$15 (ages 6+)
FREE (kids 5 and under)

Step back in time to Staten Island’s revolutionary past! Living Historians will be on-hand throughout the village to demonstrate military drills, weapons, and historic skills. Hear stories about soldiers and civilians, and learn about what life was like during the American Revolution in New York. Demonstrations of hearth cooking and blacksmithing will also be featured, and select buildings from the colonial period will be open for exploration. Special guests will also be in attendance, including George Washington.

Features of the event include:

• Children’s Muster with wooden muskets - 12:30pm

• Loyalty oath signing with quill and ink - 11:00am

• Cooking demonstrations

• Tinsmithing

• Flint and Steel demonstrations - 12:00pm

• Tactical skirmishes - 1:00pm

The year is 1777.

Nearly a year has passed since the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia, and the British have occupied Staten Island as a staging area for the invasions of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Though Staten Island has a population that is largely Loyalist and sympathetic to British rule, a growing group on the Island are energized for the cause of independence in the colonies.

From farm to farm, and neighbor to neighbor, divisions run deep in Staten Island. Spy networks gather intelligence on the movements of either side, and the local Committees of Safety convene in the homes of Staten Island patriots to relay information to the government in Philadelphia. Around the village of Richmond, British soldiers occupy homes and properties, and build a small earthen fort on a nearby hill, North of the Church of St. Andrew.

This event is part of NY State’s Path Through History Weekend