Cadwalder Colden was one of the most prominent of colonial leaders in 1776. Colden is present at key moments leading up to the American Revolution beginning with the Stamp Act Crisis in 1765.
Colden arrived in New York from Philadelphia in 1718 with the idea of practicing medicine, a graduate of the prestigious University of Edinburgh this seemed a good idea in the growing city. However, the large number of doctors already in New York prompted him to add “merchant” to his resume as well. Quickly, he and his wife became leading lights in New York society as well as politics. Colden was also a leading scientist in the colonies writing some of the earliest pamphlets connecting diseases to sanitation. This potent combination resulted in his appointment as Surveyor-General of the province and a spot on the Governor’s Council.
At key moments in the cauldron of revolutionary activity, Colden stepped in as acting governor. Colden managed to antagonize the citizens of New York in almost every heated situation. In 1765, in the Stamp Act Crisis, as acting governor he alienated not only those opposing the Stamp Act (almost everyone in the colony of New York) but those few supporters the Crown retained. From 1765 until 1776, any parade against the crown was not complete unless an effigy of Colden was burned.
He was acting governor again in 1775 when word arrived of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Those who supported rebellion against the Crown immediately took to the streets of New York. They took possession of most of the arms and gunpowder in the city announcing that they were the legitimate government of New York. Colden wanted to call out the militia to regain control of the city. It was pointed out to him by the Governor’s Council that most of the militia was made up of Sons of Liberty. Like many of those who supported the Crown in 1775, Colden fled to his summer estate in Flushing, leaving the city in the control of “the rebels.”
One of the few reminders of the irascible colonial New Yorker is on the superb Beaux Arts building on Chambers Street. The sculptures above the entrance to the court feature leaders from the Dutch to the Revolution. Fittingly, Colden is standing next to Pieter Stuyvesant, another leader New Yorkers loved to hate.
Bowery & Canal 