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| Fraunces Tavern is the oldest establishment in New York serving food and drink and a favorite of George Washington |
George Washington was not really a New
Yorker. He was born, raised and died in
Virginia. He spent much of his public
life, as both a president and a general, in his favorite city of Philadelphia.
But New York? Not so much.
It’s hard to blame him. He fought six battles trying to defend New
York, and lost them all, but one. When
he finally retreated from New York, he wanted to burn the city to the ground,
but Congress stopped him. Officially, at
least. No one really knows who started
the fire on September 21, 1776, but George was not disappointed when hundreds
of houses in New York did in fact go up in flames.
Despite all this, George Washington probably did
have some very fond memories of the city.
It was in New York that he was sworn in as President and spent 17
months, before the capital was moved to Philadelphia. And it was here that the Revolutionary War
officially ended in 1783, with a triumphal march by the Continental army down
the Broad-way, stopping from tavern to tavern to drink 13 toasts at each one in
celebration of the new country.
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| George Washington portrait by John Trumbull in NY Historical Society |
Because New York was so small at the time of the
Revolution, most of the sites associated with George Washington are within a
short walk of each other. You can have a
drink and a meal at his favorite tavern; see the pew he sat in at his church;
view the gravesite of his trusted chief of staff (and current pop star) Alexander
Hamilton; stand on the spot where he was sworn in as President, and walk across
the Brooklyn Bridge, passing almost directly over the spot where he retreated
after the Battle of Brooklyn, saving the army in what has been called the most
magnificent military retreat in history.
As George might have done himself, it’s best to
begin the tour with a drink.
When Samuel Fraunces opened his tavern here in 1762, there
were already 217 taverns in New York to serve just 13,000 people. Today, it is the only colonial tavern to
survive and the oldest establishment serving food and drinks in New York.
Taverns at the time were a combination of an inn where you
could stay and a public house where you could get a drink and meal. Both offerings were pretty dreadful. People shared beds and sat at simple communal tables,
often arranged around a fireplace, with a mishmash of different flatware and
glasses. Taverns were expensive because
patrons had to pay not only for food and drink, but also for the candles used.
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| The Tallmadge Room in Fraunces Tavern today |
The average colonial of the day drank a staggering four gallons
of hard liquor and 14 gallons of beer or cider a year, and since pipe smoking
was common, the room would be filled with smoke, gambling, gossip and politics. Taverns were hotbeds of radical ideas, and
because Samuel Fraunces (or Black Sam, as he was called by friends) was a
revolutionary, his tavern was home to the Sons of Liberty and other rebels.
When the British captured New York in 1776 and occupied it
for seven years, they forced Samuel to seek safer ground and his son-in-law, a
Tory, took over the tavern. But on Nov.
25, 1783, the day the war officially ended, the British departed, General Washington
marched in, and he and 185 friends gathered at Fraunces Tavern for a
celebration dinner. In New York, Nov. 25
was known as “Evacuation Day,” and was an official holiday for more than 100
years.
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| A private dining room in Franuces Tavern as it would have looked at the time of George Washington |
George had promised his wife Martha he would be home in
Mount Vernon for Christmas, so after eight days of celebration in New York, it was
time for one last farewell luncheon party – the last time, as far as any of
them knew, that Washington and his army officers would ever see each other. Washington fully intended to retire to his
home and become a farmer, far from public life.
For the last meal, the tavern laid out an impressive spread
of cold meats, but the atmosphere was so sad, no one touched their food. The best known account, written by Colonel
Benjamin Tallmadge, and now on display in the restaurant’s museum,
described the scene as General Washington entered the room.
“His emotions were too strong to
be concealed which seemed to be reciprocated by every officer present. After
partaking of a slight refreshment in almost breathless silence, the General
filled his glass with wine and turning to the officers said, ‘With a heart full
of love and gratitude I now take leave of you….I cannot come to each of you,
but shall feel obliged if each of you will come and take me by the hand.’
General Knox being nearest to him,
turned to the Commander-in-chief who, suffused in tears, was incapable of
utterance, but grasped his hand when they embraced each other in silence. In
the same affectionate manner, every officer in the room marched up and parted
with his general in chief. Such a scene of sorrow and weeping I had never
before witnessed and fondly hope I may never be called to witness again.”
Good
thing he wasn’t at any Hillary parties the night of the election.
You can see the actual room where this emotional farewell
took place upstairs in the Fraunces Tavern Museum. This is a gem of a museum. In Boston or Philadelphia it would be a huge
attraction, but somehow in the overwhelming opportunities of New York, it gets
lost. You might find, as I did on a recent
Friday afternoon in December, that you have all two floors of it to yourself.
