Spotlighting New York’s underappreciated Revolutionary history

When you think of Revolutionary-era history, you’re probably more likely to picture it unfolding in Boston or Philadelphia than in New York City.

But even some New Yorkers would be surprised to learn that their city was the site of the biggest battle of the war, the new country’s first capital, and the swearing-in of the first president.

A new exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution, situates visitors in scenes from the build-up to the war like the toppling of a statue of King George III in Bowling Green, immerses them in the American defeat at the Battle of Brooklyn, takes them through seven years of British occupation, and charts the city’s course after liberation.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) provided support for the exhibition, which coincides with the United States’ 250th anniversary, as well as for The Declaration's Journey, an exhibition at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.