Commemorate 236 Years Since Battle of White Plains On Sunday

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Celebrate the 236th anniversary of the Battle of White Plains at the Purdy House with a re-enactment, flag raising and reception beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday.? The Jacob Purdy House is on the National Register of Historic Places and is believed to have been George Washington’s headquarters before the Chatterton Hill battle of Oct. 28, 1776; Chatterton Hill is now known as Battle Hill. Roughly 20,000 American and British troops fought in the conflict in what historians call a draw, said Robert Hoch, president of the White Plains Historical Society.? “The Americans lost the strategic positions on the hill, but they put up such a fight, the British didn’t pursue them any further,” Hoch said. “It enabled Washington and his army to live to fight another day.”? The White Plains Historical Society has celebrated the battle since the 1980s. Hoch said one of his group’s founders, Stephen Holden Jr., used to commemorate the anniversary by riding his horse dressed as Washington from the Purdy House to the Elijah Miller House on Virginia Road in North Castle. On Sunday, the group will hold a Revolutionary War camp, in which four regiments will re-enact the battle. At 1 p.m., a flag raising ceremony will be held, accompanied by a Revolutionary honor guard, the White Plains High School Marching Band and dignitaries. White Plains residents who fought in the American Revolution also will be remembered. The city’s historical society has compiled a partial list of soldiers who were at or near the Battle of White Plains. Afterward, the Purdy House, at 60 Park Ave., will be open to the public.

• 
• 
•