1776

Patriots Pull Down Lead Statue of George III in Bowling Green

In July 1776, shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed, George Washington had the document read to a group of patriots who gathered in present-day City Hall Park in Manhattan. The mob, shown here in a contemporary painting, then moved to Bowling Green and pulled down a gilded lead statue of King George III. Joseph Wilton, a well-known sculptor in London, made the 4,000 pound statue, which was erected in 1770 and depicted the king on horseback, wearing Roman garb. The statue had become a target for graffiti, prompting the passage of an anti-vandalism law. When the statue was toppled, Loyalists rescued the head and are believed to have smuggled it to England. But the rest was transported to the Litchfield, Connecticut home of Oliver Wolcott, Sr., where it was chopped up with an ax, melted down, and fashioned into 42,088 bullets for the patriots.

–Cynthia Blair