On This Date October 15, 1778, & 1924- a Massacre and a Statue

October 15, 1778 – the Massacre at Little Egg Harbor. The Loyalists killed nearly 50 Patriot men,
bayonetting them as they slept. The massacre took place about one week after the Battle of
Chestnut Neck, a British raid aimed at suppressing privateers who used the area as a base to
harass and seize British ships and their cargoes.

October 15, 1924 – President Calvin Cooledge declares the Statue of Liberty as a national
monument. Designed by the French sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi, construction of the Statue of
Liberty began in 1870 with Gustave Eiffel designing and building the interior metal framework.
The statue was completed in France before being disassembled and shipped to America in
1885. It was then reassembled on what was then called Bedloe Island (now Liberty Island) in
New York Harbour and dedicated by President Grover Cleveland in 1886