Flag Day 2023
FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2023 || 12:00pm

Wednesday, June 14, 2023 marks the 246th anniversary of the adoption of the American Flag by the Second Continental Congress in June 1777. Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York has annually celebrated this symbolic event with a parade and ceremony. We hope you will join us in volunteering your time on Friday, June 2nd to help with the parade and ceremony and/or support the event with a donation.

Marchers gather at City Hall Park at 11am. The parade steps off at noon, follows down Broadway, and ends at the grandstand in front of Fraunces Tavern at about 12:30pm. The Ceremony includes the student Essay Contest winners reading their essays on “What the American Flag Means to Me” and more! Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York will be providing complimentary lunch for all marchers and event volunteers at the Museum following the parade. The event is over by approximately 1:30pm.
 
Please contact the office at [email protected] to sign up for one of the following:

- Register or organize marching groups
- Hand out American flags along the parade route
- Make a donation to support the Parade
 
If you cannot participate in person but would like to make a donation, please send a check made out to SRNY to 54 Pearl St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10004 or donate using PayPal via the link on our website. For a donation of $100 or more we will include your name on the website.

RSVP to [email protected] by Thursday May 25th to confirm participation.

New exhibition sponsorship opportunities: The Birch Trials at Fraunces Tavern
In 1783, at the end of the Revolutionary War, a joint British and American commission met at Fraunces Tavern to evaluate claims that called into question the eligibility of some Black loyalists to evacuate with the British Army. Testimonies were provided by involved persons alongside documentary evidence for the commission to render a decision. The commission was overseen by British Brigadier General Samuel Birch, Commander of the 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons and Commandant of New York.

The commission’s proceedings, which would later be referred to as The Birch Trials, were part of a process whereby 3,000 Black loyalists evacuated New York City between April and November 1783, many of whom had previously been enslaved. The names of Black loyalists who evacuated the City were recorded in the Book of Negroes, the compilation of which was also overseen by the commission.
 
This new permanent exhibition, opening on June 26, 2023 in the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Educational Center for American History, will highlight these significant events. It will also showcase Black soldiers’ service to the Continental Army and patriot militias during the Revolutionary War.

Click here for More Information About Fraunces Tavern Museum Messenger - May 2023