chosen to share how my life has allowed me to learn the details of this remarkable anniversary.
I have had the privilege to teach at the University of Pennsylvania Law School for a decade due to my study of art history and law in my college and post- graduate years. My building is located on the corner of 34th and Chestnut Streets, just 29 blocks from Independence Hall. I have taken my classes in art law and cultural heritage policy to this structure so that they too can feel the strength of our founding fathers. The building was begun with the purchase of the land in1732 by Alexander Hamilton who then helped supervise the construction of brick and stone masonry to form the American Georgian design where both the Declaration of Independence and our first Constitution were debated and signed. The first Continental Congress was held here in 1775, and Edmund Woolley helped design a steeple where the Liberty Bell was first installed.
Today the building is supervised by our National Park Service and daily admission is free from 9-10 am followed by ticketed tours thereafter.
Inner chamber meeting room
My next stop is two blocks from Independence Hall at a building completed in 2017 called The Museum of the American Revolution. Designed by architect Robert Stern, it is three stories high with 18,000 square feet installed with objects and videos about the early days of the American Republic.
Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. 3rd St.
My favorite item in the collection is George Washington’s tent which is shown with a video in the auditorium explaining that it was sewn by a Philadelphia upholster, Plunket Fleeson, in 1776 and used by Washington and his officers as a place to sleep, govern, and conduct the plans for the Continental Army especially during the bitter cold winter of 1777 near Valley Forge, PA. The tent was inherited by Martha Washington’s grandson, George Washington Custis, and later sold by his daughter for $5,000 to Reverend Herbert Burk, rector of St. Peter’s Church of Valley Forge who gave it to the Museum of the American Revolution in 2017.
George Washington’s Tent
Many historians feel that if George Washington had not stayed in his tent that bitter winter, his army would have gone home and our independence might never have been achieved. A copy of the tent is used by the director, Dr. Scott Stephenson, for fundraising tours to educate the people of our nation as to the importance of George Washington’s stamina. This image by William Trego of 1883 in the museum shows the army assembled in the winter as they proceeded north from Valley Forge until the final victory of our independence.
William Trego, 1883, oil on canvas
Sons of the American Revolution- 2017
My next stop is in Princeton, New Jersey to see both the cannon that Alexander Hamilton fired into the north wing of Nassau Hall to get rid of the British troops assembled there, and a portrait of Washington by Charles Willson Peale in the art museum on campus which documents the death of General Mercer in the battle of Princeton.
Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey
Hamilton’s cannon
Founded as the College of New Jersey in 1746, the first president, John Witherspoon, was presiding over the small student body of boys who were housed in the Hall, which he evacuated when he heard that British troops were coming. As Hamilton and Washington proceeded north after their victory over troops in Trenton, the British fled from Nassau Hall after the cannon was shot by Hamilton.
The first meetings of the U.S. Congress were held in the Hall from June of 1783 to 1787 and today, Princeton University President, Chris Eisgruber, convenes the faculty and trustees in the same building, as he presides over a student body of almost 10,000 in total.
Portrait of George Washington presiding over the body of General Mercer, Charles Willson Peale, 1784, oil on canvas.
My final stop on my tour is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to see this painting which documents Washington and 2400 troops crossing the Delaware River in the middle of the night on December 25, 1776. They quietly rowed large boats across the river, and surrounded the British troops and their mercenaries who were partying near Trenton for the holiday. The element of surprise gave Washington a total victory. His boat included in this painting had both a Native American and a black soldier near the stern emphasizing the totality of local support for America’s independence. It was acquired by the Met Museum in 1897 as a gift of John Stewart Kennedy.
There are many more wonderful items to be seen across the country as many museums and localities are preparing to celebrate this 250th anniversary in special ways.
Emanuel Leutze, Washington Crossing the Delaware River. Oil on canvas, 149 x 255 inches.
I also suggest that any readers who have time purchase a small book by noted author Walter Isaacson entitled, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written which in 67 pages denotes the meaning and debate on each word in this creed by the founders committee and signers of the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Please enjoy this special July 4th in any way that you and your family can manage. It is indeed a remarkable reminder of the glories of our wonderful country and its founding mothers and fathers.
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