Friday, 2 October 2026 · Almaty

Americans pulling the gilded equestrian statue of King George III from its marble pedestal after the reading of the Declaration of Independence on 6 July 1776 in Bowling Green Park, Manhattan

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Americans pulling the gilded equestrian statue of King George III from its marble pedestal after the reading of the Declaration of Independence on 6 July 1776 in Bowling Green Park, Manhattan

Americans pulling the gilded equestrian statue of King George III from its marble pedestal after the reading of the Declaration of Independence on 6 July 1776 in Bowling Green Park, Manhattan. The lead statue was toppled at the second attempt, broke into pieces, and was melted down for bullets. The king's head, after being paraded disgracefully through the town, was sent off to London. Today a reconstruction of the statue may be seen in Philadelphia, at the Museum of the American Revolution. It differs, incidentally, from the one shown in the later painting by the German artist Johannes Adam Simon Oertel: on the genuine sculpture the king wore a Roman toga.

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