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DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION
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MARYLANDER GREEN
COMMUNITY OPEN SPACE A Commemorative Ecological Park
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REMEMBER
to preserve the memory of the fallen soldiers of America’s First Battle in Gowanus, Brooklyn
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Brooklyn Preservation February 2014 Council
By JUSTIN BURKE Published: August 25, 2012
CONFIDENT
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/nyregion/historian-points-to-gowanus-brooklyn-lot-as-grave-of-first-maryland-regiment.html
Bob Furman suspects that up to 256 Revolutionary soldiers lie under this lot in Gowanus
Seeking Brooklyn’s Lost Mass Grave
Dave Sanders for The New York Times
have rebuffed his inquiries about conducting an archaeological probe on the site.
For New York’s relatively small community of Revolutionary War buffs, the Marylanders’ mass grave is sort of an archaeological equivalent of the Golden City of El Dorado — a legendary site, long sought but never NOTHING is visible at the intersection of located. But Mr. Furman’s quest is not just about history. In addition to Third Avenue and Eighth Street in the solving an enduring mystery, pinpointing the Marylanders’ resting place Gowanus section of Brooklyn to indicate could influence development near the Gowanus Canal in the aftermath that anything extraordinary is there. The of the planned Superfund cleanup of the polluted industrial waterway. artisanal-pie place on one corner and the auto body shops across the way suggest it Superfund designation in 2010 slowed development near the canal but is merely another spot in the city where did not halt it. Work has already begun on a Whole Foods supermarket grit is giving way to gentrification. But if on the banks of the canal, and in July, the Lightstone Group, a developer, a small group of history enthusiasts are right, this particular corner of announced that it planned to revive a stalled project to build a residential Kings County is hallowed ground. complex with 700 rental units along the waterway. If the grave site was found, it could spur the creation of some type of memorial, federally fiThey believe that there is a mass grave a few dozen yards to the east of nanced or otherwise, that would prevent at least some development. the intersection that contains the remains of American heroes: soldiers What developer would want to tread on the bones of heroes? from the First Maryland Regiment under Col. William Smallwood, which saved Washington’s army during the Battle of Brooklyn on Aug. THE Marylanders’ story is among the more underappreciated chapters of 27, 1776. Their burial site, these advocates say, deserves the same level the Revolutionary War. Vastly outnumbered, they launched a series of of veneration accorded the military cemeteries at Gettysburg and Norcounterattacks that stymied rapidly advancing British forces, enabling mandy. thousands of American soldiers to evade encirclement and certain death or capture. Had the British not been checked, it is possible that the ConThe leader of the find-the-Marylanders group is Bob Furman, a Brooklyn tinental Army would have been smashed, forcing Washington to surrenhistorian and president of the Brooklyn Preservation Council, a nonprofit der and effectively bringing the war to an abrupt, inglorious end. “These organization dedicated to maintaining brownstone Brooklyn’s look and soldiers saved the Revolution,” Mr. Furman maintains. feel. “The evidence is quite strong,” Mr. Furman said. “I’m confident enough that I tell everyone I know.” Other experts don’t go as far but agree that many historians have shortchanged the Marylanders. Kim Maier, executive director of the Old But Mr. Furman has no way to test his theory. Right now, the site he is Stone House, a Revolutionary War museum in Brooklyn, said their stand targeting is a vacant, concrete-covered lot studded with weeds and surwas an instance of extraordinary valor. “They really did sacrifice themrounded by a chain-link fence. The owners, who say they are interested selves,” she said. “They knew going in they didn’t have a great chance in developing the property themselves or selling it to someone who will, of coming out.” 2
As many as 256 Maryland soldiers, almost two-thirds of the regiment, were killed. According to several accounts, the British forced local civilians to gather the bodies shortly after the battle and bury them at a site near what was then Gowanus Creek.
HEROIC Kim Maier, executive director of the Old Stone House, a Revolutionary War educational center in Park Slope.
The mass grave has long been a source of fascination for amateur archaeologists and Revolutionary War enthusiasts. In the 1940s and ’50s, city officials considered mounting a comprehensive search, and Robert Moses even drew up plans for a memorial park. Ultimately, the park never materialized because of a lack of money, and the one dig undertaken, in 1957, found no remains.
An engraved illustration of the Battle of Brooklyn
Various archaeologists say geography is the main reason the grave’s location has remained a secret. In 1776 the area featured marshland and millponds surrounding Gowanus Creek. Only a few dots of high ground would have been suitable for a grave.
As a next step, Mr. Furman wants to tear up a patch of concrete and probe the area with ground-penetrating radar. But even if he could obtain the money necessary for equipment and specialists, it is unlikely he would get permission to perform the tests.
The area was transformed beginning in the mid-19th century. The canal itself was dug in the 1860s, followed by industrialization along its banks. The neighborhood was made level, and both sides of the canal were lined with landfill. “Historically speaking, it’s like night and day,” said Alyssa Loorya, owner of Chrysalis Archeological Consultants Inc., which has surveyed the area. Grave hunters’ attention in recent decades has focused on a stretch of Third Avenue between Seventh and Eighth Streets, because Revolutionary War-era maps show hills in the area. Written reminiscences, compiled mostly in the 1950s but dating as far back as the 1890s, also tell of bones being found when basements were dug. Many archaeologists are skeptical. “The grave site has been difficult to pinpoint because the descriptions are, in fact, general, and in most cases secondhand,” said H. Arthur Bankoff, the chairman of the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at Brooklyn College. “There is a distinct possibility that the graves have been destroyed.” But Mr. Furman says that modern technology, including advanced computer mapping techniques and ground-penetrating radar, can help him succeed where others have failed. Professor Bankoff acknowledged that “advances in remote sensing” have enabled archaeologists to “locate things and sites that were elusive decades ago.” Mr. Furman says he believes that working with Eymund Diegel, an urban planner who lives in the area and is skilled at computer mapmaking, he can reconstruct the area’s lost topography. He is convinced that the crest of the likeliest burial hill is just under the concrete that covers the vacant lot on Eighth Street. An extensive search of public records, he adds, shows that the site was never excavated, nor was it filled in. An observation made last July raised the group’s hopes further. Mr. Diegel was using a balloon to take aerial photos of the area as part of a project to map drainage patterns. Studying the photos, he noticed an unusual pattern of cracks in the concrete at the Eighth Street lot. To his eye, it indicated that the ground underneath had been disturbed in a way that might be consistent with a grave site. 3
An entity called Derby Textile Corporation owns the lot. Reached by telephone, someone connected with Derby, who asked that his name not be used because he did not want to be drawn into controversy, said the search for the grave site was “a bunch of gibberish.” He insisted that a foundation had been dug when a structure was built on the property in the early 1900s and that there were no reports of bones being found. The current owners bought the building in 1970 and it burned down in 1989, he added. The owners would prefer to develop the lot themselves, the man said, but would sell if the price was right; he declined to divulge a specific figure. “It’s not a cheap piece of property,” he said. The other option open to the grave hunters is an even longer shot: persuade officials to come up with money to buy the lot and designate it a park. “If we can get a park,” Mr. Furman said, “we can then try to figure out whether the Marylanders are there.” LIKE the men of Smallwood’s regiment in 1776, the grave hunters are facing grim odds. The pending onslaught of development threatens to overwhelm their preservationist aspirations for the neighborhood. Mr. Furman says he dreams of putting together a Brooklyn version of Boston’s Freedom Trail, with stops at various points of Revolutionera significance. Mr. Diegel clings to a vision of a greenbelt along the canal. Both worry that the historical structures and the local businesses and artists who have made use of them in recent years will be lost if the area is rezoned in the wake of the Superfund cleanup. They also acknowledge that there is no way they can match any future developers’ financial muscle or connections. In their eyes, the outcome of this second battle along the Gowanus will determine whether the neighborhood remains a low-rise middle ground that acts as a bridge between Carroll Gardens and Park Slope, or becomes an architectural island, full of the glossy towers of condos and rentals that have transformed the Williamsburg waterfront in recent years. “Urgency is an issue here,” Mr. Diegel said. Their best hope, it seems, is that the Marylanders might once again come to the rescue.
THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN The British Invasion… Again: The Mystery Of The Missing Marylanders' Grave Robert Sullivan | August 28th, 2012 http://www.theawl.com/2012/08/the-british-invasion-again-the-missing-maryland-grave
The Marylanders were reportedly buried by the British in a mass grave, and the whereabouts of that grave have long been of great interest to local Brooklyn historians. But it's not an interest widely shared elsewhere, despite the valor of the Maryland troops having allowed the rest of Washington's army to escape. Gallagher was occasionally in search of the grave, at the time I spoke to him about it, at a book signing in 2000, when he signed a book for my then 11-year-old son, ancient history.
Day five in a series exploring how the trail of the Battle of Brooklyn would pass across modern-day New York. Shown in photo, a potential burial site of the Maryland regiment, near the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 8th Street, that went uninvestigated when it was recently dug up.
Every year there is a memorial service, a small group of people coming to Brooklyn from Maryland, as well as Pennsylvania and Delaware. The American Legion post at 9th Street and 9th Avenue has a plaque. But still, the Marylanders feel forgotten.
The day after the battle, there are dead and wounded all around: 1,000 American soldiers in the woods and the fields all around what is today Park Slope and Greenwood Cemetery, all along the Shore Road that is today in the vicinity of 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street, as well as Pep Boys, Hotel Le Bleu and J.J. Byrne Park. A thousand men were captured. The late John J. Gallagher, the military historian and forensic historian (who is buried on Greenwood Cemetery's Battle Hill, in view of the harbor and all the field of battle) wrote: "Scattered parties of the living were still hiding in the forests and swamps or trying to make their way to the inner lines around Brooklyn Heights."
To imagine where they were it is necessary to picture the Gowanus not as a canal but as a marsh, with famously large oysters. There was a millpond, where water collected to power a mill. There was a tidal aspect, as there is today. To imagine where the Marylanders might be buried, you have to try and picture where the filled in creek ends and where the land on an old Dutch farm would have begun, a difficult task. Traditionally, it is thought to have been along 3rd Avenue, near 9th Street. There was a plaque for many years. In 1957, James Kelly, the borough historian of Brooklyn at the time, got the federal government to do a dig along 3rd Avenue, near 8th Street, in the vicinity of the traditional burial site. It was a dream come true for Kelly. "No place is more sacred in America," he wrote. He was with the archaeologists during the dig, when they found nothing, with the exception of old clay pipes and foot-long oyster shells.
The day before had been a hot summer day, but now there was a summer rain, with lightning and thunder—a storm, that kept the British from sailing up the East River. The British position, after the previous day's fight, is the opposite of gentrification: the British now control all of the land to the east of Brooklyn, threatening the Manhattan-convenient Brooklyn Heights, where the Americans are held up in their forts and camps. A Rhode Island soldier wrote: "After we got into our fort there came a dreadful rain heavy storm with thunder and lightning, and the rain fell in such torrents that the water was soon ankle deep in the fort." It was a typical summer rainstorm, much like the rainstorm that was reenacted in Brooklyn this morning, 236 years later.
Recently, an historian was in the Times saying that there should be a dig a few yards away. "The evidence is quite strong," he told the reporter.
