The Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides (APT) is excited to commemorate the 1775 origins of the Navy and Marine Corps. These military services, which began right here in Philadelphia, helped America gain our independence and have defended us for 250 years. In anticipation of Homecoming 250, these individual and corporate APT members have developed tours highlighting Philadelphia’s role in the history of the Navy and Marine Corps. Check back for new entries.
Religion and the Fight for American Freedom
Tour Guide: David Krueger of Dialogue Institute at Temple University
Topics covered: Religious themes surrounding the fight for freedom in the American Revolution; how Anglicans, Quakers (including Samuel Nichols), Presbyterians, Jews, and Catholics responded to the Revolution; the disestablishment of religion; the origins of human rights; the role of virtue in civil society; and the ways many Americans viewed the Revolution as having a divine purpose.
Sites included: Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier, Free Quaker Meetinghouse, Independence Hall, New Hall Military Museum, Christ Church, Carpenters Hall, burial site of Samuel Nichols, and more.
Website: dialogueinstitute.
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The Founding of the Navy and Marines
Tour Guide: Stephen Pierce of America’s Rising Son
Topics covered: Philadelphia as a port city; Samuel Nicholas and founding of Marines; Quakers’ relationship to naval defenses; official establishment of Navy and Marine Corps; John Barry and Who is the Father of the U.S. Navy?; tavern life with sailors and marines; life on the waterfront and Philadelphia shipbuilding in 18th and 19th centuries.
Sites included: Arch Street Meeting House, Independence Hall, John Barry statue, Old St. Mary’s church and graveyard, Man Full of Trouble Tavern; Independence Seaport Museum
Website: americasrisingson.com, Phone: 484-802-1846, Email: Letitbeginhere101@gmail.com
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Philly-Tough Fighting Men (and 1 Woman)
Tour Guide: Jim Murphy of Jim Murphy Communications & Antoinette Langeveld of It’s a Philly Thing Tours
Topics covered: Samuel Nicholas; The Tun (Tavern); Gustavus Conyngham; Stephen Decatur; Commodore Barry’s exploits; other military heroes and key points including Fort Mifflin, the British logjam in Delaware Bay, and the first Navy Yard; and Philly favorites William Penn and Ben Franklin.
Sites included: Arch Street Meeting House, Christ Church, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Independence Hall, Liberty Bell.
Website: realphillyhistory.com, Phone: 610-506-3024, Email: murfman1@comcast.net
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Tour of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Inside & Out
Tour Guide: Individual Volunteer Guides
The church, completed in 1761, is a National Register site and was one of the founding congregations of the Episcopal Church in 1789. The interior has unusual architecture, and the churchyard contains hundreds of graves going back to 1760, many related to the Navy/ Marines.
Website: church website: stpetersphila.org, Phone: church office: 215-554-6161 Mon.-Fri., Email: pjcritter@yahoo.com
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U.S. Military Founding in Philadelphia
Tour Guide: Marty Lotito
Topics covered: the Grand Battery; Washington crossing the Delaware and the Battles of Trenton and Princeton; the Battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Whitemarsh; the Paoli Massacre and the Warwick Furnace; the Siege of Fort Mifflin; the Winter at Valley Forge and the Battle of Monmouth; and Philadelphia’s involvement in the Battle of Yorktown.
Sites included: Commodore John Barry statue; the grave of Samuel Nicholas; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Revolution in Washington Square; New Hall HQ of Secretary of War Henry Knox under Washington; Betsy Ross House; the planned site for a reconstructed Tun Tavern; and the City Tavern.
Phone: 610-842-5831, Email: martinlotito81@gmail.com
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Terrible-Tempered Lieutenant Levy –
The Firebrand Who Transformed the Navy
Tour Guide: Fayge Horesh
Topics covered: the first Jewish Commodore, Uriah Levy; his ending the practice of flogging in the Navy and his fight against antisemitism.
Sites included: those along the Delaware River
Website: offbeatphilly.com, Phone: 267-499-4348, Email: info@offbeatphilly.com
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The Great Philadelphia Comedy Magic
Tour Guide: Robert Malissa of Philly Magic Tours
Topics covered: early history of the Marines, Tun Tavern, the exploits of Samuel Nicholas.
Sites included: historic and off-beat locations in Old City. The history of each location is the inspiration for a jaw-dropping magic trick.
Website: phillymagictours.com, Phone: 267-566-8897, Email: info@phillymagictours.com
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Philadelphia Navy Yard Tour by Bike
Tour Guide: Michael Heaney of The Philadelphia Story by Mike
Topics covered: history of the Philadelphia Navy Yard – from its founding in 1871 to its closure in 1996, and its amazing rebirth as home to over 150 employers in fashion, finance, and R&D.
Sites included: the stately Commandant’s Building, Dry Dock Park, the USS John F Kennedy aircraft carrier, and other historic buildings. On the return trip we’ll bike through the arboretum along the Delaware River.
Phone: 267-806-3088
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