Due to rain, this will NOT occur in Valentino Park! It will be at the Red Hook VFW at 325 Van Brunt Street, near Sullivan Street. YES, the bar will be open. The backyard will be too.
In Valentino Park, PortSide NewYork will host Red Hook’s first community celebration of the importance of Fort Defiance in living memory!
Our event “Red Hook's Role in the American Revolution” helps resurrect the under-told role of the fort in the American Revolution. PortSide has served as the historical society of Red Hook, Brooklyn since launching our virtual museum Red Hook WaterStories in 2016 built on years of research. See our content related to the American Revolution at https://bit.ly/RedHookAmericanRevolution .
During 8/22, we host the activites below. Our local ice cream truck will be there. The Red Hook Business Alliance and Friends of Fort Defiance have a panel discussion planned for 6-8pm, so we will pipe down during that time and resume with a film screening from 8:30-10:30pm. Info on their event is at the bottom.
4:00-6:00pm
Learn what our local Fort Defiance did! We will have history exhibits, hand-outs, books.
Kids activity: Build a “model” of the British war ship HMS Roebuck on top of one of our dinghies and attack it with water pistols in a mock battle (BYO water pistols, though we will have some). Shelling by Fort Defiance turned that ship back, helping save George Washington’s army which escaped by water from Brooklyn Heights. Other kids craft activities.
Meet re-enacators and learn more! We have 7 Black reenactors coming from the black-owned company Living History. You will be able to interact with them (as compared to watching a battle reenactment). They are coming with things to explain and offering what they call Living History and Table Talks. They are:
Leslie Bramlett as Hanna Till, a camp follower, women who followed the army and cooked, laundered, provided medical aid, did mending and repair.
Kevin Chapman as Samuel Sutphin
Steve Thomas as Colonel Ty He is also one of only two professional Black fifers on the east coast.
Antoine Watts as Black Patriot Militia
Nick Guzman as Black Loyalist
Leon Brooks as a Marbleheader
Leon Vaughn as a Marbleheader
Learn how mariners from Marblehead, Massachusetts evacuated George Washington’s army across the East River as they fled the Battle of Brooklyn to Manhattan. (They also got him across the Delaware River both times). This maritime special operations force was composed of Black, Native American, Hispanic, mixed-race and white men. This is also part of PortSide’s African American Maritime Heritage program.
8:30-10:30pm
PortSide will screen episode 3 of Ken Burns “American Revolution” about the Battle of Brooklyn on our 16’ wide inflatable screen.
6:00-8:00pm
Red Hook’s Proclamation of Historical Significance: official Brooklyn250 event by RHBA & Friends of Fort Defiance. This is a panel discussion about the role of Fort Defiance. This will be moderated by the Bowery Boys history group. RSVP here. Thanks to the PortSide program above, two of the reenactors will participate in the discussion (Kevin Chapman and Antoine Watts). More about the panel here.