The big casualties were at what was known as the Old Stone House. The British, under General Cornwallis, were stopped from their advance toward Brooklyn Heights by an American general, Lord Sterling. (His title was disputed in England but Washington, perhaps due to an acute need for experienced military commanders, did not mind calling him Lord.) With a group of about 250 soldiers from Maryland, they attacked the overwhelming number of British soldiers—attacked six times, each time, scores falling dead. George Washington, while watching from what is today Trader Joe's, is attributed with saying: "Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose!" Cornwallis later said, "General Sterling fought like a wolf."
"I'm confident enough that I tell everyone I know."
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I know how he feels. A couple of years ago, when a building went up a few dozen feet away, construction crews began to dig a large pit—it was, I realized when I passed it, in the same general vicinity as the traditional Marylanders burial site. I called every archaeologist I knew. Nobody was interested. The hole got deeper. I looked for signs—of what I knew not. I called more people. I took photos. At last, construction began, the hole filled. It was depressing, to say the least, as it is now, when I think of it. I always wonder if there are ghosts in the underground parking lot.
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It would honor the memory of soldiers who died in the 1776 Battle of Brooklyn, America’s first military engagement as an independent nation.
Art Place America named the Gowanus and Park Slope the top neighborhood in the country that successfully combined art, artists and other creatives, independent businesses, retail shops and restaurants, and walkability to make vibrant places. The new Marylander Park and memorial greenway would help strengthen these destinations values for Brooklyn, the center of America’s Revolution.
American troops were defeated, but they had the strategic foresight to retreat and ultimately win the War of Independence.
Without Gowanus, there would be no America.
POWER HOUS E E N V I R O N M E N TA L ARTS CEN TER
The half acre park would be located on one of the suspected burial grounds of the fallen troops, located at Third Avenue and 8th Street.
The site would also celebrate the rich industrial history of Brooklyn as the backbone of America’s Industrial Revolution.
OLD S TO N E HOU SE
GOWAN US CANA L
The new park is part of a broader collaborative effort to establish a network of open spaces and greenways acrosss th Gowanus watershed to improve the quality of life of its growing population and the boroughs visitors.
M A RY L A N D E R GREE N
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The Battle of Brooklyn Gowanus Canal Revolutionary Trail & Greenway
2013 planning concept by Edward Mazzer
Marylander Green Community Open Space is a proposed memorial park located in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
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General Howe / Jaime Rojo, street artist
2006
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cover photos: Anna Viebrock & Fred Plaut
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MARYLANDER BURIAL SITE
On August 27 1776, a month after America’s Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, troops from the newly formed Continental Army fought for the first time as Americans against British and Hessian troops. Much of the fighting was concentrated near what is now 4th Avenue and 3rd Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn, site of the Old Stone House Memorial. America lost the Battle of Long Island but had the strategic foresight to retreat and eventually win the war that created the United States of America. A large number of American soldiers died and were buried near the battlefield.
1776, 27 August - The Continental Army at the Battle of Brooklyn Painter - Domenick D'Andrea
Where is their burial site and how should we remember America’s first soldiers ?
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1782 SPROULE SURVEY MAP with American fortifications around the Gowanus Marshes in 1776 1 2
Marylander Hill Burial Site
Denton’s Mill Burial Site
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Old Stone House Battle Site
(Frasier 1909, Thomas 1913, Furman 2013)
WHERE IS THE SUSPECTED BURIAL SITE ?
stop, served by the F, G and R subway and the 61 Bus. The site is currently for sale. The adjacent Rawley American Legion Post has plaques and flag poles commemorating the contribution of the Marylander and Delaware Regiments to the 1776 War for American Independence during the Battle of Brooklyn.
The Site is located between 8th and 9th Streets and Third and Fourth Avenues, in the neighborhood of Gowanus, on the edge of Park Slope, in Brooklyn, United States of America. It is a former chemical factory and knitting mill and now a vacant concrete slab stretching between 8th Street and 9th Street and is adjacent to the Rawley’s Veterans Post. It is 5 minutes walk from the 4th Ave / 9th Street Subway
There is strong evidence that this site may still hold the remains of the first soldiers ever to die for the American Continental Army.
View of site looking south towards Ninth street towards Sunset Park
View of site looking north towards 8th street and the Gowanus Canal
View of site looking north east towards Park Slope with adjacent subway line bridge and station.
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2012 Aerials via Bing Pictometry
A NEW PARK IS PROPOSED.. 6
MARYLANDER MEMORIAL PARK
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Existing Memorial Flag
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The Marylander Design Competition would be held to develop plans for the following Park components:
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1 A memorial to the soldiers who were buried there.
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2 A commemorative community park and playground reflecting the values that the soldiers fought for. 3 A museum or outdoor exhibits reflecting potential archaeological site investigation findings, including its industrial history. This would be integrated with existing Old Stone House education programming.
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Mike Lauterborn
flag logo: National Archives
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ?
General Howe / Jaime Rojo, street artist
2006
A SITE OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
New Playground SITE SOLD IN 2013
Future plans, based on findings, may include:
Veterans parking improvements and potential school tour group access accommodations. A stewardship center and park maintenance facility for groups like the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Gowanus Alliance and local block associations. An urban landscaping greenway incorporating a system of both natural and artificial “street creeks� to tie the park to the existing Old Stone House and Heritage Trail amenities and reconnecting the natural flow of water to Gowanus Canal Waterfront Park
WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE THAT THIS IS THE ACTUAL BURIAL SITE ?
1869 Plan of the Positions and Movements of the British and American Army on the 26th and 27th of August 1776
TW Field, Brooklyn Historical Society Map Collection.
This is one of the few maps to show the general burial location of the casualties of the Battle of Brooklyn.
1846 Brooklyn Eagle Farm Map
Highlighted in yellow is the Staats, and later Bergen, Farms patent as described in Stile’s 1869 History of Brooklyn. The 2012 Battle of Brooklyn Old Stone House Walking Guide notes that the Staats and the Bergen families used a hill in the Gowanus marshlands, circled in red, for family and slave cemeteries. Historian TW Fields (1869) records these as having been used for the 1776 military burials.
WHAT OTHER RESEARCH IS THERE ON THE BURIAL GROUND ? 9
WHAT ARE ARGUMENTS AGAINST THIS BEING THE MARYLANDER BURIAL GROUND ? As part of the collective gathering of community knowledge that allows for more informed debate, views by local historians who believe there is no direct evidence that a mass burial ever existed are presented here. The research by William Parry and Kim Maier of the Old Stone House can be consulted for researchers wanting to weigh the pro and cons of what actually happened to war dead during the 1776 Battle of Brooklyn.
“There is a current tradition among the families whose farms covered the site where the Marylanders were engaged, that their dead were buried by the residents on a mound that rose from a salt meadow in the vincinity of Third Avenue and Seventh Street.
After frequent examination of the ground I am of the opinion that few of the bodies were interred at that place originally, as it was too distant. It is probable, however, that after the war, when the farms were again cultivated, that the skeletons were collected and buried on the island mound, to secure them from the violation of the plough. The Van Brunt and Bennett families retain the tradition with sufficient details to authorize the belief that the burials of most of the brave and generous youth of Maryland who fell still lie under the soil of Third Avenue.”
Key arguments are: - On site casualties were less numerous than assumed. The majority of the 256 “casualties” were prisoners who would have died on the British ships in Wallabout Bay, not near the Old Stone House or Marylander Hill. Fighting soldiers were scattered in small groups, and would have been buried were they fell. There is no first hand observer historical record that they were ever centralized in a single mass grave. There are however several records of individual scattered burials.
1868, TW Fields Monograph on historic and antiquarian scenes on Brooklyn, as quoted in “Old Brooklyn: The Services of the Maryland Battalion, Brooklyn Eagle, 1 December 1870
“In the battle (of Long Island, August 27 1776) part of the British army marched down a lane (Port Road) leading from the Brush Tavern (at Valley Grove) to Gowanos, pursuing the Americans. Several of the American riflemen, in order to be more secure (...) had posted themselves in high trees near the road. One of them, whose name is now partially forgotten, shot the English Major Grant; in this he passed unobserved. Again he loaded his deadly rifle, and fired - another English officer fell. He was then marked, and a platoon (..) fired into the tree and the rifleman fell to the ground dead. After the battle was over, the two British officers were buried in a field, near where they fell, and their graves fenced in fenced in with some posts and rails, where their remains still rest.
GEOGRAPHICALLY IMPROBABLE 1848 - Sketch of the Homestead of Cornelius Van Brunt, taken from “Marylander Hill” (reproduced 1890, inscribed “Denton Mill Cortelyou 1699 Adriance homestead / Polhemus”) courtesy of Long Island Historical Society. Note the lack of adjacent access road. Connection from Old Gowanus Road a 1000 feet away would have required crossing Staats Brook, that watered the hay fields.
But for an "example to the rebels," they refused the American rifleman the rites of sepulture; and his remains were exposed on the ground, till his flesh rotted, and torn off his bones by the fowls of the air. After a considerable length of time, in a heavy gale of wind, a large tree was uprooted; in the cavity formed by which, some friends of the Americans (...) placed the brave soldier's bones to mingle in peace with their kindred earth."
Family cemeteries (eg Staats, Van Brunt, Bergen located on “Gowanus Islands” and where soldiers remains may have been reinterred after local farmers started plowing their fields were relocated to Greenwood Cemetery when burial hills were regraded for road construction in the 1850s.
1824 - page 51 - "Notes Geographical and Historical relating to the town of Brooklyn, in Kings County on Long Island" Gabriel Furman
Counter Argument: scattered bones were known to be collected into centralized spots, The Prison Ships Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park being an example
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Counter Argument: Only family graves would have been relocated. Private cemeteries cost money, and there is no record of the Federal Government ever having spent a penny to honor the Revolutionary War veterans. The soldiers graves are still there.
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1909 Georgia Frasier Marylander Burial Ground Map A - Stone House of Gowanus, owned by the Vechtes in 1699 and 1776 B - The Lower Mill, built by Abram Brouwer in 1701. Owned by Nehemia Denton during the Revolutionary War, and then called Denton’s Mill. C - The Upper or Gowanus Mill - Oldest Mill in Brooklyn called Freeke’s Mill during the Revolutionary War. D - Branch of Gowanus Creek extending into Vechte Farm. At the present day an arm of the Gowanus Canal E - Upper, or Freeke’s Mill Pond F - Lower Mill Pond. Called Denton’s Mill Pond during the War. G - Private canal of Nicholas Vechte, connecting Brower’s Pond with his own creek. H - Porte Road, running from Gowanus Heights acrosss mill ponds I - Flatbush Road, running from Flatbush, over Wooded Heights, to Brooklyn J - Gowanus Creek, now the Gowanus Canal K - Brook on the Vechte Farm, rising from spring beside the Stone House and emptying into arm of Gowanus Creek. L - Gowanus Creek widening to Gowanus Bay M - Island were many soldiers were buried Georgia Fraser, 1909, The Stone House at Gowanus, Scene of the Battle of Long Island
THE ALTERNATE GOWANUS BURIAL ISLAND THEORY
Georgia Fraser argues that American soldiers trapped at Dentons Mill (now First Street Basin landfill) who were killed or drowned were buried on the small island adjacent to the Mill. “Upon this island, situated about at Second Street near the present Canal, a great many of the Revolutionary unknown heroes were buried. This occurred both immediately after the battle - when the residents of Gowanus were compelled to bury the dead that lay upon their lands - and during the succeeding years when the plows of the farmers upturned the bones that lay as near the surface of the ground as their furrows. This burying place has never been disturbed... Here, therefore, lie most of the bones of the brave young Marylanders..”
