The Statue was installed on the birthday of Prince Frederick, George III's son. &nbsp;The celebration included members of the Colonial and city governments, the Corporations of the Chambers of Commerce, and the Marine Society as well as the officers of the Royal Army &amp; Navy waiting with the Lieutenant Governor at the fort nearby, where toasts were drunk to the accompaniment of military music and artillery.&nbsp;With the rapid deterioration of relations with Britain after 1770, the statue became a magnet for the Bowling Green protests. In 1773, the city passed an anti-graffiti and anti-desecration law to counter vandalism against the monument, and a protective cast-iron fence was built along the perimeter of the park which cost nearly as much as the sculpture; the fence is still extant, making it the city's oldest fence.

After the reading of the Declaration of Independence, the soldiers joined by members of the&nbsp;<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/sons-of-liberty">Sons of Liberty&nbsp;</a>marched down&nbsp;<a href="https://culturenow.org/site/broadway">Broadway&nbsp;</a>and turned their attention to the&nbsp;<a href="https://culturenow.org/site/statue-of-king-george-iii-erected">gilded&nbsp;equestrian&nbsp;statue of King George</a>&nbsp;in the Center of&nbsp;<a href="https://culturenow.org/site/bowling-green">Bowling Green</a>.&nbsp; Armed with axes,&nbsp;&nbsp;they made quick work of the 2 ton sculpture.&nbsp; Lead which was in short supply in the colonies was much needed for ammunition.&nbsp;&nbsp;Most of it was loaded into oxcarts and was brought to Litchfield, Connecticut where&nbsp;<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/oliver-wolcott">General Oliver Wolcott's&nbsp;</a>foundry&nbsp;melted it&nbsp;down into 42,088 bullets.&nbsp; That actually used only one ton of lead.&nbsp; Consequently, a lot of the pieces went missing.&nbsp; King George's head was put on a spike and was placed outside of a tavern near Fort Washington.&nbsp; British Captain&nbsp;<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/80e7a7d6-77fb-4804-8e2e-cf7b8d1252db">John Montresor</a>&nbsp;rescued it and had it sent back to England where it ended up in the estate of&nbsp;<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/a3ba0e97-0568-42e2-b709-b3669b0880b8">Charles Townshend</a>.&nbsp; The tail ended up at the&nbsp;<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/new-york-historical-society">New York Historical Society</a>.&nbsp; It is currently on loan to the&nbsp;<a href="https://culturenow.org/people/museum-of-the-american-revolution-moar">Museum of the American Revolution</a>.&nbsp; Some of it was buried in loyalist estates in Connecticut. Every so often a piece is discovered and auctioned off.&nbsp;&nbsp;In retaliation for the destruction of King George III's statue the statue of William Pitt was destroyed by the British.

The large gilded statue of King George III crowned with a laurel wreath was commissioned to commemorate the repeal of the Stamp Act.

by Sculptor Joseph Wilton in Roman Garb victory celebration after the Seven Years War amid a lot of protests.&nbsp;In 1773, the city passed an anti-graffiti&nbsp;and anti-desecration&nbsp;law to counter vandalism against the monument, and a protective cast-iron fence was built along the perimeter of the park; the fence is still extant, making it the city's oldest fence.

Bowling Green

Davis Swamp

Oliver Wolcott House

Part of the marble pedestal installed it as a kitchen step before being gifted to the NY Historical Society

Cornelius Van Vorst House

New York Historical Society

Statue of King George III

A talk by Abby Suckle at Fraunces Tavern Museum, New York on July 4, 2024

The Oliver Wolcott House, built in 1753 in Litchfield, Connecticut, was the home of Founding Father Oliver Wolcott Sr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence. As the oldest house in the borough, it hosted notable guests including Lafayette and George Washington, who stayed there in 1780. Oliver Wolcott Jr. was born in the home.&nbsp;

Private residence - Exact location not shown here

Born into one of America's most influential families, Mary Ann Wolcott Goodrich was the daughter of Oliver Wolcott, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Raised in Connecticut during the American Revolution, she was educated at the renowned Litchfield Female Academy and became known for her intelligence, wit, and social grace.After marrying Chauncey Goodrich in 1789, she became a prominent figure in the social circles of New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., accompanying her husband throughout his congressional and Senate career. Admired for her charm and intellect, she was regarded as one of the most distinguished women of her era and was said to have influenced discussions on politics, education, and public affairs.

Mary Ann died in 1805 at the age of 40. Though she left no children, her reputation as an accomplished and influential early American woman endured through family correspondence and contemporary accounts.

After the reading of the Declaration, the soldiers, joined by members of the&nbsp;Sons of Liberty,&nbsp;marched down&nbsp;Broadway&nbsp;and turned their attention to the&nbsp;gilded&nbsp;equestrian&nbsp;statue of King George&nbsp;in the Center of&nbsp;Bowling Green.&nbsp; Armed with axes,&nbsp;&nbsp;they made quick work of the 2-ton sculpture.&nbsp; Lead, which was in short supply in the colonies, was much needed for ammunition, and the statue was nothing if not large.&nbsp;&nbsp;Most of it was loaded into oxcarts and was brought to Litchfield, Connecticut, where&nbsp;General Oliver Wolcott's&nbsp;foundry&nbsp;melted it&nbsp;down into 42,088 bullets.&nbsp; Even though the family and neighbors participated, the heroine of the day was 11-year-old Mary Ann Wolcott, who not only cast 10,790 balls herself but also counted them.&nbsp; She went on to marry Chauncy Goodrich when she was 24; he served in the House of Representatives and then the Senate.

Mary Ann Wolcott Goodrich

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