454 Life Between Two Armies: Westchester County and the American Revolution

On October 28, 1776, the two armies of the American Revolutionary War met in White Plains, a small town about 30 miles north of New York City. Westchester County remained a wedge between the British Army to the south and the Continental Army to the north. For the remaining seven years of the war, both British and American patrols monitored the roads of the county, tracking enemy movement and occasionally skirmishing. Locals leaned one way or the other, sometimes changed sides, and often found themselves at odds with their neighbors. Char Weigel, a historian with Revolutionary Westchester 250, investigates how the county became a "neutral ground” and offers us a window into how, for residents, the Revolution felt like a civil war. Show notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/454 EPISODE OUTLINE 00:00:00 Introduction 00:10:16 How Westchester Farmers Fed New York City 00:14:08 Dutch Influence in Westchester 00:22:30 The War Arrives in Westchester in 1776 00:30:50 What Local Families Saw during the Battle of White Plains 00:34:51 Life in the Neutral Ground between the Armies 00:38:24 Women, Native Americans, and Enslaved People in the Neutral Ground 00:51:22 The Benedict Arnold Plot and the Spy Caught in Westchester 00:58:23 Washington Irving and the American Revolution's Legacy 01:02:46 Lessons from a Divided County 01:08:49 Final Thoughts RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES 🎧 Episode 055: John Jay: Forgotten Founder 🎧 Episode 065: Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Network 🎧 Episode 324: New Netherland and Slavery 🎧 Episode 332: Experiences of Revolution, Part 1: Occupied Philadelphia 🎧 Episode 333: Experiences of Revolution, Part 2: Disruptions in Yorktown 🎧 Episode 437: Civilian Life in Revolutionary War Occupied Cities 🎧 Episode 452: How Everyday Loyalists Experienced the American Revolution SUPPORT OUR WORK 🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s World REQUEST A TOPIC 📨 Topic Request Form 📫 [email protected] WHEN YOU'RE READY 🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 👩‍💻 Join the BFW Listener Community 🌍 Join the History Explorers Club TAKE THE QUIZ 🧭 Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes) 👉 https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/quiz LISTEN 🎧 🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music 🛜 Pandora CONNECT 🦋 Liz on Bluesky 👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn 🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS 💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts 💚 Leave a rating on Spotify *Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.