Revolutionary War Conference in the Mohawk Valley

The Fort Plain Museum will host their annual conference, “The Revolutionary War Conference 250 in the Mohawk Valley,” the only conference in the country featuring the America’s 250th Anniversary, June 9th through 11th, in Johnstown, Fulton County, NY.

The Conference will feature over 12 speakers covering a wide variety of topics on the Revolutionary War. Starting in 2023, talks will include events that took place 250 years ago, honoring the American Revolution’s 250th. Also, there is a Bus Tour on the Forts and Fortified Homes of the Mohawk Valley, a cocktail reception and more.

Conference 250 speakers include:

Fireside Chat: James Kirby Martin with Guest Host Mark Edward Lender. Professor and Student Discuss the American Revolutionary War, the Upcoming 250th Anniversary and Their Legacies.

Friederike Baer – Hessians: The German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War.

John “Jack” Buchanan – The Battle of Musgrove’s Mill, 1780.

Benjamin L. Carp – The Boston Tea Party at 250: Reflections on the Radicalism of the Revolutionary Movement.

Vivian E. Davis – Over 250 Years Ago! The Battle of Golden Hill, January 19, 1770.

Holly A. Mayer – Congress’s Own A Canadian Regiment, the Continental Army, and American Union.

Steven Park – 250 Years of Remembering: The Changing Landscape of Gaspee History.

Nina Sankovitch – The Abiding Quest of a Forgotten Hero: How Josiah Quincy Battled Overwhelming Odds to Bring Together the Northern and Southern Colonies in 1773, Fanning the Flames of Revolution and Laying the Groundwork for Independence from England.

Eric H. Schnitzer – Picturing History: The Images of the American War for Independence.

Sergio Villavicencio – St Eustatius and the American Revolution.

Mohawk Valley Resident Historian – Terry McMaster – A Revolutionary Couple on the Old New York Frontier: Col. Samuel Clyde & Catharine Wasson of Cherry Valley.

New York State and the 250th: Where Things Stand – Presenters: Devin R. Lander, New York State Historian, Phil Giltner, Director of Special Projects, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Constance M. Kehoe, President, Revolutionary Westchester 250 and Lauren Roberts, Saratoga County Historian.

The Fort Plain Museum Board Chairman – Norman J. Bollen – The Fort Plain Museum & Historical Park’s Grand Enhancement Plan – Rebuilding the Blockhouse for the 250th.

The Conference will also feature “Forts and Fortified Homes of the Mohawk Valley,” a bus tour with tour leaders Bruce Venter, Wayne Lenig and Norm Bollen. The tour will travel through the Mohawk River Valley touring the many sites that housed troops during the Revolutionary War. This is an in-depth, never done before tour of the historic forts, fortified homes and sites that formed the defensive perimeter around Fort Rensselaer (Fort Plain).

Site visits will include Fort Failing, Fort Ehle, Fort Clyde, Fort Plank, Fort Rensselaer, Fort Kayser, Fort Paris, Fort Nellis, Fort Klock and more. Lunch and a Bus Tour Booklet are included.

The Conference will be held at the Fulton-Montgomery Community College’s Theater – The Visual Arts & Communications Building (Campus Map Building #2) – 2805 NY-67, in Johnstown. For more information or to register, click here.

Photo of Fort Plain Museum and Historical Park provided.