History in Yorktown’s backyard

The Pines Bridge Monument, right here in Yorktown Heights, was unveiled Nov. 17, 2018, as the first Revolutionary War memorial to depict a white soldier, an African American soldier and a Native American soldier fighting together.

It honors Col. Christopher Greene and the 200 men of the First Rhode Island Regiment — a diverse unit of European, African and Native American soldiers — who fought and died during a Loyalist attack at Pines Bridge on the Croton River on May 14, 1781, cementing Yorktown’s place in the broader story of the American Revolution. It is regarded as one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

The original Pines Bridge and the small hamlet that grew around it disappeared beneath the New Croton Reservoir in the 1890s.

The bronze sculpture by Jay Warren shows Greene with two soldiers, capturing the intensity of the brief, deadly battle and the regiment’s sacrifice. It serves as a commemoration of those who defended the crossing in a desperate stand along the river.

The First Rhode Island Regiment stands as one of the earliest mixed-race fighting units in American history, decades before the U.S. military formally integrated. Michael Kahn, a retired Yorktown police officer and driving force behind the monument, is a member of the 5th New York Regiment reenactment group. He said the monument “highlights that this was a fight between all Americans.”

When Kahn first learned about the battle, he said it “just put front and center involvement of African Americans and Native Americans fighting in the war, what everybody was fighting for … it wasn’t Boston, it wasn’t Bunker Hill, it wasn’t Philadelphia, it wasn’t Monmouth Courthouse or Saratoga, but it was an important, vital post to keep a watch on.”

Kahn added, “Historians just don't preserve the tangible, preserve the intangible. We have to preserve what’s known — a lot of people know stuff and a lot of people don’t know what happened.”

He credited Joe Ryan of the Living History Education Foundation, adding that reenactments, which show what life was like centuries ago, are especially impactful for youth. He said that was part of the point of the May 2 event, which included a reenactment, tribute ceremonies, a monument dedication and a parade.

“This happened in our own backyard,” Kahn said.

The night before the event, author Shirley Green presented her book “Revolutionary Blacks,” exploring the history of free men of color who served in the Rhode Island Regiment, adding context to the regiment’s role and legacy.

Green told Yorktown News that family connections often resonate most.

“There is actually a descendant of someone who fought at Pines Bridge standing in front of us,” she said. “And I think that is a real way to connect the past to the present.”

She recalled first seeing the monument and reacting, “Wow.”

She added, “The expressions on these individuals’ faces… it just captures the essence of what was happening during the ambush.”

Constance Kehoe, president of Revolutionary Westchester 250 (RW250), believes the Pines Bridge story reflects a larger meaning of the Revolutionary War.

“They were believing in the promise of America and I think people should realize that they were willing to put their life on the line,” she said. “Their own relatives didn't have the same freedoms at that time, but I think they saw that this new nation had hopes. There was hope for a widening freedom.”