The royal governor of His Majesty's Province of New York had is own state pew built along the north wall of St. Paul's Chapel on lower Broadway. It was his very English way of demonstrating that he was a member of the congregation but also separate from the common folk. The arrangement remained in place until Evacuation Day. Thereafter the pew was triumphantly occupied by the Empire State's aforementioned Governor George Clinton.
That arrangement vanished on April 30, 1790, when the pew was
decorated and enclosed with a canopy to salute the first president of
the United States. It remained the president's pew until August
1790, when the nation's capital moved to Philadelphia. In the
interim, the ousted Governor Clinton had a new pew built along the
opposite south wall. The original pew is still known as ``Washington's
pew.'' You can see both pews by paying a visit to this still
functioning New York landmark.
New Battle of Paoli
When Tom Fleming went down to Brandywine Battlefield to speak on
Lafayette in early March, Tom McGuire met him at the train and took
him on a tour of his latest passion, the battle of Paoli. We all
remember Tom's brilliant presentation of the battle of Germantown last
year. Tom has dug material out of the National Archives that will
transform the current version of Paoli. At least as important, he is
fighting to defend the battlefield from the encroachment of real
estate developers. Anyone interested in helping him out can send a
contribution to ``Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund, c/o Borough of
Malvern, PO Box 437, Malvern, PA 19355.''
Tom Fleming Sells Out
Our man Fleming drew a standing room only crowd at Brandywine
Battlefield. He wove into his talk on Lafayette a preview of
``Liberty!'' the six part PBS show on the Revolution, for which he has
written a companion book. The show and book should be major media
attractions next fall.
Treasurer's Titillating Trivia Treat
With this issue our treasurer Jim Davis launches a trivia quiz. The
first three Round Tablers who present the correct answer to him at the
April 1st meeting will be treated to a before dinner libation (from
the treasurer's private funds, of course).
The trivia question: Name the American institutions of higher learning that were founded before July 4, 1776. Present names are acceptable. Be careful, there may be more than you think!