Virtual Parlor Chat: “First Victory: The Battle of Harlem Heights at 250”

Celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Harlem Heights, the first Patriot victory of the American Revolution.

The Morris-Jumel Mansion, then known as “Mt. Morris” or the summer home of British Military Officer Colonel Roger Morris and family, became the headquarters of General George Washington, his officers, and troops for five weeks in the fall of 1776. Almost immediately after establishing the headquarters, Washington and his troops would be faced with another opportunity to emerge victorious in a war in which they had only been defeated in up until this point.

The Battle of Harlem Heights is a largely unappreciated milestone in American military history. This engagement on upper Manhattan Island on September 16, 1776 marked the first successful battlefield outcome achieved by George Washington’s troops in the quest for independence from Great Britain and presaged the gradual emergence of an effective fighting force among the citizen-soldiers who made up the Continental Army and bore the brunt of young America’s struggle for political and economic self-determination. The cooperative effort of regiments from New England, Maryland, and Virginia—whose men lacked any sense of national identity before the Revolution—indicated the potential for this fledgling army to cohere around a common national purpose and affiliation and become the primary instrument for gaining American independence. David Price, author of The Battle of Harlem Heights, 1776 joins the Mansion to take a deep dive into this small but extremely important moment in history on it’s 250th anniversary.

About the speaker:

David Price has authored five books about America’s War of Independence, including a trilogy about the winter 1776/77 “Ten Crucial Days” campaign. His last book in that trilogy, Winning the Ten Crucial Days, was named an Honorable Mention for the Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award and a Finalist for the Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award. The other volumes in the trilogy are The Road to Assunpink Creek and Rescuing the Revolution. In addition, he has authored John Haslet’s World and The Battle of Harlem Heights, 1776. The latter is part of the Westholme Small Battle series and was accepted into the permanent collection of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. David is a recipient of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Bronze Good Citizenship Medal, as well as its Certificate of Appreciation, in recognition of his work as an author, speaker, and historical interpreter at Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania and Princeton Battlefield State Park in New Jersey. He has written extensively for the prestigious, peer-reviewed Journal of the American Revolution, as well as The Journal of America’s Military Past, Discover Concord magazine, The Bann Disc journal, and the Swan Historical Foundation newsletter. David holds degrees in political science from Drew University and Rutgers University, and worked as a nonpartisan research analyst for the New Jersey Legislature for thirty-one years. He lives in Lawrence Township, NJ. More information about David and his work can be found at dpauthor.com.