4. 1812 War Heroes on Lower East Side
One major difference between the street names of 1767 and 1817 in the Lower East Side was the change of First, Second, and Third Streets to the present-day names of Chrystie, Forsyth, and Eldridge, respectively. Also, on either side of Orchard Street, Allen and Ludlow Streets were added to standardize the width of each block.
These five street names, and their appearance starting in 1817, can be traced to heroes from the War of 1812. Moscow explained that Lt. Col. John Chrystie, a Columbia University graduate, led two attacks during the Battle of Queenstown Heights in Ontario. Benjamin Forsyth died while fighting in upstate New York in June 1814 and Joseph C. Eldridge, a Lieutenant, was killed in Canada after a scalping by the Indians.
Both William Henry Allen and Augustus C. Ludlow served in the navy during the War of 1812. Allen was the youngest ship captain in the navy during the war before dying in 1813 and Ludlow took charge of the ship Chesapeake after his captain was wounded during a battle in Boston Harbor.