Liberty pole

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Liberty pole at the border to the Republic of Mainz., a product of the French Revolutionary Wars, watercolor by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1793

A Liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap (see Phrygian cap).

A liberty pole was often erected in town squares in the years before and during the American Revolution (Newport, RI, Concord MA, Savannah, GA, New York City, NY). An often violent struggle over Liberty Poles erected by the Sons of Liberty in New York City and periodically destroyed by British authorities (only to be replaced by the Sons with new poles) raged for 10 years: from the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766 until the occupation of the city by British troops after the Battle of Long Island in 1776.

When an ensign was raised (usually red) on a Liberty Pole, it would be a calling for the Sons of Liberty or townspeople to meet and vent or express their views regarding British rule. The pole was known to be a symbol of dissent against Great Britain. The symbol is also apparent in many seals and coat of arms as a sign of liberty, freedom, and independence.

During the Whiskey Rebellion, locals in western Pennsylvania would erect poles along the roads or in town centers as a protest against the federal government's tax on distilled spirits, and evoking the spirit embodied by the Liberty Poles of decades earlier.

The Arbres de la liberté ("Liberty Trees") were a symbol of the French Revolution, the first being planted in 1790 by a pastor of a Vienne village, inspired by the 1765 Liberty Tree of Boston.

[edit] See also

• Liberty Tree
• Maypole

New York in the American Revolutionary War

Pre-war: Sons of Liberty 1775: Invasion of Canada – Capture of Fort Ticonderoga 1776: New York and New Jersey campaign – Battle of Long Island – New York Prison Ships Begin – Landing at Kip's Bay – Battle of Harlem Heights – Great Fire of New York – Execution of Nathan Hale – Battle of Valcour Island – Battle of Pell's Point – Battle of White Plains – Battle of Fort Washington 1777: Meigs Raid – Saratoga campaign – Battle of Ticonderoga – Battle of Hubbardton – Battle of Fort Ann – Battle of Oriskany – Battle of Saratoga – Battle of Freeman's Farm – Battle of Bemis Heights 1778: Setauket Spy Ring Launched – Battle of Cobleskill – West Point established – Cherry Valley massacre 1779: Battle of Stony Point – Sullivan Expedition – Battle of Newtown 1780: First Purple Heart – André Capture Reveals Traitor Benedict Arnold 1781: HMS Culloden Runs Aground at Montauk – Washington Calls Off Invasion of New York to Support Yorktown 1782: Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh – Newburgh letter – 1783: Newburgh conspiracy – British Evacuate New York – Washington's Farewell to His Officers