Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

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Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

Welcome to Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters NHS, a site of layered history and the arts! Visit www.nps.gov/longfellow to learn more.

Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site preserves the home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the world’s foremost 19th century poets. First built in 1759, this remarkable house bears witness to the history of slavery in New England, served as George Washington’s Headquarters during the Siege of Boston, was a 19th century hub of literary and artistic life, and reveals LGBTQ+ experiences in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While this is an open forum, it is also a family friendly one, so please keep your comments and wall posts clean. In addition to keeping it family friendly, we ask that you follow our posting guidelines. If you don't comply, your message will be removed.

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09/07/2026

"Saturday Sept 7 Verry Rainy Some firing"

Moses Sleeper's diary ends abruptly with this entry on September 7, 1776. The last three pages of the volume are missing - either Sleeper stopped recording or the pages with his record were lost.

Sleeper continued to serve in the Continental Army into January 1777. His regiment participated in the Battle of Harlem Heights mid-September 1776, the Battle of White Plains in late October 1776, and the Second Battle of Trenton and Battle of Princeton in January 1777.

With the end of the diary, we conclude reading along with Corporal Sleeper at 250. Read all of Sleeper's entries in his own words, from June 1775 to September 1776, in an annotated full-text transcription on our website: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/revolutionary-war-diary-of-moses-sleeper.htm

09/06/2026

Happy Labor Day weekend! Labor Day celebrates American workers and those who advocate for safe and fair labor practices.

One such advocate was Professor Harry Dana (1881-1950). He lived here at the Longfellow House while working to preserve it along with his family’s papers - including those of his grandfather, poet Henry Wadworth Longfellow. Harry’s lifelong passion for labor advocacy is reflected in his tenure as a teacher at labor schools in Massachusetts and New York, and the role he played in the founding of Boston’s Trade Union College.

In this image, taken June 16, 1949, Harry read aloud his grandfather’s poem "The Children's Hour" on a CBS radio broadcast while members of labor unions across New England donated an hour of their wages to help fund the building of the Children’s Medical Center in Boston.

To learn more about Harry Dana and his family’s legacy of preservation, activism, and cultural change in the 1900s, visit https://www.nps.gov/long/learn/historyculture/a-legacy-of-preservation.htm

08/30/2026

The disastrous Battle of Long Island concluded with the evacuation of the Continental Army from Brooklyn Heights. Moses Sleeper recorded:

"Thirsday August 29 Much Rain th Enemy hove up a Breast worke Within Gun Shot of our Lines
"Friday August 30 Last night Evacuated Long Island with verry Much Fatigue Got over to York at 1 oClock at night"

The evacuation featured the involvement of another regiment with a direct connection to Washington's Cambridge Headquarters, where Sleeper's diary is now held. In 1775, John Glover's Marblehead militiamen had been quartered in the mansion before Washington's arrival. In September 1776, Washington called on Glover's regiment to man the boats to ferry soldiers across the East River.

Read Sleeper's entries in his own words in an annotated full-text transcription on our website: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/revolutionary-war-diary-of-moses-sleeper.htm. Or, follow our social media for highlights as we continue reading Corporal Sleeper at 250.

08/29/2026

Join us at 3 pm on Sunday, August 30 for a performance by New York City jazz guitarist (and H.W. Longfellow descendant) Pete Smith! Pete returns to the Longfellow House with his trio, performing a wide range of music from Sonny Rollins to Jackie McLean, John Scofield and Pat Metheny, as well as some originals by all three members.

Like all events in the Longfellow Summer Arts Festival series, this one is free of charge and will take place on the front lawn of the Longfellow House. All are welcome, and we hope to see you there.

For more information on this upcoming concert, visit the link in our bio.

Photo courtesy of Pete Smith

08/27/2026

in 1776, the Continental Army suffered a devastating defeat in the Battle of Long Island. British infantry flanked the Continental line, which collapsed and retreated to Brooklyn Heights.