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1766 Ratzer Map with 2010 Building Overlays
1766 Ratzer Map overlaid on 2011 Balloon Aerial Gowanus Canal Conservancy mappers took aerial photographs for the First Street Basin Water Park Restoration Plan and established the possibility that a small section the “Island” could have survived 1870’s landfilling and the Power House construction in the 1890s.
1858 Chappel painting of the 1776 Battle at Denton’s Mill
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR: Because of the Dentons Mill Dock and Flour Mill, this Island was easily accessible by horse cart via the Gowanus and Porte Roads. It would have allowed relatively easy collection and transport of bodies by cart, and easy burial in the relatively soft marsh soils along Dentons Mill dam which intersected the Island. Drowned bodies could also have been easily moved from near the Old Stone House on boat via Vechte’s Canal. “Marylander Hill” had no such convenient road access. COUNTER ARGUMENTS The tidally flooded island was not big enough to hold more than a few dozen bodies. Unlike the existing the “Marylander Hill” Staats and Bergen Family Cemetery site, the Denton family would most likely have objected to a periodically flooded mass grave directly adjacent to their working mill. Remains are at Marylander Hill.
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An Overview of Archaeological Studies performed round the Marylander Hill Burial Area
1998 Bona Fide Oil Archaeological Study, Arthur Bankoff (nothing found)
1890s Discovery of 30 bodies in a row by building contractor Ryan (fate of bones unknown)
1947 Robert Moses Historical Park Proposal Area
1956 U.S. National Parks Service Historical Survey (Historical Orientation Report for Archaeological Investigation, Marylanders’ Burial Site, Brooklyn) (Finds evidence of burials, but construction and active uses on site prevented further plans) Report recommends against commemoration. 1957 Columbia University Archaeological Study Area ( off Hill area, nothing found )
2009 Construction Excavation of portion of 7th Street and Third Ave site (already disturbed, nothing found)
2012 Over My Dead Body Balloon Expedition, based on Furman’s research, takes balloon photographs of the never excavated southern Site. Unusual crack patterns prompt a LIDAR micro-topography study which shows grave-shaped bumps.
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2012 William J Parry History Study argues that 10th Street Marylander Hill section was further south and any burials were removed 2013 School Construction Authority (SCA) Study: TRC does soil borings and AKRF Archaeological Services finds no evidence of burials in borings. Borings in too small an area (under one square foot) to draw archaeological conclusions but establish that native undisturbed soils of Marylander Hill have survived.
Portions of the northern 8th Street Marylander Hill site were excavated and nothing found. In 2013, Site 3 was sold for probable apartments. Site 1, the unexplored 9th Street section has become available.
A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR INVESTIGATING AND COMMEMORATING OUR HISTORY PROPOSED PARK SITES Based on the latest historical findings, and review of historical maps, the proposed Marylander Park and archaeological site will be made up of one key Acquisition Parcel and potentially two other study parcels:
3 Study Area Site 3: (Air Rights / public space study) 203 9th Street, Brooklyn Block 1003 Lot 59, a one story warehouse/parking owned by 203 9th Street Associates This site was being considered for its suitability for an Environmental Stewardship Center for local groups such the Gowanus Canal Conservancy as part of Marylander Park Maintenance Plan. It was sold in 2013 for 2.8 million to become an apartment complex. (see Appendix for more information on these lots)
1 The Marylander Green Park Site, 170 8th Street, Brooklyn Block 1003 Lot 11 Vacant Fried Family Knitting Mill Site
This is principal and only site being considered for the archaeological investigation and commemorative park.
Should archaeological survey discover cemetery relics, two other adjacent study sites will be considered for their relationship to the proposed park
2 Study Area Site 2 : Veterans Post Parking Lot 193 9th Street, Brooklyn Block 1003 Lot 64 Rawley Veterans Post 1636 Parking Lot
Based entirely on the interests of current owners, discussions would be initiated for an expanded archaeological study and how to better integrate this site with park, for example for periodic school bus parking.
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2013 MAP with Marylander Hill Site showing selected lots
based on archaeological reports and georeferenced historical maps.
THE NUMBER OF WAR DEAD AND THEIR BURIAL LOCATION
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Linda Davis Reno gives the most accurate burial estimate of a 143 locally buried casualties based on a well researched Regiment history. (The Maryland 400 and the Battle of Long Island, 2008). The local burials are referred to as the dead of the Maryland and Delaware regiments or the “Marylander 400”. Estimates of total battle casualties have ranged from 256 who died at the Stone House battle site (James Walter Thomas, 1913) to 1,120 (John J. Gallagher, The Battle of Brooklyn, 1995) but this included total deaths throughout Brooklyn and soldiers taken prisoners. The Marylander State Archives is undertaking a major updated 2013 study of the number of battle dead based on their archival records.
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1766 RATZER MAP showing Marylander Hill area, an “island” surrounded by marshy streams that was used as neighborhood burial site and 1776 Battle of Brooklyn burial ground as described by historians.
"On the shore of Gowanus Bay sleep the remains of this noble band. Out upon the broad surface of the level marsh rose a little island with trees and undergrowth. Around this mound, scarcely an acre in extent, clustered a few of the survivors of the fatal field and of the remorseless swamp, and here the heroic dead were brought, and laid beneath its sod, after the storm of battle had swept by. Tradition says that all the dead of the Maryland and Delaware battalions, who fell on and near the meadow, were buried in this Miniature island, which promised at that day the seclusion and sacred (quiet which befit the resting place of the heroic dead. Third avenue intersects the westerly end of the mound; and Seventh and Eighth streets indicate two of its sides".
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1782 SPROULE MAP showing Marylander Hill surrounded by streams. Gowanus Creek being salty, colonial farm houses were built next to fresh water springs that fed marsh streams.
Chronicles of Colonial Maryland, James Walter Thomas, 1913 (further research shows hill extended from 7th to 9th Street, and potentially as far as 11th Street)
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"Mingled with the remains of the servile sons of Africa whose burial ground it also was, lies the dust of those brave boys.”
Fields, 1869, as quoted in Hunter Research Draft 2012 Gowanus Canal Archaeology Report, referring to Marylander Hill
VETERANS POST
Attention for locating the Marylanders has been focused on the “traditional site” on the east side of Third Ave between 7th and 8th Street. This proposal includes updated research discussions about hill sections outside of this area where the above mentioned grave remnants may have survived.
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1 2012 MARYLANDER HILL MICRO TOPOGRAPHY LIDAR MODEL
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Light Imaging Data and Ranging (LIDAR) study of the “flat” concrete slab covering the 170 8th Street. The site was identified as a possible surviving remnant of the Marylander Burial Ground and LIDAR looks for terrain anomalies. The 2010 laser beam generated topographic data is accurate to within a quarter of an inch. It is capable of detecting minor fluctuations in the ground, giving invaluable clues to potential buried archaeological sites such as lost grave yards. Bumps could also be sloppy concrete work. 2010 DEM (Digital Elevation Model)
image by Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne and Eymund Diegel
2012, 1 March, The Old Stone House, or Vechte Cortelyou house, site of the Gowanus Battle of Brooklyn Marylander soldiers last stand Photographer: Sean Hanley
Photographer - Malcolm Pinckney
In 1933 Old Stone House Memorial Committee took the leadership role in commemorating Battle of Brooklyn history with the reconstruction of the original farmhouse at JJ Byrne Park.
With the repopulation of the Gowanus basin after decades of industrial decline, the Old Stone House has helped promote a resurgence of “Battle of Brooklyn” themed activities by local historical and cultural groups, and a growing interest in the neighborhood’s history.
May 2012 Old Stone House Battle of Brooklyn reenactments with former Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Julius Spiegel and current Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey.
http://theoldstonehouse.org/
"Aye, this is the ground, My blind eyes even as I speak behold it re-peopled from graves, The years recede, pavements and stately houses disappear, Rude forts appear again, the old hoop’d guns are mounted, I see the lines of rais’d earth stretching from river to bay, I mark the vista of waters, I mark the uplands and slopes; Here we lay encamp’d, it was this time in summer also."
(a conversation between a Revolutionary War veteran and a young Union Army volunteer in the first year of the Civil War. Soldiers drill on a bright day in Fort Greene Park, and the veteran suddenly remembers the real fighting he took part in eighty-five years earlier on the same hills overlooking the Gowanus marshes) by Walt Whitman, Brooklyn Poet, from Leaves of Grass, 1855, as quoted in Barnet Schecter's The Battle for New York, 2010 14
2010, Battle of Brooklyn, a 6 day street art event by General Howe / Jaime Rojo
2001, The Brave Man, film reenactment of the Battle of Brooklyn using red and blue actors to show troop movements, by Joseph McCarthy
2012, Liberty Pole Smith and Bergen Street, Sasha Chavchavadze, Proteus Gowanus, 2008, Marylander Street Art, Peter Manzari
2013, Robert Sullivan’s My American Revolution describes how alive history can be, right under our noses.
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The Battle of Brooklyn has become a cultural touchstone, an opportunity for creating a “Revolutionary Museum without Walls”, and to continue developing the Borough as a cultural destination.
"My father (a building contractor) found … the bones of some thirty bodies in regular, or military order in the course of digging cellars for apartment buildings on the site.”
In 1955, Congress enacted legislation to pay for historical research by federal archaeologists in preparation for declaring the site a national cemetery. The 1956 Study collected valuable evidence on the potential survival of soldiers graves at the Third Ave and 8th Street “Marylanders’ Burial Site”, but heavy urbanization and active property uses prevented excavations at the time. During the 1980s industrial buildings built on top of the suspected grave site area were abandoned and demolished, leaving behind a concrete slab covering a third of an acre. This accidental mortuary slab raised the possibility that a portion of the graves could have remained undisturbed, as the buildings had never had excavated basements.
Using Bob Furman’s updated 2011 Marylander research, investigations by cartographer Eymund Diegel showed that “Marylander Hill” was still at roughly the same height in 2012 that it was in 1776, (sloping from 16 to 24 feet). Though Marylander Hill’s surrounding valley stream beds had been filled in as 1850’s road construction landfilled the Gowanus Marshes, parts of the hill top had remained intact. In 2012, encouraged by this hill top survival possibility, citizen researchers from Proteus Gowanus and Public Laboratory continued community research efforts using high resolution balloon photography equipment from the Gowanus Low Altitude Mapping program (GLAM).
Dr. Nicholas Ryan, a Brooklyn Heights physician, as quoted in Historical Orientation Report for Archaeological Investigation, Marylanders’ Burial Site, Brooklyn, New York, 1956, U.S. National Parks Service. Borough Historian Kelly also records that in 1955 Peter Bacenet of 427 Third Ave (at 7th Street) had found bones in his backyard but had thrown them away. 1850 Stodard Topographic Survey of Third Avenue showing Marylander Hill at 21 feet in 1850, roughly the same as 2013. The adjacent 24 feet elevation portion of the Hill was never excavated, meaning some graves could have survived. (Bob Furman archives)
Their aerial photographs uncovered new evidence of the potential survival of a mass grave of Revolutionary War soldiers on the vacant lot, now in imminent danger of redevelopment.
