Fraunces Tavern Museum

The opening of Fraunces Tavern Museum's new special exhibition, Lafayette: A Hero's Return, was celebrated with featured lecturer Général de Brigade Vincent de Kytspotter, PhD, Head of the French Defense Mission to the United Nations. This lecture speaks to Marquis de Lafayette's role in the American Revolution, the powerful Franco-American military alliance, and the lasting changes it brought abo...

What did “the pursuit of happiness” mean to our nation’s founders and how did that famous phrase become the foundation of our democracy? The Declaration of Independence identifies “the pursuit of happiness” as one of our unalienable rights, along with life and liberty. In his new book, National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen profiles six of the most influential founders—Benjam...

Martha Washington’s worst memory was the death of her husband. Her second worst was Thomas Jefferson’s awkward visit to pay his respects subsequently. Indeed, by the time George Washington had died in 1799, the two founders were estranged. But that estrangement has obscured the fact that for most of their thirty-year acquaintance they enjoyed a productive relationship. In this lecture, Francis D....

Although among the best-known Revolutionary War soldiers, Benedict Arnold is overwhelmingly remembered as little more than a traitor — yet his enormously important contributions to the patriot cause in the early years of the war are, in many ways, far more important than his treason. Join Jack Kelly, author of God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America's Most Hated Man, as he highlights s...

On Monday, January 22, 2024, SRNY commemorated the birthday of Frederick Samuel Tallmadge, the second President of the Sons of the Revolution℠ in the State of New York, Inc., whose generosity enabled the Society to acquire Fraunces Tavern in 1904. Our featured speaker was Eric Schnitzer, co-author of a recent book, Campaign to Saratoga - 1777. This book was created jointly by master historical pai...

1775 belonged to Boston but after April of 1776, the Revolutionary War's focus became New York City and the highly strategic Long Island, from Brooklyn's terminal moraine high ground to Queens's Hell Gate. 1776 was the year when revolution came to Long Island, and in particular the future Long Island City. The failures, defeats and eventual occupation of the area at the hands of the British forged...

When John Hancock needed to win people over, he didn’t talk about resisting taxes or policy improvements; instead, he served alcohol. He offered rum punch and wine at his home and paid for lavish meals in taverns to bring people together. Guests included lower class men, French officers, and Black women and men. By throwing parties, Hancock gained social and political power among myriad groups, wh...

In this lecture, Christian McBurney speaks on his new book, Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade, a microhistory of an American privateer during the Revolutionary War that sailed to the coast of Africa and attacked a British slave trading post and British slave ships, seriously disrupting and virtually halting the British slave trade during the war years. On th...

Sons of the Revolution℠ in the State of New York, Inc. celebrates the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, featuring special guest Justice Mark Dillon, author of The First Chief Justice: John Jay and the Struggle of a New Nation, published March 1, 2022. This lecture was recorded for SRNY's Constitution Week celebration on Monday, September 18, 2023 at Fraunces Tavern®...

In this lecture recorded September 10, 2023, Robert Watson discusses his book America's First Plague: The deadly 1793 epidemic that crippled a young nation. Watson will explore the wave of fear that swept across the fledgling republic, and the numerous unintended but far-reaching consequences it would have on the development of the United States.

In this virtual lecture, recorded July 27, 2023, Major General Jason Bohm explores the origins of the United States Marines. He will explore the parallel stories of the creation and early operations of the Continental Marines, Navy, and Army during the American Revolution, culminating in the Battles of Trenton, Assunpink Creek, and Princeton.

It is a truism that Lower Manhattan has been America’s town square since its founding in 1524, even though its history is much deeper. Virtually every aspect of global, local and national significance can be in some manner traced to this Downtown stage. Some have been forgotten and some have been transformative in our culture and many have fallen between. It Happened Here captures the multiple and...

In this lecture, recorded June 12, 2023, Christopher Minty focuses on the origins of the American Revolution in New York City from the perspective of those who became loyalists. It argues that longstanding political partisanship played a hitherto underappreciated role in determining their allegiance during the Revolution.

