BFW Revisited: Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

BFW Revisited: Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

From Ben Franklin's World by Liz Covart

March 17, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

This episode revisits the Longfellow House, exploring its significance during the Siege of Boston and its transformation into a literary landmark.

250 years ago, the British evacuated Boston: driven out by cannon that had traveled 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga. But where did the plan for those cannons take shape?In this Revisited episode, we return to our conversation with Garrett Cloer, now Program Manager for Interpretation and Visitor Experience at Saratoga National Historical Park, to explore the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site in Cambridge, Massachusetts.This Georgian mansion served as George Washington's home and headquarters for nearly nine months during the Siege of Boston. In this house, Washington forged the Continental Army and plotted the moves that liberated the city. Garrett reveals the house's Loyalist origins, life inside during the siege, and how poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow later transformed it into a literary landmark.A companion to Episode 436 on Henry Knox's Noble Train of Artillery. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/194RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 112: The Tea Crisis of 1773🎧 Episode 228: The Boston Massacre🎧 Episode 296: The Boston Massacre: A Family History🎧 Episode 409: The Battles of Lexington & Concord🎧 Episode 413: Dr. Joseph Warren &…

People in this episode

Host: Liz Covart

Guest: Garrett Cloer

Topics covered

  • American Revolution
  • Historical Sites
  • George Washington
  • Longfellow House
  • Siege of Boston

Keywords

  • Longfellow House
  • Washington's Headquarters
  • Siege of Boston
  • Continental Army
  • historical site

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Saratoga National Historical Park

Books & works: Henry Knox's Noble Train of Artillery

Places: Cambridge, Massachusetts

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