New Hall Museum Living History Project

American Studies Project to visit a historic site and do a poster/PowerPoint on it. Morey, Jordan, and I went to the New Hall Military Museum in Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia. It's small, but generally unappreciated along with the other parts on the bottom of the park's "L" shape.

About

New Hall Military Museum is part of Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's a federal park and paid for by American's tax dollars. It is in part of Independence National Historic Park which most people don't visit. They see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, but not the rest. Most people don't even know it exists. It was build in 1790 as part of the Carpenter’s company. In 1791 and 1792, the building was the headquarters of the war department, which had only 6 people in it. The building itself was built in 1959 to house the museum. It became a military museum because its history as the War Department’s headquarters. The Marines have a large floor to themselves because they donated money to build it. The museum houses various artifacts from the revolution, such as drums, ropes, and cannonballs. It tells the story of the various armed forces during, and shortly after, the American Revolution.

Photos

http://flickr.com/photos/theplaz/sets/72157603303854228/

PowerPoint

A PowerPoint slideshow of this work is available here: Image:New Hall Military Museum.ppt

Notes

African Americans

5,000 Africans in the war
We needed soldiers; but after the war, they didn’t fight again until the civil war.
Rhode Island Regiment was often called the Black Regiment

Payscale (Monthly)

Captain $26.50
Lieutenant $18
Sergeant $8
Corporal $7 1/3
Fifer $7 1/3
Drummer $7 1/3

Private $ 6 2/3

Rations (1776)

1 lb Bread
1 lb Pork
1/2 lbs Peas
4oz Cheese
1/2 pt Rum
plus, discretionary allowance on extra duty and in times of engagement

Privateers

Rattlesnake
2 thousand ships
shared booty with the men
mixed blessing
- took away from regular navy
- but were able to capture lots of British

Maritime Events

1775

November 10- Congress plans raise of two battalions of Marines
November 28- Samuel Nicholas named captain of Marines
population- 2,600,300

1777

January 3- Marines(4 companies) led by Nicholas participate in victory at Princeton under command of General Washington
October 2- Marines from Continental frigate "Andrew Doria" assist on evacuation of Fort Billingsport

1778

April 22- Marines from the Continental sloop Ranger land at Whitehaven and burn ships in the harbor
April 23- Marines from the Continental sloop Ranger land at St. Mary’s Island in an attempt to capture the Earl of Selkirk, proving the weakness of the British coastline

1779

July 28- Continental frigate Warren is burned by a British raiding party at Penobscot River

1780

June 1- Continental frigate Trumbull defeats the British privateer Watt
September 21- Benedict Arnold's plan to surrender West Point uncovered

1781

May 29- Continental frigate Alliance engages two British sloops Atalanta and Jrepassy, capturing both

The Continental Army

Infantry

"The Battle Line"
Officer stands at the left of the formation
Commanding sergeant stands at the rear of the formation
A platoon consists of two ranks of soldiers
Four platoons equal one regiment
Regiments are deployed as the main force of the army

Cavalry

"Dragoons"

Purpose: Scouting force
Armed with pistols
A detachment normally consisted of 10 dragoons

"Hussars"

Purpose: Heavy Cavalry used to break the enemy line
Armed with sabers (combat swords)

Artillery

Purpose: Used to disrupt and weaken the enemy line
The gun crew consisted of 7 men along with others to assist in physical labor
The gun crew sergeant (commanding officer) needed to estimate timing, distance, and precision of the bombardment