TICKETS

Reception (including wine, beer, and hors d'oeuvres):

$30 Public | $20 Museum, SRNY, and other society members

Reception and dinner (three courses including wine and beer):

$130 Public | $120 Museum, SRNY, and other society members

Attendees can add an additional amount to their ticket to financially support the exhibition’s production. Sponsorship opportunities are also available,
see the exhibition’s page here.

Join us for a preview reception and optional dinner on June 26 for our newest exhibition, The Birch Trials at Fraunces Tavern, opening to the public on June 27.

Online ticket sales have CLOSED.
To purchase tickets, please call
(212) 425-1779.

In 1783, as the Revolutionary War drew to a close, a joint British and American commission–formed as part of the process to implement the peace–met at Fraunces Tavern to review and deliberate upon the eligibility of some Black Loyalists to evacuate with the British Army. Testimonies were provided by interested persons alongside documentary evidence for the commission to render a decision. These proceedings are now referred to as the “Birch Trials,” named after British Brigadier General Samuel Birch, Commander of the 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons and Commandant of New York, appointed to oversee them.

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 culminating event in one of the largest emancipations of Black people prior to the American Civil War.  The names of Black Loyalists who qualified for evacuation were recorded in the Book of Negroes, the compilation of which was overseen by the commission.

This new permanent exhibition will highlight these significant events. Along the exhibition’s walls, art and written communications of the period will highlight the role of Black Loyalists in the Revolutionary War.

The new exhibition also recognizes the thousands of Black Patriots who fought to further the cause of American Independence.  For example: Crispus Attucks, a Black sailor killed in the Boston Massacre, who is thought by many historians to be the first American to die in the rebellion; Peter Salem and Salem Poor, who were recognized for their valor in the Battle of Bunker Hill; James Armistead, who served in a unit commanded by French General Lafayette and provided intelligence on the British positions at Yorktown that was crucial to the American victory; and the 1st Rhode Island Regiment–including a large and visible body of Black soldiers, both free and previously enslaved–who fought bravely during the War, most notably at the Battle of Newport, Rhode Island.

This exhibition is an important addition to the narrative of the Revolutionary War and its aftermath and provides powerful visuals and significant historical content for visitors.

Tickets may also be purchased by check made out to “Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York, Inc.” and mailed to Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl Street, 2nd Floor,
New York, NY 10004