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GRAVES COULD HAVE SURVIVED LANDSCAPE CHANGES
HOW MUCH SPACE WOULD BODIES TAKE ? 2013 map showing survival of portions the original 24 foot high Marylander Hill (compared to surveyed heights in the 1835 USGS Renard Survey and the 1850 New York City Roads Grading Survey by Stodards and Willard Day ). Overlaid on the map is an estimate of the space that would be occupied by 143 to 256 bodies, based on a sketch (see following page) by Henry Wildhack Jr., a local resident interviewed in the 1956 National Parks Service Archaeological Survey. Based on the sketch, the trenches roughly followed a true north/south Christian burial axis. The speculative grave layout ignores any curvature in the hill slope, or a magnetic north alignment.
NEW RESEARCH Portions of the original hill top cemetery may have survived the ravages of urbanization, and state of the art digital aerial photography and LIDAR topographic modeling shows cracks and depressions in the now paved site consistent soil conditions for rows of graves.
The theory that balloon mappers explored in 2012 was wether the different soil compaction from digging graves or covering grave mounds with cobbles would have caused cracks to appear on the concrete slabs covering the trenches as trucks drove over them.
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“The burial trenches used to run in this direction. I think there were 6 of them.”
1956 Henry Wildhack Jr, Trench sketch from 1956 Survey
The 1956 National Parks Survey quoted local resident Henry Wildhack Jr. who remembered finding bones and metal fragments while playing among the rows of burial trenches that stretched up the hill. These would have stretched from 8th to 9th Street, the focus area of the Marylander Green site below.
2010 Aerial showing Trench area, Moses Plan and New Park
ST
WILDHACK TRENCH AREA 8 th
9th
ST
Henry Wildhack Jr, then aged 11, in a 1905 Newspaper photo of the 1897 Marylander Plaque that was on the sidewalk of Third Avenue near 8th Street
In 1947, Parks Commissioner Robert Moses had a rough sketch proposal for a Memorial Park drawn up, (shown in red overlay on this 2010 aerial) but lack of funds prevented implementation. Robert Moses, Park Planner
ST
PROPOSED NEW MARYLANDER GREEN SITE 18
Arnold Newman / Getty Images / W.W. Norton
7 th
3r
dA VE
MOSES ORIGINAL MARYLANDER PARK SITE
Brooklyn Citizen Science at work: 7 July 2012 – Grassroots Mapping aerial of the 170 8th Street “New Park” Site showing an unusual crack pattern; a Grassroots Mapper is simulating space a buried body would occupy.
Using innovative aerial photography equipment borrowed from GLAM (Gowanus Low Altitude Mapping) and Public Lab, independent researchers from the Brooklyn Preservation Council and Proteus explored the entirely speculative theory of the potential survival of revolutionary war graves on an abandoned industrial site associated with the Battle of Brooklyn. Though findings were inconclusive, the pattern of cracks and unusual pattern of cemetery like bumps clearly raised the need for more thorough archeological investigations
The Over My Dead Body Team: Liz Barry, Gena Wirth, Leif Percifield, Eymund Diegel, Sara Dabbs (photographer) 19
July 2012 Balloon “Concrete Crack” Aerial overlaid with 1” topographic contours derived from 2010 NYC LIDAR Digital Elevation Model for the 170 8th Street Site
In the above aerial of the 170 8th Street site, taken from a balloon, Grassroots Mapper Liz Barry demonstrates the space occupied by a grave. Next to her in blue are one inch topographic contours derived from the New York City 2010 LIDAR model.
Curiosity about the unusual balloon photograph crack patterns prompted Eymund Diegel to work with Jarlath O’Neill Dunne, a specialist in LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). Airplanes with LIDAR use high resolution lasers to map minor fluctuations in the terrain elevation.
New York City had just flown a LIDAR digital elevation model (DEM) for the whole city in 2010. This model has a vertical accuracy of a quarter inch. This previously unheard of accuracy allows for minor topographic fluctuations to be highlighted and to pick up clues to slight mounding or depressions on otherwise seemingly flat surfaces.
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Preliminary tests using the LIDAR data shows an unusual one inch fluctuation in the elevation of the concrete slab - hinting at either sub surface colonial building foundations, burial trenches or sloppy concrete work.
0
20 ft
2012 LIDAR STUDY
by Jarlath O’Neill Dunne and Eymund Diegel
ONE INCH TOPOGRAPHIC MAP OF MARYLANDER HILL SITE using 2010 LIDAR high resolution digital elevation model data. A Gowanus Canal Conservancy “Over My Dead Body” Balloon Aerial allows you to compare the scale of a human body with unusual bumps.
The LIDAR micro-topography model flown by the City gives clues to the archaeological history the 170 8th Street lot by mapping minor height fluctuations on the cement slab. A pattern of mounds and depressions appears, which may just be old building footings or sloppy concrete work. Their scale and proportions eerily resemble cobble covered tombs. The mounds roughly follow the “magnetic north” grave orientation of early Christian burial layouts. This layout also matches the Wildhack description in the 1956 Archaeology report, accounting for Marylander Hill’s curvature as shown on the Sproule Map.
The questions of what lies under the concrete slab should be resolved by a subsurface archaeological investigation. 21
FIELD VERIFIED:
“bump” pattern was measured on site and found to be accurate
WHAT OTHER ARGUMENTS ARE THERE FOR COMMEMORATING THE SITE AS A PARK ? 4TH AVE REZONING: MORE PEOPLE
GOWANUS REZONING 1400+ new housing units by 2020
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3R
D
AV E
RE VI TA
LIZ AT IO N
9T H
2010 Population Density within half a mile of proposed Marylander site showing lack of open space
What residents currently have access to: 10 square feet per person
Amount of Open Space per Resident that CEQR City Guidelines call for:100 square feet per person
CURRENT NEED FOR NEW OPEN SPACE FOR EXISTING AND PROJECTED RESIDENTS
This site is a unique opportunity for State and City authorities to restore a commemorative site honoring veterans of America’s 1776 War of Independence and at the same time meet the open space and environmental needs of the growing Park Slope, Sunset Park and Gowanus residential neighborhoods. As per 2010 Census, 8965 people lived within a 1000 feet of the Marylander site.
City standards call for them to have 76 acres of open space. As of 2012, those residents only had access to 6.57 acres.
MORE PEOPLE WILL LIVE HERE Within the Marylander sites half mile radius, the City has upzoned the density for 4th Avenue, with multiple apartment buildings under construction. The Gowanus Canal waterfront has 1400 new residential units planned. With the new hotel rezonings, Gowanus is now a tourism destination, which can be enhanced by developing the areas historical assets.
The New York City Planning Standards outlined in the 2010 City Environmental Quality Review Technical Manual encourage a standard of 2.5 acres of open space within half a mile for every 1000 residents. In 2010, 30,476 people live within half a mile of the Marylander site and around 4600 students.
Because of the residential upzoning, the City needs to provide more open space for new
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residents
THE NEW PARK WOULD BE PART OF THE BROADER REVITALIZATION OF THE WATERSHED
EXISTING OPEN SPACE PROPOSALS
Marylander Green would be a prototype for establishing New York City as the center for America’s Revolution and innovative practices to meet growing environmental challenges.
In August 2013 the first phase of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy’s plan for a network of green spaces to protect the water quality of the Canal was approved. The Sponge Park Plan by dlandstudio is part of a broader vision for the watershed looking at ways sustainable open space practices can enhance the neighborhood’s livability.
The Old Stone House’s pioneering work in promoting a walking guide to the watershed’s historical assets would be reinforced by a coherent watershed plan designing the City’s history into an integrated storm water and recreational greenway system.
This Revolutionary Greenway Heritage Trail would tie the past to its promising future.
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Sherrell Dorsey, 2013
2013 - Mayor Bloomberg at the unveiling of new Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel infrastructure as part of the first steps needed to meet the watershed’s environmental restoration goals.
IT COULD HELP CITY MEET FEDERALLY MANDATED POLLUTION REDUCTION GOALS
2012 - Ate Atema Architects “Street Creek” Concept - a sustainable technique for reducing Gowanus sewer overflows and improving livability of New York City streets by integrating street landscapes and water sensitive urban design new parks.
8T H
ST RE
ET
LESS SEWER OVERFLOWS
TH IR
DA VE
NAG EME N
T
* based on 13,500 ft2 of paving x 4.7 gallons per square foot of annual diluted sewage overflows at CSO OH 007. Overflow data based on 2008 NYCDEP models submitted for the Gowanus Canal 2011 Superfund Remedial Investigation (source: http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/npl/gowanus/ri_docs.html) 24
NI NT H
BET TER STO R MW ATE R MA
ST RE ET
The concrete paving currently on the proposed Marylander Green Community Park site causes an estimated 63,000 gallons of raw sewage overflows into the Gowanus Canal every year. * The proposed Marylander Park would be a flagship site for testing new on site stormwater management techniques for City Parks to help develop more sustainable landscapes and reduce water pollution impacts.
Play Pump Watershed Plan
Should the Marylander Site be found to have no archaeological remains, it would be a prime site for implementing federally mandated clean water goals required by the 2013 Gowanus Canal Superfund Cleanup Plan
MATCHING AMERICA’S AMBITIONS The Gowanus Canal Conservancy has been leading watershed planning efforts to explore ideas for improving the Brooklyn’s waterfronts environmental health. This includes studying techniques for diverting rainwater out of the streets overloaded sewer systems, and back to more “natural” water sensitive urban designs. This includes Rain Gardens, Bioswales, Play Pump parks and “street creeks”. As part of an independent inventory by Eymund Diegel of open space sites suitable for new community parks and stormwater studies, the Marylander Park was identified as a key open space water management site.
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As part of the 2013 Gowanus Watershed Plan, under development, rainwater flows that cause sewage pollution are being modeled. Because many of the City’s playgrounds were built on damp land and buried streams, there is an opportunity to install rainwater catchment cisterns under City parks and playgrounds, Children playing on merry-go-round pumps would bring the water back out to Green Streets after the storm. Though potentially restricted by burial sites, the proposed Marylander Park site has an excellent watershed catchment area. Cheaper rain tanks would avoid more expensive federally mandated sewer tanks in the Gowanus flood zone.
G OW A N U S C A NA L WHOLE FOODS PA R K
1
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M A RY L A N D E R GREEN
The Battle of Brooklyn Gowanus Canal Revolutionary Trail & Greenway
CREATING VISIONS OF THE FUTURE Gowanus by Design, a planning group, and Proteus Gowanus, a cultural arts group, have made design and planning resources available for students and professionals exploring design ideas for the Gowanus watershed.
This has resulted in a whole library and archive of innovative thinking about where new community open space amenities should go, and what forms they should take.
Masters student Edward Mazzer of Architectural Institute of the University of Venice, Italy did a study of the Hall of
P OW E R H O U S E E N V I R O N M E N TA L ARTS CENTER
OLD S TO N E HOUSE
2013 planning concept by Edward Mazzer
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2013 Concept by Edward Mazzer, Venice, Italy
the Gowanus resources and proposed these logical connections between the Gowanus 1776 Battle of Brooklyn sites.
