How King George’s Statue Helped the American Revolution

On July 9, 1776, the long-awaited Declaration of Independence was read to the public of New York City.  The event took place at a park in Lower Manhattan near the waterfront.  It was here, six years earlier that the British government had erected a pretentious statue of King George III, astride a prancing horse and wearing a Roman toga.  The statue had been cast in London, painted with gold, and shipped to America.  The 4,000 pound statue rested on a huge marble base and was protected by a cast iron fence in a courtyard of cobblestones.  It had become so unpopular with the citizens of New York that an anti-graffiti, anti-desecration law was enacted in 1773 to discourage its vandalism.  The statue was made of pure lead; unluckily for George (and his statue), much needed musket balls to fight the American Revolution were also made of lead.

It was late afternoon when Washington’s troops, sailors, and local citizens first heard the famous words: “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Some accounts suggest that when the reader finished the last line, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor,” the crowd erupted into a burst of cheering, clapping, and dancing.

Within minutes, men had thrown ropes around the statue toppling and shattering it on the cobblestone ground.  George’s head was reportedly paraded about the town, but later recovered by Tories and shipped back to England. 

One account tells of seven women who quickly gathered all the lead pieces they could find and transported them three days journey to a smelter in Litchfield Connecticut.  There the precious lead was melted down and recast.  When the ladies asked the owner, General Oliver Wolcott what they owed, Wolcott simply replied, “You owe me nothing.  It is we who owe you.  Ma’am, you have 42,038 musket balls in that wagon, 60 caliber, all to be shot back at King George’s red-coated troops.  I doubt King George would much approve of what you did with his statue, but America will not soon forget you have done for freedom.  God speed you on your way.”

Two centuries later, those lead musket balls have been lost or fired, but stories of the revolt remain.  So many versions; in fact, it’s difficult to determine with certainty the actual events; yet overwhelming evidence exists to support the general account.  The fence which surrounded the statue still stands; pieces of the statue are preserved in libraries, museums, and historical societies.  Artists have romanticized the revolt in their paintings.  Though exact details may be obscured, of this we are certain: on July 9, 1796, American patriots had had enough of tyranny and oppression.  That day, they also pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor.  That day, citizens of New York stood up for freedom, resourcefully recasting their emblem of despotism into tools for liberty.  

Learn more at www.TheGloriousCauseOfAmerica.org