This past Tuesday my NYC History class toured Greenwood Cemetery. Through a quaint trolley ride through the gorgeous arboretum we visited elaborate Victorian Era mausoleums, and learned how Greenwood was the # 2 tourist attraction in America after Niagara Falls! We also explored the lives and deaths of famous New Yorkers ranging from Dewitt Clinton (catalyst behind the Erie Canal), Boss Tweed, artist George Caitlin, Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York, and Basquiat!
Since it was right after Memorial Day we also used the graves to study the American Revolution (The Battle of Brooklyn was fought nearby) and the Civil War! My favorite story was about the Prentiss Brothers, one fought for the South, the other fought for the North and they died within feet of each other, during Ulysses S. Grant’s assault on Confederate lines at Petersburg. (See image of Clifton Prentiss, who died fighting to preserve the Union below).They are just two of the over 4,800 Civil War veterans interred at Greenwood. It was a great way to wrap up the semester!