He was focused on creating logical flows of water across the landscape and designed “flood parks� that would help reduce the impact of future climate change. The flow of water largely mimics the movements of soldiers in 1776. Whole Foods now draws hundreds of cars, creating increasing traffic safety issues for walking school children and bicyclists. The pedestrian greenway concepts should open up community debate on a more livable neighborhood. The Marylander Green Community Park would be a step in that direction.
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Perspective view from 8th Street
Plan View
View from inside Marylander Memorial
2013 Marylander Memorial Concept, by Edward Mazzer WHAT FORM SHOULD THE PARK TAKE ?
Edward Mazzer of Architectural Institute of the University of Venice, Italy is proposing a traditional memorial, an enclosed place of silence and reflection.
The final design would be determined by an International Design Competition, with the brief written up through a community participatory design process.
A PLACE OF LIFE Children playing on "Fat Man" the nuclear bomb which exploded in Nagasaki. Trinity Test Site Park, Alamogardo desert, New Mexico
A PLACE OF CONTEMPLATION The Vietnam War Memorial and lawn in Washington DC, designed by Maya Lin
1992, Reneﾌ。urri, Magnum
Others may feel that the space should be one focused on the rich layers of industrial history that have washed over the site. Those with children may want it to be a place of play and life, reshaped to meet community needs.
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2009, Susanne Ambﾃｼhler-Hauenstein
Perspective view from 9th Street
2013 planning concept by Edward Mazzer
1
2
OLD STONE HOUSE / FIFTH STREET BASIN GREENWAY
2014 Street Creek Study for Washington Park to the Gowanus Canal to the 5th Street Basin via 3rd Street and 5th Street
May 4 1933 Excavation of the Old Stone House from under 25 feet of landfill (Bettman / Corbis archives)
DREAMING BIG: LOOKING AT THE PAST AND PLANNING A BETTER FUTURE
In 1933, When the remnants of the 1699 Vechte / Cortelyou were excavated, no one thought the Old Stone House would one day become a leading center for the cultural revival of Brooklyn and a key open space amenity.
In 2012, no one thought that there would ever be a waterfront esplanade on the Gowanus Canal Superfund Site, with coffee tables serving gourmet locavore food.That is now a reality.
The best way to honor the sacrifices of the first soldiers who fought and died for the American Revolution is to carry on their ambitions of making their home a better place for their descendants. 28
June 8 2013 view of Conservancy balloon mappers next to the under construction Whole Foods park and the proposed reconstructed Vechte’s Marsh wetlands
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POWERHOUSE ENVIRONMENTAL ARTS CENTER
The Battle of Long Island at Denton’s Mill, 27 August 1776, painted in 1858 by Alonzo Chappel The footprint of the tidal mill sits directly in the Gowanus Canal First Street Basin, part of the Superfund Site being restored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The First Street Basin site is being studied by Superfund Plan’s Community Advisory Group for redevelopment as a Community Ecological Park and Water Education Center for local schools. It could include a reconstruction of the historical tidal mill. It would be part of a Gowanus Bicycle Shweeb connected network of Community Resources, from the Hall of the Gowanus (Brouwers Mill at Union St), to the Old Stone House at Third Street and the Marylander Green Center at Third Ave.
FIRST STREET BASIN MEMORIAL WATER PARK & EDUCATION CENTER ANOTHER FIRE: “The ancient mill which stood beside the old penny bridge, opposite Fisherman's Hall, and known as "Freek's Mill", was last night burned down. For a number of years past nothing has been done by this mill, and it stood on the edge of the creek a crazy old skeleton, looking like a melancholy relic of olden times; and looking down at its decaying features reflected in the waters of the creek, as if it had half a notion to drown itself. Some person, however, set it on fire last night, unless like the Phoenix, it collected a few stray beams of sunshine in the evening to light it's own funeral pyre, and expired in the aromatic flames. Peace to its ashes. Its life not being insured, it has left Mssrs. Brady and Fish to bewail its fate.
The fire caused quite an illumination, and must have astonished the eels and crabs in the old creek - although we have not heard that any of the former were "frightened out of their skins." THE PHOENIX RISING Brooklyn Eagle, April 4 1851
“The old creek's banks have been sheathed with concrete and its waters are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. It is an urban cesspool which local residents sometimes call, in the blackest of humor, “Lavender Lake”. Men fought and died here as part of our American Revolution.
To date, we have honored them with our sewage.
PO EN WE AR VIR RH TS ON OU CE ME SE NT NT ER AL
We can as a nation do better than that and I sincerely hope that this subcommittee will give serious consideration to including at least a few hundred acres of land around the former creek bed in the Gateway National Recreational Area”
John H. Lindenbush, executive director, Long Island Historical Society, 1972
at the Hearings before the Subcommittee on National Parks and Recreation of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, House of Representatives 92nd Congress, First Session on H.R. 1370 and H.R. 1121 and Related Bills (1972, p. 160) as quoted in Nevins Street Stage Archaeological Survey (Red Hook Water Pollution Control Project, Brooklyn, NY) by Ralph S. Solecki, Phd, May 10 1977
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Pensive on Her Dead Gazing by Walt Whitman (1819-1892) Pensive on her dead gazing I heard the Mother of All, Desperate on the torn bodies, on the forms covering the battlefields gazing, (As the last gun ceased, but the scent of the powder-smoke linger'd,) As she call'd to her earth with mournful voice while she stalk'd, Absorb them well O my earth, she cried, I charge you lose not my sons, lose not an atom, And you streams absorb them well, taking their dear blood, And you local spots, and you airs that swim above lightly impalpable, And all you essences of soil and growth, and you my rivers' depths, And you mountain sides, and the woods where my dear children's blood trickling redden'd, And you trees down in your roots to bequeath to all future trees, My dead absorb or South or North--my young men's bodies absorb, and their precious precious blood, Which holding in trust for me faithfully back again give me many a year hence, In unseen essence and odor of surface and grass, centuries hence, In blowing airs from the fields back again give me my darlings, give my immortal heroes, Exhale me them centuries hence, breathe me their breath, let not an atom be lost, O years and graves! O air and soil! O my dead, an aroma sweet! Exhale them perennial sweet death, years, centuries hence.
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Old and New - The Connection
Fred Plaut, 1955 “The Family of Man” The Museum of Modern Art, New York
It is entirely possible that ground penetrating radar and archaeological excavations of the Marylander site find nothing.
However, as the sole remaining ground that has remained unchanged from the ravages of hill cutting and valley filling, the new Park site should then remain as a symbol of the constancy of memory – that the soldiers who gave their life for America mattered. 31
The Marylander Memorial Committee of the Brooklyn Preservation Council is made up of Bob Furman, Holly Fuchs, Kathryn Krase, Eymund Diegel and Buddy Salvatore Scotto. Research work and advice that went into this proposal stemmed from many invaluable community resources, in particular:
The Old Stone House www.theoldstonehouse.org Proteus Gowanus http://proteusgowanus.org/
The Gowanus Canal Conservancy www.gowanuscanalconservancy.org
Balloon Observation from the childrens book “Rambles in Lands of Fact and Fancy�, by Frank R Stockton, 1910
Public Lab provides Citizen Technology to make local ideas come true.
To find out more how Public Lab can support your community project visit: www.publiclab.org 32
Appendix 1a - 2013 Draft Budget for the Marylander Green Memorial Park
from Georgia Fraser’s 1909 “The Old Stone House” 1776 “Tobacco” currency used to pay Continental Army Soldiers 2012 “Available” Sign for 170 8th Street from the Gowanus Canal Conservancy “Over My Dead Body” Expedition
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST ?
PRELIMINARY ESTIMATE: $ 6.5 MILLION
A detailed cost estimate is outside of the scope of this proposal and would be prepared by qualified property assessors, park planners and the property owners once further Federal State and City support for the Memorial Park Planning Commission has developed. Approximate figures given here are for general discussion only. For the purposes of cost estimates, two Park development scenarios are being studied. The Memorial Park Scenario One is the immediate one being proposed for funding.
started on the future role of the Veterans parking lot and the 203 9th Street lot. The focus would be on their potential archaeological value as further grave repositories, and how these sites could support operations park operations, such as accommodating school tour groups and a future museum. This hypothetical land scenario could totals 20,485 square feet (ft2) or $7.2 million in land costs, and would be coordinated with existing Battle of Brooklyn exhibits at the Old Stone House.
MEMORIAL PARK SCENARIO ONE: Acquisition of
Gowanus land values have been climbing, ranging from $350 per ft2 to $550 for vacant lots and abandoned industrial spaces. The 170 8th Street lot has been abandoned for decades, and being a former chemical factory site and with it’s reputation as a sensitive archaeological site it faces development restrictions.
the vacant 170 8th Street 13,500 feet square (ft2) vacant lot, the site with the most archaeological and commemorative potential. LAND ACQUISITION At $350 per ft2, the 170 8th Street lot’s land acquisition costs is estimated at around $4.75 million.
PARK COSTS The High Line, currently one of the most expensive and successful urban parks in New York is 296,000 ft2 and cost $172 million, or $580 per ft2. Marylander Green Park, if designed to a similar level, would cost $12 million. In contrast, the price for the recently approved 15,000 ft2 Second Street Gowanus Sponge Park is $1.5 million or $100 per ft2. This would put the 20,000 ft2 Marylander Green Park construction costs in the $1.5 to 2 million range. Final costs would be a function of the design competition proposal and what Federal, State, City and community stakeholders decide is appropriate to commemorate America’s First Veterans. These stakeholders would set up a Planning Commission who would develop detailed planning and Park development contracts. This Commission would require additional funding as a percentage of the final park cost.
SITE INVESTIGATIONS To establish the archaeological value of the site, it will be necessary to clear it of it’s cement covering. Site clearing: This will cost around $50,000 for concrete removal. As the site’s eventual park plan would conform to LEED sustainability development standards, this cost would be lower as removed concrete slabs would be stored on site for eventual reusing in park landforming. This would also protect the archaeological site during incremental investigation. Final costs will be a function of contractor bids. Archaeological investigations: Preliminary site survey estimate: $50,000 This would include the hiring of a professional team of archaeologists to do a preliminary excavation survey. See the Appendix for the typical tasks that would be covered. Expanded archaeological costs and further studies would be a function of the preliminary survey findings. If no military relics are found, for example, if graves have been relocated, or if cemetery is a colonial one of early farmers and slaves, then the site would become a Battle of Brooklyn park on a purely commemorative basis. The Memorial Park Scenario One including new Park construction is estimated to cost around $6.5 million. (see Appendix for details)
HYPOTHETICAL MUSEUM SCENARIO TWO:
If the Archaeological Investigation finds the Marylander graves, then an expanded park will be considered. Working with the America Legion directives, a discussion would be
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COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP SCENARIO Assuming Federal, State or City acquisition of the site, an immediate alternate scenario would be to work with existing local community stewards such as the Gowanus Canal Conservancy and the Old Stone House to preserve the site and develop the site as an interim open space within the much lower cost parameters of the City’s Citizen’s Participatory Budget system. This would protect the site from imminent redevelopment threats and allow a phased and incremental memorial park and education space, meeting budget constraints and community needs.
