[1] A flagpole to the west of City Hall commemorates the Liberty Poles, with this marker: “Here in the ancient commons of the city, where before the time of our national independence five liberty poles were successively set up, this flag pole of 1921 is placed in grateful remembrance of all lovers of our country who have died that the liberty won on these shores might be the heritage of the world.” For more on Liberty Poles see: https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/monuments-roundtable-george-iii-and-liberty-poles
[2] Although Matthews later escaped captivity, the British had by then placed the City under military rule, and the Common Council disbanded. For more on Matthews see: https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2019/7/3/the-missing-common-council-records-of-the-revolutionary-war
[3] Although some accounts say Washington had planned to use the fog to aid the evacuation, it seems to have been a matter of luck that a heavy fog rolled in on the morning of the 30th concealing the small boats still evacuating the Heights. See: https://archive.org/details/ldpd_11290380_000/page/n243/mode/2up?q=fog
[4] In the waning days of the occupation, from May to August of 1783, a joint British and American Commission headed by Brigadier General Samuel Birch reviewed the claims of Black Loyalists. Over 3,000 were granted freedom and allowed to emigrate to British lands. https://www.frauncestavernmuseum.org/birch-trials-at-fraunces-tavern
[5] The Battle of Van Cortlandt’s Woods occurred on August 31, 1778, in what is now The Bronx, but it was not then part of New York City. It was a devastating defeat for the Stockbridge Militia, an Indigenous infantry unit made up of Mohican, Wappinger, and Munsee men from Stockbridge, Mass.
[6] The 2nd City Hall of New York was torn down in 1812. The current building, Federal Hall National Memorial, was built in 1842 as a customs house. A topic previously explored in “The Dutch & the English Part 5: The Return of the Dutch and What Became of the Wall.”