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| The Porterhouse Brewing Company in Fraunces Tavern |
The Long Room, where the dinner took place, has been
reconstructed as it might have looked on that afternoon. It is a typical colonial dining room, with
wood table and chairs, candles and framed prints, and actually not that
different from the one you can dine in downstairs.
But the rest of the museum is a kick. There’s one of Martha’s silk shoes, the last
letter from spy Nathan Hale (who was hung in 1776 and has a statue nearby at
City Hall), and a wild assortment of trinkets and mementos from the Revolution
and those who have preserved its history.
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| The collection of illustrations by John Ward Dunsmore fill the walls of the museum |
Currently, for the first time, there are 47 paintings of the Revolution by
master illustrator John Ward Dunsmore.
This is the only time the paintings have all been together and they
chronicle the entire war. He worked for a calendar company, and these paintings
will be familiar to anyone who has ever had any interest in the colonial
period.
George was no stranger to taverns or liquor. He liked wine, beer, and cider and was at one
point the largest manufacturer of whiskey in the nation. Three of his dogs were called Tipsy, Tippler
and Drunkard.
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| The small bar in Franuces Tavern connects to Porterhouse Brewing |
After the museum, the restaurant is a bit eclectic, with
offerings from jambalaya to lobster tortellini, but for those desiring
authentic, there are beef and chicken pot pies, Scotch eggs and something
called George Washington’s Horseback (bacon, dates and almonds).
The atmosphere? It could not be better. The main dining area (the Tallmadge Room,
named after the Colonel) has a gorgeous room of wood tables lit by candles. There is a maze of corridors that lead to
private dining areas and a bar with stuffed chairs, a roaring fireplace, and enough
wood and prints to make George feel at home.
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| Cask conditioned IPA in Porterhouse Brewing Co. |
The biggest surprise, is the Porterhouse Brewing Company,
which has taken over half the main floor and has 140 craft beers to try,
including a range of craft beers all brewed in Ireland. It’s all wood, mirrors and brass with brightly
lit bottles and little nooks carved out for private gatherings around communal
tables. Other than the no smoking laws,
it’s pretty certain that the Sons of Liberty could still gather here and talk
about The Donald pretty much in the same way they once did about George III.
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| The cobblestone Stone Street is lined with taverns and restaurants |
Neighborhood Walks with George in Lower Manhattan
The great thing about Fraunces Tavern is that it is in the heart of Lower
Manhattan. Just a short musket shot away
is Stone Street, the first paved street in New York. Now closed to traffic as a historic district,
the petty cobblestone way is lined with taverns and restaurants and evokes a feel
for, if not colonial New York, at least the old New York of Godfather II. In summer, the two-block area is filled with
outdoor umbrellas and is one of nicest places to dine in the city.
A block in the other direction takes you to Battery Park,
which in George’s time was an island and fortress with 100 cannon. Today it’s been connected to the mainland and
has one of New York’s oldest standing forts – (from a different war, Castle Clinton from
the War of 1812) – and two emotional memorials.
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| The Sphere by Fritz Koenig |
The Sphere designed by Fritz
Koenig was a monument to world peace that stood in the plaza in front of the original
World Trade Center. In the 9-11 attacks, it was buried under tons of rubble,
torn apart, bent and scraped, but it was dug up, reassembled and now sits in
Battery Park as a testament to New York’s resiliency.
Nearby, the Merchant Marine Memorial is truly eerie.
Commemorating the 7,000 merchant marines who died in World War II, it depicts a
sinking ship and drowning sailor with his arms stretched out of the sea.
Depending on the tide, you see half of his body or just his arm and neck
reaching out for help.
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| The Merchant Marine Memorial in Battery Park |
New York’s famous Broadway starts at the intersection of
Battery Park and Bowling Green (a small green triangle where George could have
enjoyed the passion of the day – outdoor lawn bowling). Here you’ll find the 7,000-pound bronze
Charging Bull sculpture by Arturo Di Modica that has become the symbol of a
bull market on Wall Street. Rub its nose for luck, and continue up Broadway to
the beautiful Trinity Church, where
Alexander Hamilton is buried.
The first Trinity Church was destroyed in the fire that
George didn’t set in 1776; the current church dates to 1846. At first Hamilton was not allowed to be
buried in the quiet churchyard, where gravestones date back to 1680. The church strongly disapproved of dueling and
did not want to be seen as sanctioning it.