Appendix 1b - 2013 Draft Budget for the Marylander Green Memorial Park
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT BUDGET: MARYLANDER MEMORIAL PARK Costs: Preliminary Rough Estimate:
$ 6.5 Million
1. Land Acquisition: 13,500 Sq. ft. 170 Eighth Street (191-201 Ninth Street) based on prevailing area rates of $350/sq.ft) (1) 2. Archaeological Study (2)
3. Concrete Removal 4. Construction Costs (3) NYS/NYC 5. Overhead Charge (@ 20%) (4)
Projected Funding Source:
$4,750.000
Commonwealth of Maryland
$50,000 $1,350,000
New York City / New York State New York City / New York State
$47,400
$280,000
Total
$6,477,400
Total New York State / NYC Costs
$1,727.400
Footnotes
1. Additional property may be added.
2. Preliminary examination. Courtesy of Chrysalis Archaeology. Discovery of human remains will require an additional complex study along with decisions about disposition and possible relocation.
3. Estimated at $100.00/sq.ft. as per 2nd Street Sponge Park construction costs.
4. Rough budget estimate for a Marylander Park Planning Commission made up of stakeholders for design, planning and construction management
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New York City / New York State
New York City / New York State Maryland / NYS / NYC
New York City / New York State
Appendix 1c - 2013 Draft Property Parcels being studied for the Marylander Green Memorial Park PROPOSED PARK SITE LOT DESCRIPTIONS & POTENTIAL FUTURE STUDY SITES Based on the latest historical findings, the proposed Marylander Park and archaeological site will be made up of one key parcels and a potentially 2 other future study parcels:
Study Area Site 2 (continued)
PRINCIPAL PARCEL UNDER CONSIDERATION
Reason for interest: Should archaeological study of Site 1 find Revolutionary War burial relics, study of historical maps indicate possibility that graves as described by Wildhack sketches could have extended across Veterans Parking Lot. Such archaeological findings would also trigger further site studies of lots on opposite side of 9th street near subway bridge, based on studies by William J. Parry.
Former Use: Church, Cemetery Zoning: Commercial, C2-4
Site 1: The Marylander Hill Park Site 170 8th Street, Brooklyn Brooklyn Block 1003 Lot 11
alternate addresses: 197 to 201 9th Street.
Size: 13,500 feet square, 75 feet x 180 feet vacant lot
Proposed Use under study: To be determined. Currently parking for Veterans Post. If Park is developed, discussions and study would be initiated with current owners as to how they would like their existing commemorative structures to be integrated with the new Park design. This could include redesign of lot to facilitate periodic school bus access for student tour groups and commemorative activities.
Ownership: Derby Textile Corp / the Fried Family
Estimated NYC Dept of Finance land value : $1,620,000 Estimated market value: $4,750,000 Former Use: Knitting Mill, Chemical Factory, Cemetery Zoning: Residential Vacant Land R6A, R6B
Study Area Site 3
Proposed Use: Memorial Park and playground
203 9th Street, Brooklyn
Depending on results of archaeological survey, two other sites have been flagged for being of potential historical and logistical interest.
Brooklyn Block 1003 Lot 59,
A one story 4,545 industrial building (50.5 x 90 ft)
Any proposals developed for these sites would be entirely driven by the current property owners’ interests.
Ownership: 203 9th Street Associates Current Use: Parking
Study Area Site 2
Estimated NYC Dept of Finance land value : $1,000,878 (not market value)
193 9th Street, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Block 1003 Lot 64
Reason for interest: Park Maintenance support facility, Museum, Industrial History or Cultural Community Center, potentially archaeologically sensitive site.
American Legion / Rawley Veterans Post 1636 Parking Lot
Size: Total for Veterans lot: 40.75 x 180 feet, or 7335 ft 2, 4278 ft 2 for parking lot (40.75 x 105 feet)
Proposed Use under study: Environmental Stewardship Center for local groups such as the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Gowanus Alliance and other local community groups as part of Marylander Park Maintenance Plan. Note: This parcel was recently sold in late 2013, and may now be unvailable. This underscores the urgency of this preservation effort.
Ownership: MA Rawley Junior Veterans Post
Estimated Value: $919,671 (NYCDOF), lot plus building) (not market value)
Zoning: R6A
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Appendix 2 - Potential Financial Stakeholders
COMPETING USES FOR THE SITE. In 2012 the New School Construction Authority considered the site for a school for Park Slope’s growing student population. It retained TRC Senior Project Manager Charles Guder to do soil borings on the site and it retained Elizabeth Meade of AKRF Archaeological Consultants to review the historical significance of the site. Based on reviewing the soil borings, sampling less than one square foot of the site’s soils, as survey was designed for a hazardous materials assessment, not an archaeological study, AKRF found no archaeological evidence of burials. (see appendix for details)
New York State Council for the Arts supports the Old Stone House commemoration programs and the expansion of their cultural activities.
New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection Green Infrastructure Plan Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Gowanus Canal Superfund Cleanup Program the City of New York is being asked to provide $78 million in necessary sewer tank infrastructure improvements to prevent toxic overflows to the Canal. The City is challenging that decision. The City’s Green Infrastructure Plan is being presented as a more sustainable opportunity, opening the possibility of integrating Marylander Park with a lower cost system of better storm water management for the upslope sections of the Gowanus watershed.
Because of it’s proximity to the desirable Park Slope neighborhood, and it’s strategic location between the 4th Avenue residential densification corridor and the emerging Gowanus Third Avenue entertainment and restaurant district, the site is a prime candidate for high density residential development.
New York City Dept of Park’s & Recreation / City Parks Foundation Partners New York City has teamed up with community organizations to improve open spaces for New Yorkers. Both the Trust for Public Land and the New York Restoration Project have funded open space improvements in the Gowanus Watershed.
OWNERS: Derby Textile Corp / the Fried Family / William Fried, President - 1 718 628 6300 (for “Marylander Site” 170 8th Street, Brooklyn, alternate addresses: 197 to 201 9th St. Brooklyn Block 1003 Lot 11)
New York City Dept of Cultural Affairs is the largest cultural funding agency in the nation, and supports Battle of Brooklyn commemoration events and programs.
FUNDING SOURCES If an archaeological investigation finds the site to hold remains of Battle of Brooklyn soldiers, it would legally become a federal military cemetery.
Brooklyn Arts Council supports Arts and Media related to history and cultural outreach
American Missing Soldiers Fund The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) is responsible for recovering and preserving the remains of America’s soldiers. Though focused on more recent wars, it has dealt with Civil War and Revolutionary War remains. As America’s First Federal Military Cemetery, the site warrants special consideration.
Private and Corporate Donors A number of private and community groups have stepped forward to support open space and commemorative projects in the Watershed
American Battlefields Protection Program This National Park Service program supports projects that protect battlefields and sites associated with battle fields, but does not fund land acquisition or capital improvement projects. In 2011, Senator Charles E. Schumer promoted United States legislation S.916 to promote the purchase of threatened Continental Army sites in New York State.
Brooklyn Community Foundation Green Communities Fund has funded the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative.
Powerhouse Environmental Arts Foundation recently acquired the Dentons Mill site, another suspected Revolutionary War soldier burial ground, adjacent to the First Street Gowanus Canal Basin.
Maryland Historic Trust As most of the soldiers interred at the proposed Park site were from the Maryland Regiment, State of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has written a letter offering support for proper commemoration of the Marylander’s role in the American Revolution.
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Appendix 3 - Potential Community Stakeholders
STAKEHOLDERS & COMMUNITY DIRECTORY Below are people or organizations who have worked on Marylander Park research or have contributed to our discussion of Brooklyn cultural arts and open space issues. Their name here in no way implies support of this proposal and are purely contacts for people seeking further comment and research discussion. This list is in no ways complete, and is being continously expanded as part of the Marylander Memorial Committee’s outreach efforts. You can contact Bob Furman - bobfurman1@juno.com or Eymund Diegel eymund@gmail.com to be added to this outreach directory and be notified of plan developments.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS Chrysalis Archaeology - www.chrysalisarchaeology.com Chris Ricciardi -cricciardi@chrysalisarchaeology.com Alyssa Loorya - aloorya@chrysalisarchaeology.com - did Marylander Research for FROGG in 2012
The Old Stone House www.theoldstonehouse.org - organize archives and events related to the Battle of Brooklyn and Marylander commemoration Kim Maier - oldstonehouse@verizon.net Peter Joseph - peterljoseph@gmail.com William Parry - wparry@hunter.cuny.edu Proteus Gowanus http://proteusgowanus.org/ - organize Battle of Brooklyn themed art events and run the Hall of the Gowanus, a community digital historical resource archive info@proteusgowanus.org Sasha Chavchavadze - sashachav@gmail.com Angela Kramer - krangela64@gmail.com Tamara Pittman - tamarappittman@gmail.com Eymund Diegel - eymund@gmail.com Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG) http://froggbrooklyn.org/ - works to protect its industrial heritage and support its innovative and creative future. Recently completed a major industrial and historical values study of the Gowanus. Marlene Donnely - studio460@msn.com Linda Mariano - joeandlinda393@aol.com
AKRF Cultural Resources - www.akrf.com Elizabeth Meade - emeade@akrf.com - Marylander Research for School Construction Authority in 2013 Hunter Research - www.hunterresearch.com Patrick Harshbarger - pharshbarger@hunterresearch.com - did Marylander Research for the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2012
Brooklyn Preservation Council promotes Brooklyn historical commemoration and preservation. Bob Furman, President - bobfurman1@hotmail.com Buddy Scotto, Board Chair - livery2000@aol.com Eymund Diegel - eymund@gmail.com Holly Fuchs - fuchs@hotmail.com Kathryn Krase, Katkrase@aol.com
US Army Corps of Engineers Lynn Rakos - lrakos@hotmail.com , RCSIAprez@aol.com - has done research on historically sensitive sites around the Gowanus Canal
Global Gazetteer of the American Revolution http://gaz.jrshelby.com/ - collects and archives research material pertaining to the Battle of Brooklyn and the American Revolution John Robertson - rwmapper@gmail.com
Brooklyn College - Anthropology & Archaeology Arthur Bankoff - abankoff brooklyn.cuny.edu - did Marylander Research on 8th Street site area in 1998
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Amanda Sutphin, Director of Archaeology asutphin@lpc.nyc.gov - reviews and promotes historical and archaeological research on Gowanus watershed development projects
Joseph Alexiou - joseph.alexiou@gmail.com http://www.josephalexiou.com/ - writing book on history of the Gowanus Canal
COMMUNITY GROUPS Gowanus Canal Conservancy www.gowanuscanalconservancy.org The Conservancy facilitates the environmental health of the Gowanus Canal and its watershed by serving as a trusted resource and guiding the vision and transformation of the watershed with respect for the history of the community. Hans Hesselein - hans@gowanuscanalconservancy.org Andy Simons - andy@gowanuscanalconservancy.org
Hunter College Anthropology Department William J Parry - wparry@hunter.cuny.edu - does Battle of Brooklyn research with the Old Stone House, and southern 10th Street sections of Marylander Hill. Brooklyn Borough Historian Ron Schweiger - bklynremembered@aol.com HISTORICAL RESEARCH GROUPS
Brooklyn Historical Society - maintain archival resources and organize events on Brooklyn history Jacob Nadal - jnadal@brooklynhistory.org Jim Rossman - jimrossman@nyc.rr.com Bill Coleman - wrcoleman@gmail.com,
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Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation www.gowanus.org Bill Appel – Executive Director bill@gowanus.org Joseph Messineo – Board Chairman, 718-858-0557
Gowanus Alliance www.gowanusalliance.org - Local property owners and businesses promoting the enhancement and development of the Gowanus Neighborhood, including the improvements of it’s open spaces, in particular Ennis Playground. Paul Basile - gowanusalliance@gmail.com
Appendix 3 - Potential Community Stakeholders (continued) Gowanus By Design www.gowanusbydesign.com Gowanus by Design is a community-based non-profit urban design advocacy. Working with the area’s stakeholders Gbd organizes design competitions to visualize the areas potential. David Briggs - dbriggs@gowanusbydesign.com Anthony Deen - Adeen@gowanusbydesign.com Eymund Diegel - eymund@gmail.com Friends of Sunset Park http://friendsofsunsetpark-brooklyn.blogspot.com - promotes neighborhood quality of life issues in Sunset Park Maria Roca - friendsofsunsetpark@yahoo.com United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park - UPROSE www.uprose.org Elizabeth Yeampierre - Info@UPROSE.org
Park Slope Neighbors www.parkslopeneighbors.org - A neighborhood organization committed to the protection and enhancement of quality of life in Park Slope, Brooklyn Eric McClure - eric@parkslopeneighbors.org 8th Street Block Association Association of residents and merchants on Eighth Street between Third and Fourth Avenue Julius Lang - - juliuslang@gmail.com Gowanus 8th Street Block Association Association of residents and merchants on Eighth Street between Third and Second Avenue Kathryn Krase, Katkrase@aol.com American Legion Rawley Veterans Post 1636 Veterans Post adjacent to the Marylander Burial Ground Michael Gandia, Post Commander Philip J Dugan - (718) 788-3499 Peter de Angelis - pjdeangelis@gmail.com Prisco de Angelis - priscopete@live,com
MEDIA WHO COVER GOWANUS HISTORY ISSUES
Print Media Gary Buiso - GBuiso@nypost.com - NY Post writer writing on Marylanders B’klyn hunt for sprit of 1776 soldiers - 2012 Justin Burke - jburke@sorosny.org - NY Times writer and Gowanus resident covering Battle of Brooklyn events Seeking Brooklyn’s Lost Mass Grave - 2012
Film makers Madeline Gordon - mrgordon88@gmail.com Philip Shane - drhundertwasser@mac.com - doing ongoing documentary on Marylanders and community efforts to find them. Matt Koed - bdkpictures@yahoo.com - documentary film maker interested in doing Marylander Archaeology documentary as dig develops.
