x
Breaking News
More () »

Honoring 4th of July history in Luzerne County

People in Luzerne County are commemorating one of the greatest American defeats of the Revolutionary War.

WYOMING, Pa. — Wreaths, re-enactors, and revolutionary war buffs gathered at the Wyoming Monument in Wyoming for an annual event that reflects on the Battle of Wyoming. 

The battle took place on July 3rd, 1778, When the British came to raid the forts in the area.

"The Americans went out to meet the attack, explained Mark Riccetti Jr. from the Luzerne County Historical Society. "Unfortunately, they didn't realize about the Native Americans. They thought it was only the Tories like that; they were pretty evenly matched. They were actually outnumbered by about 1000 individuals. And this was one of the greatest defeat American defeats of the Revolutionary War."

Something you might not know about this little piece of Revolutionary War history in our area is that when the Battle of Wyoming took place, this was considered the state of Connecticut, not Pennsylvania.

"In 1769, up until 1800, this was Connecticut and was fought over by both Pennsylvanians and Connecticut and Connecticut settlers," said Mark Kahn from West Wyoming. 

"Franklin said, 'Okay, you're here now; you're Pennsylvanians, that's it?' Don't forget Connecticut. You're gonna have your baked beans later but let's, let's just be civil and work together," said Roy Goodman from Hartford. "And the main thing Franklin once said, you have a republic, if you can keep it true."

Something history buffs were excited to see here, young people getting involved in history.

"I watched the Civil War reenactments and stuff down in Gettysburg for the weekend, and it's the same thing so many more young people are getting involved, and that's that's that's promising, I hope," said Mike Ferrara of West Pittston. 

"Well, my mom likes history, and I do too," said Nick Dreiser of Dallas, who hopes to continue sharing history like this for many years to come.

Check out WNEP's YouTube channel.  

Before You Leave, Check This Out