The Battery Cannon Raid (1775)
The Battery
In Hamilton's day
On the night of 23 August 1775, volunteer militia, Hamilton among them, hauled cannon off the Battery to keep them from the British. HMS Asia, anchored in the harbor, opened fire on the town.
Accounts of the night say one ball went through the roof of Fraunces Tavern, a few blocks east.
Visiting today
Battery Park at the island's southern tip. The shoreline has been filled far out from where the 1775 fort stood. Castle Clinton, built in 1808–11, is the oldest structure there.
Nearby in Hamilton's day
- Fort Georgeto 1790
The British fort at the island's tip, torn down in 1790. The Custom House now stands on the site.
- No. 1 Broadway: British headquarters1776–83
The Kennedy mansion facing Bowling Green served as British headquarters during the occupation, home to Sir Henry Clinton, commander-in-chief from 1778 to 1782.
- Hamilton's home, 26 Broadwayto 1802
The family's last downtown house before the move to the Grange. Burr had lived at the same address in the early 1790s.
- Second Presidential Mansion1790
Washington moved to the Macomb house at 39 Broadway in February 1790.
- The Exchange: first Supreme Court1790
The U.S. Supreme Court held its first session here at the foot of Broad Street in February 1790.
- New York Tea Party1774
April 1774: patriots boarded the ship London and dumped its tea into the East River.