This lecture is sponsored by Manhattan Chapter, NSDAR.

In the summer of 1781, after spying on the British troops in Manhattan for six weeks, General Washington and General Rochambeau made a critical decision. They would not attack the British in New York but instead would take their troops across the Hudson River and march to Yorktown, Virginia to confront General Cornwallis’ army in the South. That decision changed the war and it happened at Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters.

In the spring of 2020, The Town of Greenburgh, NY, at the urging and leadership of Susan Seal took possession of Odell House to save it from collapse. Amazingly, this house, listed on the National Register, retains most of its original details and it is now in the process of restoration. By 2026, in time for the 250th commemoration of the Declaration of Independence, it will be open to the public as a museum.

This afternoon lecture will be held in-person and streamed via Zoom.

About the Speaker

Susan Seal is the President and founder with her husband, David, of the Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters. She has an undergraduate degree from Brown University and a master’s in urban and regional planning with an emphasis on Historic Preservation. The former Chair of the Westchester County Historical Society, she is passionate about telling the story of America’s first foreign alliance, and the role France played in the victorious end of the American Revolution.