Nathan Hale

The chapter has erected two tablets honoring Nathan Hale.  The first was erected in 1916 on the Sulzberger Building, since demolished, on the southeast corner of First Avenue and East 46^th Street.  The second tablet was erected in 1948 on the Yale Club of New York, at Vanderbilt Avenue and East 44^th Street, and dedicated jointly by the Yale Club and the chapter.  The tablet honors Nathan Hale, Captain in the U.S. Army and Yale graduate, who was apprehended within the enemy lines while seeking information and was executed in 1776.  His famous last words were, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

Margaret Corbin

We installed this tablet in patriotic remembrance of Margaret Corbin at the battle of Fort Washington, November 16, 1776.  Margaret Corbin was the first American woman to take a soldier’s part in the war for liberty.  After her husband was killed during the war, she asked permission to fire his cannon, and did so until she was wounded.  The tablet was erected in 1902 within Holyrood Church, on the northeast corner of Fort Washington Avenue and West 179^th Street.  In 1926, Margaret Corbin’s remains were re-interred in the Military Cemetery at West Point.  The New York State Organization of the NSDAR erected a memorial monument with a bronze tablet at the Cemetery at West Point.

 Provost Prison

We installed this tablet to mark the site of the old Register’s Office built in 1758 as a debtors’ prison.  It became the Provost or British military prison during the Revolution and was the scene of great brutality to prisoners, among whom was Ethan Allen.  It was demolished in 1903 to make way for the subway.  The tablet was erected in 1901 at the northeast corner in City Hall Park.

Third Line of Defense

The chapter erected this tablet in 1909 on the north side of Knowlton Court, an apartment house at the southeast corner of Broadway and West 159^th Street.  It marks the position of the “Third Line of Defense,” and commemorates the bravery of Colonel Robert Magaw and his three thousand men at the Battle of Fort Washington, November 16, 1776.

First Presidential Mansion

We installed this tablet to mark the site of the first presidential mansion at No. 1 Cherry Street, occupied by George Washington from April 23, 1789, to February 23, 1790.  The tablet is set 12’8” above the sidewalk on the face of the southeast pier under the Brooklyn Bridge, at the intersection of Frankfort, Dover, and Pearl Streets.  The mansion was built by Walter Franklin in 1770 and demolished in 1856.

Liberty Pole and Battle of Golden Hill

The tablet marked the site of a Liberty Pole that stood from 1766 to 1776 to commemorate the repeal of the Stamp Act.  It was repeatedly destroyed by the violence of the Tories and as repeatedly replaced by the Sons of Liberty, who organized a constant watch and guard.  In its defense, the first martyr blood of the American Revolution was shed on January 18, 1770.  The tablet was first erected by the chapter in 1897 and was placed within the post office at Broadway and Park Row.  That building, built in 1875, was demolished in March 1939, and the tablet was returned to the chapter.  It was rededicated in 1947, and reset in the ground at the south end of the mall in front of City Hall.  This plaque was removed during a period of restoration and is currently in New York City government storage.

Whitehall Ferry

The tablet marked the site of the Whitehall Ferry from which General George Washington embarked December 4, 1783, after bidding farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern.  The tablet was initially installed by the chapter in 1904, on the building at 51 Whitehall Street, and was removed when the structure was demolished in 1967.  The tablet was then rededicated and installed at One New York Plaza, at Whitehall and Water Streets in 1971, as part of the chapter’s 75^th anniversary celebration.  Unfortunately, this plaque was subsequently misappropriated.

Richmond Hill Mansion

The tablet marked the nearby site of Richmond Hill Mansion, the residence of John Adams as the first Vice President  of the United States from 1789 - 1790.  The tablet was dedicated October 30, 1975, and installed at No. 2 Charleton Street.  The tablet inscription also honored John Adams as signer of the Declaration of Independence, a constitutionalist, diplomat, and patriot.  The tablet was installed as a 1975 U.S.A. Bicentennial project.  Unfortunately, this plaque was subsequently misappropriated.