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| Alexander Hamilton's Grave at Trinity Church |
Ironically, Hamilton’s son was killed in a
duel three years before, and is thought to be buried in the same graveyard, but
because of the stain of dueling, his grave was unmarked. Hamilton lingered for several days after his famous
duel with Vice President Arron Burr and was able to plead in person from his
deathbed with Reverend Benjamin Moore, rector of Trinity, and finally was allowed
to be buried at the church. Today, thanks
to the hit musical, his grave is a popular site for selfies.
From the church, cross Broadway and head down Wall Street
and you’ll soon see George Washington’s statue on the steps of the Federal Hall
National Monument. The statue is
approximately where George was inaugurated as president (although at the time,
he was inside another building that stood here.
The statue is the same height and street location as where he stood).
Anywhere else in the nation – or the world – Federal Hall would
be famous. In New York, the 1842 modified version of the Parthenon is
overshadowed by, well, everything else. But
climb the steps and go in – the rotunda is amazing, it’s free, there’s a lot of
history and (always important in New York) there are clean, free public
restrooms. There are exhibits on the inauguration and the Revolution in
New York, and a there’s a fascinating “All George” gift shop offering
everything from Christmas ornaments to bookmarks featuring his familiar face.
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| The statue of Washington on the spot where he was inaugurated facing NY Stock Exchange |
One of the most iconic photos in New York is to frame the
statue of George at Federal Hall with the famous gigantic flag that hangs on
the New York Stock Exchange across the street. If you look closely, you’ll see
that the stock exchange is on Broad Street, not Wall Street. Less well known is
that yet another of New York’s terrorist attacks took place here in 1920 when
31 people were killed by a bomb placed in a horse and carriage. The building
across the street from Federal Hall still has pot marks from the explosion.
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| St. Paul's is the oldest church in New York |
Back to the Broad-way, it’s three blocks to St. Paul’s Chapel,
known as “the little chapel that stood.”
Built in 1766, the chapel survived not only the great fire of 1776, but
also the attack on Sept. 11, that brought down the two twin towers of the World
Trade Center, located directly across the street.
St. Paul’s was not damaged and became a place
of refuge for the firefighters, police officers, and other first responders
working through the devastation.
St. Paul’s was George Washington’s church in New York. You can see a replica of George’s modest pew
box, where he prayed after the inauguration. The churchyard is particularly moving. George certainly walked through the gravestones
here, because this was the main entrance to the church in his day. It is a truly a spectacular sight to see
gravestones from the 1700s with Santiago Calatrava’s new World Trade Center
Oculus Pavilion directly across the street.
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| Santiago Calatrava's Oculus Pavilion from the graveyard of St. Paul's |
Finally, from the front of the church on Broadway, head to
the ramp that is the pedestrian walkway over the Brooklyn Bridge crossing the
East River. George had entered New York
in the spring of 1776 as the hero who driven the British out of Boston. But then the Empire struck back, sending the
largest armada of ships and men the world had ever seen to that point.
Washington tried to defend all the potential landing points,
but the British outmaneuvered him and put 30,000 redcoats on Long Island. Then they conducted a secret night march
around Washington’s flank, and in what became the Battle of Brooklyn, the
largest battle of the Revolution, they badly beat him and almost destroyed the
American army. Only a valiant last stand
by Maryland troops at the Old Stone House saved the day.
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| The Old Stone House in Brooklyn was the scene of severe fighting in 1776. |
Near the Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn, in
Washington Park, the Old Stone House Building is now a museum. It is a reconstruction of the 1699 Vechte-Cortelyou
House in the exact location where the battle took place. The museum has models and exhibits of the
battle, but it takes a lot of imagination to picture this place in 1776.
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| Diorama of the Battle of Brooklyn depicts the fighting around the Old Stone House |
Easier is to look down at the East River from the
Bridge. With the victorious British to
his front, and the river to his rear, Washington had only one option – somehow he
had to retreat and ferry his men across the East River without the British
knowing it. The embarkation point was
the little shore-side park, Fulton Ferry Landing, just to the north of the
Bridge on the Brooklyn side.
Keeping
fires on the front line burning as a disguise, and in a providentially thick
fog, Washington managed to extract his entire army of 9,000 men back to
Manhattan to give them a chance to fight another day.
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| Emanuel Leutze's painting of George Washington Crossing the Delaware hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of New York, |
A retreat may not be the most glorious of
military maneuvers, but if George Washington had not managed to retreat from
New York, there almost certainly would be no United States of America. And for that, New Yorkers…..and George
Washington… were always grateful.