On September 21, 1776, five days after the British occupied New York City, a devastating fire burned down about a fifth of the city. This mystery brings together a startling cast of characters from around the Atlantic World: soldiers and officers, but also Loyalists, women, and people of African and Indigenous descent. Fraunces Tavern Museum hosts the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society a...

etween 1776 and 1783, Great Britain hired more than thirty thousand German soldiers to fight in its war against the American rebels. Collectively known as Hessians, the soldiers and accompanying civilians, including hundreds of women and children, spent extended periods of time in locations as dispersed and varied as Canada in the North and West Florida in the South. In this presentation, recorded...

In this lecture, recorded March 16, 2023, Ken Scarlett will discuss the British Southern Strategy for conquering America and extinguishing the American Revolution. He will discuss the role of a quisling in the framing of their base strategy and how those plans were completely defeated culminating with the forced British evacuation from Charleston, South Carolina (Victory Day). Ken will examine Gen...

In this special Saturday afternoon lecture, recorded March 11, 2023, Julie Flavell will present her book The Howe Dynasty, the first biography of a British "First Family." The Howe family had as much at stake as the Washingtons and Adamses in the conflict that created the United States. Meet the men and women of the aristocratic Howe dynasty and explore rare paintings of the family.

On Monday, January 23, 2023, SRNY commemorated the birthday of Frederick Samuel Tallmadge, the second President of the Sons of the Revolution℠ in the State of New York, Inc., whose generosity enabled the Society to acquire Fraunces Tavern in 1904. Our speaker was Alyssa Loorya, Ph. D., RPA, founder and president of Chrysalis Archaeological Consultants, who received her Ph. D. in 2018 from the CUNY...

There is always something new to be found in America’s past that also brings greater clarity to our present and the future we choose to make as a nation. In this lecture, recorded November 10, 2022, Adam Van Doren explores well-known and lesser-known historic sites in the 13 original North American colonies, accompanied by his paintings. From the Bunker Hill monument in Massachusetts to the Camden...

In this lecture, recorded October 27, 2022, Keith Beutler will discuss how surviving reported locks of George Washington’s hair in the holdings of more than 100 public archives and historical museums, including Fraunces Tavern Museum, offer clues about influential, but often forgotten performances of patriotic memory in the early United States.

In this lecture, recorded October 6, 2022. Nancy Rubin Stuart reveals the long-neglected voices of the women Ben loved and lost during his lifelong struggle between passion and prudence. Weaving detailed historical research with emotional intensity and personal testimony, Nancy Rubin Stuart traces the life of Deborah Reed Franklin—Ben’s common-law wife and partner of 44 years— and those of Ben’s o...

Join us for a jam-packed opening night as we explore the pop culture career of our first Top Gun—George Washington—featuring keynote speaker, former Marvel Editor in Chief, Jim Shooter. Discover how Washington’s persona has been showcased throughout pop history, going from traditional reenactments of famous events to appearances in modern times with the likes of Superman, Captain America and other...

Join Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York, Inc. to celebrate the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, featuring special guest Logan Beirne, Clinical Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School. Beirne is a lawyer, entrepreneur, author, and academic. His book, Blood of Tyrants: George Washington & the Forging of the Presidency, was awarded the William E. Colby Military...

In this lecture, recorded August 11, 2022, David Gellman explores the contradictions of the Jay family’s attitudes toward slavery over multiple generations. Enslaved and formerly enslaved people living in Jay households experienced isolation, even as members of the Jay family took increasingly radical approaches to law, policy, politics, and advocacy, culminating in John Jay’s signing of An Act fo...

In this lecture, recorded July 14, 2022, Jinny Berten will discuss the research behind her historical fiction novel By His Side, which considers the relationship between George Washington and William Lee, the last three days of Washington’s life, his changing views on slavery, and the concerns those enslaved at Mount Vernon had for Washington’s last will and testament.