On July 9, 1776, five days after its publication and shortly after the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to the people of New York City, New Yorkers tore down the statue of King George that had stood in Bowling Green since 1770 in a fierce demonstration of their new independence. The statue had a tangled history in the years that followed: much of it was melted down to serve as bullets in the Revolutionary War, while Loyalists in Connecticut smuggled a few pieces away to save: centuries later. One of George’s amputated arms was unearthed in 1991 and went up for auction in 2019. George’s horse’s tail went on display at the New York Historical in 2022 as part of an exhibit on the history of America’s difficult relationship with monuments. No one is quite sure what became of the monarch’s head.
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Much That Is Fair 