Objects of the Revolution

For the past year or two, the American Revolution Round Table of New York has been working on a project called "15 Objects of the Revolution."  We invited our members to contribute images of weapons, clothing, grave sites, artifacts, and other curious, interesting, and little-known items.  Documents were not solicited, as there are so many great repositories online that highlight our founding documents, letters, newspapers, and other printed matter.

In this post, we present our first Object of the Revolution, the Sword of Honor of Marinus Willett.  Long-time member of the Board of Governors Michael Harris contributed this piece.  Mike is retired from the United States Navy; Queens, New York, is his home port.

Object of the Revolution #1: Marinus at the Met

Marinus Willett
Portrait by Ralph Earl circa 1791
Public domain, courtesy of www.wikipedia.com

Marinus Willett came from a family of dirt farmers who were among the original “Freeholders of Flushing.” Two of the men of the Willett clan were signers of the “Flushing Remonstrance.” This document, addressed to Dutch Governor General of New Amsterdam Peter Stuyvesant, demanded freedom of religion in the colony. It is recognized by the United States Congress as one of the first documents of American Freedom.

The land the Willett boys farmed was located in what is modern day Queens County, in areas now called Fort Totten and Willetts Point. The American Revolution on Long Island and in Queens County in particular was a complete disaster for the Patriots’ cause. (See the Battle of Brooklyn.) Our Mr. Willett, however, was no quitter.

Marinus was a street leader in the New York Chapter of the Sons of Liberty, located on Manhattan Island. It was here that he wholeheartedly launched himself into a lifelong career which foreshadowed the propensity of the district’s later denizens for forced acquisitions and hostile takeovers.  

  

Over on Wall Street just off Broad, was an arsenal, where, on April 23, 1775, our Marinus appropriated 600 muskets, along with their bayonets. Just a month later, also on Broad Street, about a two minute walk from today’s South Street Seaport; he commandeered several carts loaded with weapons which His Majesty’s troops were trying to evacuate from town. He let the troops go, but kept the guns.

You can imagine the expression on General Washington’s face when all these new toys were dropped into his lap. For these and other acts of daring-do, in his turn, the general presented our Marinus with the traditional warrior’s trophy, a sword of honor, as authorized by Congress in 1777. Today you can see that same sword, next to a full length portrait of Marinus Willett, on the magnificent stairway leading from the main floor of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.  For more information, visit www.metmuseum.org/content/interactives/knights/america_1.html and www.revolutionarywararchives.org/willett

Next time:  The Silver Oar