Moses Sleeper, positioned in the center of the line at Flatbush, recorded the battle and aftermath:

"Tuesday August th 27 Last night a Continual fire all night the Regulars advanced uppon our Lines kill a number & took 600 of our people prisonr
"Wednesday Augst. 28 Lay upon our Arms all night firing uppon both Sides"

American losses were significantly higher than Sleeper’s estimate, with 300 killed, an unknown number wounded, and 1,097 taken prisoner.

Read Sleeper's entries in his own words in an annotated full-text transcription on our website:https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/revolutionary-war-diary-of-moses-sleeper.htm. Or, follow our social media for highlights as we continue reading Corporal Sleeper at 250.

08/25/2026

O summer day beside the joyous sea!
O summer day so wonderful and white,
So full of gladness and so full of pain!
Forever and forever shalt thou be
To some the gravestone of a dead delight,
To some the landmark of a new domain.
-From "A Summer Day by the Sea" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1875)

As the last beach days of summer draw near, we're reading Longfellow's bittersweet reflection on the end of a day at the seaside. The Longfellow Family had great fondness for the ocean, and on a day like this, it’s easy to see why. In these photographs from the early 1890s, Longfellow's grandchildren play on the beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea.

Learn more from our article highlighting Ernest Longfellow’s 1875 painting of Dana Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea: https://www.nps.gov/long/blogs/dana-beach-painting.htm

Image 1: Girls and boys at an inland pool on the beach. The caption of a related album image gives the identifications: "Allston [Dana], Amy, Harry [Dana], Alice, Georgie [nurse], Mama [Anne Allegra Longfellow Thorp] 'A Beautiful Time.'" Possibly Manchester-by-the-Sea, 1893. NPS.

Image 2: A toddler girl, probably Alice Thorp, stands at the edge of the ocean to the side of two baby carriages. Amy and Erica Thorp may be the babies in the carriages, 1890. NPS.

Image 3: Dana Beach by Ernest Longfellow, 1875. NPS / ERNEST LONGFELLOW.

08/23/2026

Today's Berklee College of Music concert by Owen Mar is postponed due to weather conditions. A new date will be announced soon.

08/17/2026

in 1776, Corporal Moses Sleeper was waiting with his brigade on Long Island, expecting a Briish attack. On August 17, he recorded a strike on two British ships:

"Last Night two fire Ships went up th Noth River In order to Burn two Ships of War they burnt one of the Tenders & Grapled the Ships but they Cut the Rigging so that the fire Raft fell astern"

The attacking forces managed to burn one of the smaller vessels and target the 40-gun warship HMS Phoenix. Luck and maneuvers by the Phoenix’s crew prevented the ship’s destruction, resulting in only minor injury to the British fleet. British artists vividly rendered the attack, depicting the burning fireship grappled to the Phoenix before the ship’s escape.

Read Sleeper's entries in his own words in an annotated full-text transcription on our website: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/revolutionary-war-diary-of-moses-sleeper.htm. Or, follow our social media for highlights as we continue reading Corporal Sleeper at 250.

📷: “The Phoenix and the Rose Engaged by the Enemy’s Fire Ships and Galleys on the 16th Aug.st 1776. Engraved from the Original Picture by D. Serres from a sketch of Sir James Wallace’s.” Yale University Art Gallery.

08/15/2026

Hectic summer weekend? Come slow down with a guided tour of Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters. Tours of the house are free, air-conditioned, and immerse you in the stories and remarkable museum collections of this 267-year-old house. On this tour, you'll have the opportunity to explore the links between colonial-era slavery and freedom, Washington’s revolutionary headquarters, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poetic legacy, and the Longfellow family’s legacy of historic preservation. Visit https://go.nps.gov/longfellowtours to plan your visit.

Photo credit: NPS Photo/ Sam Mckenzie | The Rambling Woods

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105 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
02138

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+16178764491

Website

http://www.nps.gov/long

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