You will please to call upon the committee of Middletown, or such other place in New-Jersey as you shall judge most proper, for the assistance you shall think necessary. We enclose you a certified copy of the resolve for that purpose, and desire you will conform, as nearly as may be, to the strict letter thereof. for the dismantling the light-house at Sandy-Hook we, reposing especial trust and confidence in your abilities and zeal in the common cause, have made choice of you for the execution of that important enterprise. "The Provincial Congress of this Colony having appointed us a committee to concert measures for carrying into execution their resolve of the 5th inst. Since the lighthouse would be a great help to British ships in the event of an invasion, both the New Jersey Provincial Congress and the New York Convention of Delegates resolved to damage or destroy the lighthouse, to hinder the movement of British ships into New York Harbor.įrom New York, Major William Malcolm was chosen to lead a mission to attack the Sandy Hook lighthouse. This Structure, was undertaken by Mr Isaac Conro, of this City and was carried on with all the Expedition that the Difficulty attending to and fro on the Occasion could possibly admit of and is judged to be masterly finished."Īs the Revolutionary War heated up, concerns grew about the likelihood of an invasion of British ships and troops into New York City. The Building from the Surface is Nine Stories the whole from Bottom to Top 103 Feet. The whole Construction of the Lanthorn is Iron the Top covered with Copper. The Lanthorn is 7 Feet high the Circumference 33 Feet. The House is of an Octagon Figure, having eight equal Sides the Diameter at the Base 29 Feet and at the Top of the Wall, 15 Feet. "On Monday Evening last, the New-York Light House, erected at Sandy Hook, was lighted for the first Time. Keep in mind as you read this, that this notice was written over a century before anyone had ever seen a skyscraper, and when most buildings were only a few stories high, which gives a feeling for how impressive a structure this must have been to someone seeing it in 1764: The notice goes into great detail about the size and dimensions of the lighthouse, as this must have been particularly impressive at the time. One week after it was first lit June 11, 1764, The New York Mercury ran a notice about the opening of the lighthouse. Because of Sandy Hook's location just miles across New York Harbor, the lighthouse served the important function of facilitating the safety of ships coming in and out of New York. Map / Directions to all Sandy Hook Revolutionary War Sitesįor current hours and admission information:īuilt in 1764, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse is the oldest standing lighthouse in the country.
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