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Bloggers Katia Kelly - pardonmeinbrooklyn@gmail.com - Pardon Me For Asking blog which covers neighborhood history issues Benjamin Aufill - GowanusYourFaceOff@gmail.com - Gowanus Your Face Off blog, which has covered Marylander Burial Ground developments The Dead May Have Been Awoken - 2012
Appendix 4 - Potential Political Community Stakeholders
POLITICAL STAKEHOLDERS
The proposed Marylander Green Memorial Park is in: Brooklyn Community District 306 Craig Hammerman City Council District 39 Brad Lander NY Assembly District 51 Felix W. Ortiz NY Senate District 25 Velmanette Montgomery Congressional 12th District Nydia Margarita Velázquez US Senate 20th District Chuck Schumer
Andrew Cuomo, Governor Executive Chamber, Albany, N.Y. 12227 633 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 Greg Smiley, Regional Representative, 212-681-4566 Greg.smiley@exec.ny.gov. Marty Golden, New York State Senator (22) 403 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11209, 718-238-6044, golden@nysenate.gov Anthony Testaverde, staff Testaver@nyssenate.gov Eric Adams, New York State Senator (20) (until 12, 31, 2013) 1669 Bedford Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11225 718-284-4700, eadams@senate.state.ny.us Kevin S. Parker ,New York State Senator (21) parker@senate.state.ny.us Velmanette Montgomery, New York State Senator (25) montgome@senate.state.ny.us Daniel L. Squadron, New York State Senator (26) squadron@senate.state.ny.us Philip A. Perazio, New York State Div. for Historic Preservation Philip.Perazio@oprhp.state.ny.us Christina B. Rieth, New York State Museum crieth@mail.nysed.gov
Brooklyn
Craig Hammerman, Brooklyn Community Board 6 districtmanager@brooklyncb6.org Jerry Armer, CB6 contact on Archaeology issues at Superfund Community Advisory Group - jjarmer@yahoo.com Kevin Jeffrey, Brooklyn Parks Commissioner kevin.jeffrey@parks.nyc.gov Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President marty@brooklynbp.nyc.gov Elizabeth Koch, Borough Arts & Culture ekoch@brooklynbp.nyc.gov
New York City
Bill de Blasio, Mayor info@billdeblasio.com Michael Bloomberg, Mayor (until 12, 31, 2013) mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov Christine Quinn, NYC Council Speaker (until 12, 31, 2013) cquinn@council.nyc.gov
State of Maryland
Martin O’ Malley, Governor, State of Maryland http://www.governor.maryland.gov/mail/ Charles Scheller, Special Assistant, Charles.Scheller@maryland.gov James A. Adkins, Major General. Adjutant General of Maryland National Guard James.aadkins@comcast.net
City Councilmembers
Sarah M. Gonzáles, District 38 Councilperson (until 12, 31, 2013) sgonzalez@council.nyc.gov (note as of January 2013, District 38 administrative boundaries were shifted to exclude the proposed Marylander Green site) Stephen T. Levin, District 33 Councilperson SLevin@council.nyc.gov Lisa Bloodgood, Levin Community Liason district33pb@gmail.com Brad Lander, District 39 Councilperson 456 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215, 718-499-1090 CLander@council.nyc.gov (note as of January 2013, District 39 administrative boundaries were shifted to include the proposed Marylander Green site) Jonah Blumstein, Lander Community Liaison jblumstein@council.nyc.gov
US Federal Agencies
United States Environmental Protection Agency Christos Tsiamis, Gowanus Canal Superfund Site tsiamis.christos@epa.gov National Parks Service, Archaeology Program DCA@nps.gov Lee Tucker. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command Pao_mail@jpac.pacom.mil
US Senate
Chuck Schumer (SD 20) 780 Third Avenue, Ste. 2301, New York, N.Y. 10017, 718-486-4430 Nicholas_Martin@schumer.senate.gov Kirsten Gillibrand (SD 20) 780 Third Avenue, Ste. 2601, New York, N.Y. 10017 sam_cooper@Gillibrand.senate.gov
City Stakeholders
Veronica White, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner veronicawhite@parks.nyc.gov Carter Strickland, New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner cstrickland@dep.nyc.gov
US Congress
Nydia Margarita Velázquez 16 Court Street, Suite 1006, 718-222-5819 Nydia.Velazquez@mail.house.gov Dan Wiley, Community Liason Daniel.Wiley@mail.house.gov
State Stakeholders
Gary Kline, NYSDEC, Water, NYC Municipal Compliance gekline@gw.dec.state.ny.us Felix W. Ortiz, New York State Assemblyperson (51) ortizf@assembly.state.ny.us Joan Millman, New York State Assemblyperson (52) 3 4 1 Sm i t h Street, Brooklyn, NY millmaj@assembly.state.ny.us Anne Strahle, Millman Chief of Staff , Strahlea@assembly.state.ny.us, 718- 246- 4889
New York State
Barack Hussein Obama www.whitehouse.gov/contact former Park Slope resident, and descendent of the Wright family, several of whose members participated in the Battle of Brooklyn, and may be buried at the Marylander site. 39
Appendix 5 - Bibliography & Research References ARCHIVES
Brooklyn Historical Society Battle of Long Island, Maryland soldiers memorial collection, 1869 – 1957 Marylander Mass Grave Archive 2013 John Robertson BOOKS
Col. Atlee’s Journal of the Battle of Long Island, August 26, 1776 by Samuel John. Atlee in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, pp.509-516. 1879
The Maryland 400 at the Cortelyou House, Brooklyn; The Action and Burial Site, US National Park Service Report to Congress 21 May 1957
Revolutionary Incidents of Suffolk and King's County, Henry Onderdonk, 1849
The Battle of Brooklyn, 1776 by John J. Gallagher, Da Capo Press, 1995
The 1776 Battle Diaries of Joseph Plumb Martin 1776 (via Marlene Donnelly of FROGG, 2013)
Nevins Street Archaeological Survey, by Ralph Solecki, 1977
A History of the City of Brooklyn by Henry R. Stiles, 1867
Life at the Old Stone House: A History of a Farm and its Occupants by William Parry, Brooklyn, 2000
Historic and Antiquarian Scenes in Brooklyn, by TW Fields 1868
The Battle of Long Island, with Connected Preceding Events, and the Subsequent American Retreat [Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society, Vol. II], Brooklyn: Long Island Historical Society, 1869, Thomas W. Field. The Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn by Henry P. Johnston, Brooklyn, 1878
The Social History of Flatbush: Manners and Customs of the Dutch Settlers in Kings County by Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt, 1881
The Old Stone House by Georgia Fraser, 1909
The Battle for New York: The City at the Heart of the American Revolution by Barnet Schecter, 2002.
The Maryland 400 In The Battle Of Long Island, 1776 by Linda Davis Reno, McFarland Publishers, 2008 Forgotten Patriots: the Untold Story of American Prisoners during the Revolutionary War by Edwin G. Burrows, 2008
Gowanus Canal Corridor Rezoning Cultural Resource Assessment, Louis Berger Group, 2009
The Battle of Brooklyn, August 27-29,1776 A Walking Guide to Sites and Monuments by The Old Stone House and Washington Park, 2012
Archaeological Sensitivity Study - Gowanus Canal USEPA / Hunter Research, James Lee, Patrick Harshbarger, Richard Hunter, 2012
Brooklyn’s Neglected Battle Ground by Charles M. Higgins, 1910
The Wallabout Prison-Ships, 1776- 1783 Armbruster, Eugene, 1920
Guide Book, to the Noted Places on Long Island, Historical and otherwise by Armbruster, Eugene, (1925)
Historical Orientation Report for Archaeological Investigation, Marylanders’ Burial Site, Brooklyn, New York, by the U.S. National Parks Service 1956
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The Marylander Burial Ground by Robert Furman, 2013 FILMS
The Brave Man, Directed by Joseph McCarthy, 2002 Brave Man Curriculum Guide
REFERENCES (continued)
NEWSPAPER & WEB ARTICLES The Battle of Brooklyn
LIDAR and Archaeological Mapping
The Most Forlorn Military Gravesite in the Nation Baltimore Sun, Frank D. Roylance, 1886
LIDAR Technology:With Flyovers, a Solar Map of New York New York Times, Mireya Navarro, 2012
Brooklyn's Unknown Soldiers: The Long, Uncertain Search for the Maryland Dead The Phoenix, Robert E. Murphy,1998
Revolutionizing Archaeology: Flying Lasers Reveal Buried Historical Structures Der Spiegel, Markus Becker, 2012
1776 Graves Site Elusive In B'klyn New York Daily News, Robert Fisk, 1998
Grassroots Mapping techniques for finding Marylander Gowanus Grave Sites Eymund Diegel, GEONYC 2013 Meetup
Fire Sparks Focus On Rebel War Graves New York Daily News, Bob Liff, 1998
Washington Fought Here; Who Knew?; On 225th Anniversary, Battle of Brooklyn Is Little-Known Chapter New York Times, Elliott Rebhun, 2001 Urban Environmentalist NYC: Slope-Gowanus Burial Ground Revealed Bobgusskind.com Ruth Edebohls, 2008 Two Groups To Help Lay Historic Trail Daily News, Bill Farrell, 2012
A Precious Hour in American History - The Maryland 400 at Long Island, Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, Tom Milmore, 2012 The British Invasion… Again: The Mystery Of The Missing Marylanders' Grave The Awl, Robert Sullivan 2012 Ausgegraben - Neues aus der Archäologie Looking For Brooklyn’s Lost Marylander Grave Der Spiegel, Angelika Franz, 2012 (in German)
La Bataille de Long Island Battle of Long Island Toy solder simulation by the Bourg en Bresse Youth History Games Club (in French and English)
Gli Inglesi Stanno Arrivando ! (The British are Coming) Battle of Long Island wargame simulation (In Italian and English) Without Gowanus There Would Be No America Joseph Alexiou, TEDx 2014 Inspiring Community Event (video being posted soon)
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Appendix 6 - Draft List of 1776 Battle of Brooklyn Casualties SOLDIERS IN THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN
This is only a partial list.
