NEWBURGH/NEW WINDSOR—The 284th birthday of George Washington was celebrated at historic sites around Orange County with cake, military demonstrations, and other historical events and performances. George Washington had over 160 headquarters throughout the eight years of the Revolutionary War, but stayed in Newburgh for almost a year and a half, the longest of any of his headquarters. Just a few miles away, his army camped for the winter at the New Windsor Cantonment, where he later gave the cease-fire orders at the end of the war in 1783.
A birthday cake for George Washington's Birthday at his Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Feb. 15 was his 284th birthday. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
A portrait of George Washington in the museum at his Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
John Koopman III dressed as George Washington talks to Linette Scherer, dressed in period clothing, at the birthday celebration for George Washington at his Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
John Koopman III dressed as George Washington poses in front of a cake for George Washington's 284th birthday at his Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
John Koopman III dressed as George Washington takes a piece of cake during a celebration for George Washington's birthday at his Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Feb. 15 was Washington's 284th birthday. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Katelyn Oles, 10 and Daniel Velardo, 10 dressed in period clothes for George Washington's birthday at his Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Lawrence Wood, dressed as a recruit in the Fifth New York Regiment holds a musket as Joe Ryan, dressed as a private, explains the difference between a rifle and a musket during a history presentation at George Washington's Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Muskets were a lot less accurate but much more common than rifles in the army; only about 10 percent of the army had rifles. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Re-enactors from the Fifth New York Regiment fire muskets during a demonstration at George Washington's Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Re-enactors from the Fifth New York Regiment stand in formation during a demonstration at George Washington's Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Jim Johnson dressed as an ensign in the Fifth New York Regiment during a demonstration at George Washington's Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Howard Tendler (L) and Joe Ryan stand guard outside the Hasbrouck House at George Washington's headquarters in Newburgh on Feb. 13, 2016. The house is named after the builder, Jonathan Hasbrouck, and of the more than 160 headquarters Washington had, this is the one he stayed at the longest during the 8.5 year Revolutionary War. He was in Newburgh for almost a year and a half. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Thaddeus MacGregor performs a dance with a limberjack to the tune of Yankee Doodle in the Hasbrouck House, George Washington's headquarters in Newburgh, on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Roy Hogan, dressed as a private in the Fifth New York Regiment poses on Feb. 13, 2016 in the room where General George Washington's aide-de-camps, a position that was a mix of confidential secretary and officer, would work during the Revolutionary War. The room is in the Hasbrouck House in Newburgh where Washington had his headquarters during the Revolutionary War. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
John Koopman III dressed as George Washington sits in the room where Washington's office was in the Hasbrouck House in Newburgh on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Karen Monti dressed in an 18th century riding habit during a celebration for George Washington's 284th birthday at his headquarters in Newburgh on Feb. 13, 2016. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
The Tower of Victory at George Washington's headquarters in Newburgh on Feb. 13, 2016. The tower was built in 1833. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
A life-sized bronze statue of George Washington inside the Tower of Victory at his Newburgh headquarters on Feb. 13, 2016. The statue was modeled by sculptor William Rudolph O'Donovan and looks out over the Hudson River and the peaks where the signal fires would have been lit during the Revolutionary War. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
The front of the Tower of Victory at Washington's headquarters in Newburgh on Feb. 13, 2016 with the Hasbrouck House in the background where Washington had his office. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
A Purple Heart at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor on Feb. 13, 2016. In 1782, George Washington wrote an order from his headquarters in Newburgh that anyone who performed a "singularly meritorious action" could wear a purple heart on his left breast. This came to be called the Badge of Military Merit, now known as the Purple Heart, and still has his profile on it. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Lisa Munnez dressed as a soldier's wife in the Temple of Virtue at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site on Feb. 13, 2016. Of the roughly 8,000 that stayed at the winter camp, 500 were dependents like her who followed the army. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
A medical demonstration at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site on Feb. 13, 2016. The red box holds tools for surgery that were used in the 18th century while the bottles held common medicines like red ipecac, used to induce vomiting or chart, a charcoal product used to clean teeth. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Grant Miller, dressed as a soldier from the Seventh Massachusetts Regiment wearing a coat worn by officers on patrol in the Temple of Virtue at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site on Feb. 13, 2016. The cantonment was a semi-permanent camp where George Washington's army stayed the winter during the Revolutionary War. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Matt Thorenz dressed as a soldier of the Seventh Massachusetts Regiment at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site on Feb. 13, 2016. There were 7,500 soldiers that stayed at the Cantonment during the winter and lived 32 to a two-room hut. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Re-enactors of the Seventh Massachusetts Regiment huddle around a fire in the Temple of Virtue at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site on Feb. 13, 2016. The temperature was in the single digits and the fire was the only source of heat in the building. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
Mike McGurti dressed as a soldier in the Seventh Massachusetts Regiment at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site on Feb. 13, 2016. The white strap of across his chest is most likely where the English term "point-blank" comes from, meaning to shoot at close range, said Joe Ryan president of the Living History Education Foundation. In the French military, all the straps were white (blanc), so the white point or "point blanc" is where the soldiers aimed when shooting. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
The inside of the Temple of Virtue at the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site on Feb. 13, 2016. The temple, which was torn down and later reconstructed, was commissioned by George Washington and was the first place a Purple Heart, then called the Badge of Military Merit, was awarded in 1783. Holly Kellum/Epoch Times