A comprehensive review of regimental records and casualty lists will be part of the Marylander Park Memorial Project
Maryland Soldiers at the Battle of Long Island, August 1776 Courtesy Battle of Long Island Memorial Committee MARYLAND 400 Major Mordecai Gist Commanding
First Company John Hoskins Stone, Captain Daniel Bowie, 1st Lt. John Kidd, 2nd Lt. James Ferandis, Sgt. John Mitchell, Sgt. Samuel Jones, Sgt. Charles Smith, Sgt. Thomas Simpson, Corporal William Courts, Cadet Henry Ridgely, Cadet James Sims, Sr., Corporal Samuel Hanson, Corporal Samuel McPherson, Corporal Henry Walworth, Drummer Dennis Broderick, Fifer Privates Andrew Ross Lindsay Andrew Green Sims Thmas Norris Ignatius Doyglass William Smoot Edmund Cox William Wheatly John Boen John Hopson John Adams Thosm. JWay Connell Joseph Cheatham James Thompson Samuel Thompson John Plant Thomas Smith Jonathan Chunn George Thomas James Sims, Jer. Samuel Wheatly Bernard Nash John McPherson Clement Edelen Patrick Brady
John Wiley James Adams Hugh Tomlin Amos Green Christr. Brumbargher Thomas Simpkins Elisha Everit Thos Conner John Russel John Edelin Danl. Rankins James Perry Richard Cox Joseph Steward Thomas Walsh John Walker Chas. Burroughs Philip Jinkins Ben. Burroughs Francis Thompson Francis Osborno Michael Barnitt Willm. Skipper Willm. Heyder Philip King Richd Johnson John Veach Patrick Nowland Moses McNew Jacob Penn James Byzch Ben. Bermillion Ricd. Lowe Robt. Neslon Basil Ridgly Michael Waltz Willm. Evans John Grant Paul Hagarty Elias Perry Veach Burgis Jacob Holland Middleton Marlow John d. Lanham John Mills Thos. Perkins Henry Lanham Edward Blacklock John Rodery Robt. Sapp Thos. Daws Edmd. Carroll Edwd. Jones
Francis Sherhard Samuel Kurk Francis Green Baggot Charles Green Charles Griffin John Ward Richard Sheake Edward Edelen Samuel Hamilton Franics Ware Luckett Matthew Garner Nathaniel Dowining Josias Miller John Shaw Edward Smith John Norris Joseph Jason Jenkins James Hoge John Neal Luke Matthew Sherburn Samuel Luckitt John Skipper Thomas Burrows Samuel Granger Alban Smith Edward Green John Smith Benjamin Gray Richard Smith John Smoot William Clark John Neary Samuel Vermillion Truman Hilton Gilbert Garland Mark McPherson
Second Company Patk. Sims, Captain Benj. Ford, 1st Lt. John Burgis, Cadet Walter Cox, Cadet John Richardson, Sgt. Peter Clarke, Sgt. Edward Spurrier, Sgt. Alexius Conner, Sgt. John Beans, 2nd Lt. Henry Gaither, Ensign Michael Burgis, Corporal Gazaway Watkins,Corporal John Elson, corporal Henry Leek, Corporal Benj. Lewis, Drummer Thos. Horson, Fifer
Third Company Barton Lucas, Captain Wm. Sterett, 1st Lt. Peter Brown, Sgt. James Burnes, Sgt. Zach. Tannahill, Sgt. Levin Will Coxen, Sgt. Saml Hamiltone, Corporal Alex, Roxburgh, 2nd Lt.
Privates Jonathan Robinson John Lindsay Coxon Talbott Lawrence Queney James Mitchell Peter Gallworth Bozely Wright Milburn Cox
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Wm Ridgely, Ensign Benedict Woodward, Corporal Benjn. Warner, Corporal Zacha. Gray, Corporal Geo. Rex Leonard, Drummer Joshua Saffell, Fifer Privates John Cissell Zacha Tilly Chrstopher Beal Leonard Watkins Thomas Scott Daneil McKAy John Baker John Dunn Abijah Buxtone Nathan Peake Timothy Collins Jeremiah Owings Joseph Barry John Armstrong George Wright Phhillip Weller Hugh Conn Robt. Lesacho John Brown Benjn. Kelly Josias Connally Rody Hously Jmes Murphy George Knott John Enright Thos. Mrray William Pearce Charles Jones Joseah Hattou Richard Stone Sameul Ray George Hamiltone John Fleming John Wood Richard Brookes Zacha. Willing Richard Wade John Jowings Alex. Jackson John Murphy John Jackson John Flint Amos Allen John Hughes Thos. Forguson Obediah Sumers Absolam Stevenson John Halsey Thos. Wi;ndon James Smith George Evauns Thoms Shannen George Leadbarn Michl. Catons James Hurdle Franics Cole
Alex. Allen Wm. Baker Garret Brinkenhoof John Rex Leonard Bazil Jenkins Bartholomew Finn Roddey Owings George Read James Gardiner Patk. Collins Zachariah Hutchins
Sixth Company Peter Adams, Captain Nathl. Ewing, 1st Lt. Joseph Elliott, Sgt. Edqard Edgerly, Sgt. Thomas McKeel, Sgt. Alex. Murray, 2nd Lt. John Jordan Ensign Thoms Dwyer, Sgt. Sanl Swigens, Corporal Saml. Swignes, Corporal Jas. Rogan, Corporal Danl. Floyd, Corporal Robert Ross, Drummer Chas. McKeel, Fifer
Privates Thos. Cooper Saml McCubbin John Clark Zacha. Nicholson Henry Covington Wm Laighton Wm. McDanel George Jackson John Hatton Alex. Wright John Floyd Elijah Floyd Moses Floyd John McFadon Carbry Burn John McClain John Johnson Jas. Kelly Willm. McGregor Thos. Fisher John Powell Joseph Pirkens Joseph Bootman Hugh Wallace Willm. McDaniel II James Boll Henry Clift Wm Glover John Bryan Wm Holms Wm Ray Thos. Laffy Jas. Kirk Wm. Leeson John Lowry John McClain, of Harford Alex. Fulton
Jas. Craig Robert Man Patk. Quigley Wm Locke Wm. Nagle John Lynch Hugh McClain Jas. Carmichael Thos. Williams John Kerby Jas. Gibson Jno. Galway Robt. Ritchie Wm Aitken Hugh Galway John Morrow Geo. Dowling Wm. Clark Wm. Temple John Phelps James Barkely Crisenberry Clift.
Seventh Independent Maryland Company Edward Veazey, Captain William Harrison, 1st Lt. Sameul TurbuttWright, 2nd Lt. Edward DeCourcy, 3rd Lt. W. Sands W. Noyes I Smith S. Floy I Babb R. White I Lowe T. White I Bazil I Jasper W. Johnson Joseph Matthews D Hensely A Ryan WR McKinzie H Weaton C O'Neal E Murphy
W Overton J. Green N Whatkins E Water I Boon T Robinson C Bargber J Nailor T. Mayhew J. Devaun J Mattingly T Weaton N Wakins P Lawless G Leech I Meek W Soweb J Connery R Eldwood I Pope I Manyjors J Yator D Kelliss M Padget E Edwards I Harper J Oarm T Hamilton N O'Neal F Michel I Nottingham W Kemick C Richardson T Gordon I Ashton J Koy Burgess Howard ___ Watts Joseph Anglain Edw James Murphy John Carr
New York Times 18 August 1895 Prisoners List 43
Appendix 7a
DESCRIPTION OF TYPICAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION TASKS Task Descriptions of a typical Archaeological Investigation process were provided by Chrysalis Archaeological Consultants and are provided for discussion and estimate purposes only.
Remains of a soldiers mass grave being excavated in Lutzen Germany. This lost grave contains some of the 6000 casualties of the 1632 Battle of Lutzen, a conflict of Europe’s 30 Year War. Soldiers and mercenaries from Scotland, England, Croatia, Germany, Austria, Finland and Sweden all fought in the battle. The bodies were discovered next to a supermarket in 2011. Clues to the Thirty Years War: Mass Grave Begins Revealing Soldiers’ Secrets, by Christoph Seidler, Der Spiegel 44
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Appendix 7b: 2013 Report of Preliminary Archaeological Survey of 170 / 168 8th Street Site
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Appendix 3c: 2013 Soil Boring Locations Map by TRC Consultants. Borings were planned to assess the presence of contaminated soils on this former chemical factory site, not for historical analysis.
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Appendix 7c: Overlay of the 2013 Soil Boring Locations Map by TRC Consultants by Eymund Diegel to show their location relative to unusual bumps identified by the 2013 LIDAR micro-topography study
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Statue of Washington and Lafayette, Place des Etats-Unis, Paris, France
Letters of Support for the Marylander Green Community Park
You can contact Bob Furman, Brooklyn Preservation Council at bobfurman1@juno.com should you want to add yours 51
Courtesy of the United States of Ameica Consulate, photo by LyceĚ e Condorcet
Appendix 8 - Letters of Support
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October 30, 2013
Honorable Andrew Cuomo Governor State of New York Executive Chamber Albany, New York 12227
Dear Governor Cuomo:
The Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (GCCDC) being on the forefront of local economic development since 1978 fully supports the efforts of the Brooklyn Preservation Council to develop a commemorative ecological park on vacant land between Eight and Ninth Streets bounded by Third and Fourth Avenues in Brooklyn to rightfully honor the Marylanders who died saving the American Revolution during the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776. It is possible that remains of Marylanders who perished on that eventful day still lie there and under neighboring properties. The GCCDC also supports the efforts of the Council to locate any such remains which would then be properly interned and honored.
The addition of parkland in this newly developing area is a necessary amenity for its many new residents, and an appropriate mix of park and commemoration needs to be worked out as the facts on the ground develop. Thank you for joining us in your support for this long awaited commemoration. Sincerely,
Bill Appel Executive Director
cc: Hon Velmanette Montgomery Hon Joan Millman
Hon Bill de Blasio Hon Brad Lander
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