New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga Names Interpretation Director

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Fort Ticonderoga has announced the appointment of Stuart Lilie to serve as Director of Interpretation at Fort Ticonderoga, one of the oldest and most significant historic sites in North America.

“Stuart Lilie arrives at the Fort,” said Beth Hill “with tremendous vision and enthusiasm for the Fort’s future. He is extremely competent as a leader in the profession and has a clear commitment to the high quality historic interpretation required for the Fort to attain its vision to be the premier military historic site and museum in North America.”

He will begin work at Fort Ticonderoga on April 25, 2011 and will be responsible for the development and implementation of Fort Ticonderoga’s Interpretive Department.

With a Bachelor of Arts in History from The College of William & Mary, Stuart Lilie has extensive knowledge of material culture, trades and historic interpretation. He has worked in several interpretive and trades positions at Colonial Williamsburg and served as an apprentice archaeologist with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities at Jamestown. An accomplished horseman and saddler, Mr. Lilie began and currently operates the only 18th century reproduction saddle company. He has consulted on historical equestrian matters for films at Mount Vernon, 96 Battlefield, Moore’s Creek, Vicksburg and Cowpens National Park.

An avid Revolutionary war and Seven Years war re-enactor for 15 years, Mr. Lilie has taken his belief in high standards of authenticity to work on the development of educational programming for many national sites including Colonial Williamsburg, Putnam Memorial State Park, Fort Dobbs State Historic Site, Minute Man National Park, Endview Plantation, Virginia War Museum, and Middleton Place. “I am both honored and excited to be part of such a great team, making such a huge difference at one of America’s most historic sites.”, said Mr. Lilie about his new post.

Photo: Fort Ticonderoga’s Director of Interpretation, Stuart Lilie. Lilie will begin work at the Fort on April 25, 2011.

Seven Years’ War College Teacher Scholarships

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Fort Ticonderoga is has announced the winners of teacher scholarships to attend the Sixteenth Annual War College of the Seven Years’ War May 20-22, 2011. They are: Wendy Bergeron, of Winnacunnet High School, Hampton, New Hampshire; Steven Hammerman, Falcon Cove Middle School, Weston, Florida; Judd Kramarcik, Commack Road Elementary School, Islip, New York; and Bill Sullivan, Northwestern Regional High School, Winsted, Connecticut.

Fort Ticonderoga’s teacher scholarships are supported by generous War College patrons and have been awarded to 53 teachers since 2001. Teacher scholarships are also offered for the annual Fort Ticonderoga Seminar on the American Revolution, held this year September 23-25, 2011. The seminar brochure and teacher scholarship application form are both available on the fort website at www.fort-ticonderoga.org by selecting the “Education Program” tab and then clicking on “Revolutionary War Seminar.”

Photo: Fifteenth Annual War College of the Seven Years’ War, May 2010.

Fort Ticonderoga Presents Material Matters Workshop

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Fort Ticonderoga presents the next “Material Matters: It’s in the Details” Winter Weekend Workshop on Saturday, February 26th. This workshop, focusing on the Revolutionary War era, takes place in the Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center at Fort Ticonderoga from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pre-registration is required.

Designed for those who want a deeper understanding of the everyday objects that help tell the story of life during the 18th century, this workshop is a part of a series examining the material culture of the 18th century as it relates to Fort Ticonderoga’s role in the 18th-century contests for North America.

The February 26th workshop features William Hettinger, an expert on 18th-century jewelry; Jenna Schnitzer, who will speak on 18th-century women’s clothing; Chris Fox, the Fort’s Curator of Collections, whose presentation focuses on 18th-century lighting devices; and Eric Schnitzer, from Saratoga National Historical Park, who will discuss the use of artworks when researching 18th-century material culture. The workshop concludes with an opportunity for participants to examine examples of 18th-century artifacts with the panel of experts.

The cost for the day-long workshop is $35 and includes morning refreshments and lunch. To register, contact Rich Strum at 518-585-6370 or you can download a registration form at www.Fort-Ticonderoga.org and select “Adult Programs” under the “Education Programs” button.

Rare Maps of the American Revolution in the North

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The 1776-1777 Northern Campaigns of the American War for Independence and Their Sequel: Contemporary Maps of Mainly German Origin by Thomas M. Barker and Paul R. Huey is the first, full-scale, presentation in atlas form of the two, abortive British-German invasions of New York – events crucial to understanding the rebel American victory in the War for Independence. The book includes 240 pages with 32 full-color illustrations.

The bulk of the maps are from the German archives. The material has previously been little used by researchers in the United States due to linguistic and handwriting barriers. The volume includes transcriptions, translations, and detailed textual analysis of the naval and land operations of 1776 and 1777. It is written from a novel military-historical perspective, namely, British, German, loyalist, French Canadian, and First American.

The attack of Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery on Québec City, the colonial assailants’ repulse and withdrawal to the Province of New York and the Hudson River corridor, prior actions in the adjacent St. Lawrence-Richelieu river region of Canada, the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain, the forts at Crown Point and Ticonderoga, and the Battles of Bennington and Saratoga all receive detailed attention. The last section of the atlas deals with the less known, final phase of combat, in which the Britons, Germans, refugee tories, Québec militia, and Amerindians kept the insurgents off balance by mounting numerous small-scale expeditions into New York.

The significance of the publication is highlighted by Russell Bellico, author of Sails and Steam in the Mountains: A Maritime History of Lake George and Lake Champlain. He writes that Barker’s and Huey’s tome is “a superb work of scholarship based on exhaustive research on both sides of the Atlantic.” J. Winthrop Aldrich, New York State Deputy Commissioner for Historic Preservation, states that the maps “are of significant help now as we continue to build our understanding of what happened in our war for independence, and why. This rediscovered treasure and the illuminating commentary and notes superbly advance that understanding.”

Dr. Thomas M. Barker is emeritus professor of history, University of Albany, State University of New York at Albany. He is the author of numerous books about European military history, especially the Habsburg monarchy, Spain, World War II as well as ethnic minority issues. Dr. Paul R. Huey is a well-known New York State historical archeologist and also has many publications to his credit. He is particularly knowledgeable about the locations of old forts, battlefields, colonial and nineteenth-century buildings, and/or their buried vestiges. He works at the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation Bureau of Historic Sites office on Peebles Island in Waterford, New York. The book is co-published with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum.

Note: Books noticed on this site have been provided by the publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

Fort Ticonderoga Receives Art Exhibit Grant

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Fort Ticonderoga has been awarded a grant in the amount of $3,000 by The Felicia Fund, Inc. of Providence, Rhode Island. The funds will support the upcoming exhibit, The Art of War: Ticonderoga as Experienced through the Eyes of America’s Great Artists exhibit. The new exhibit, scheduled to open in May 2011, will feature fifty works from Fort Ticonderoga’s extensive art collection together for the first time in a single exhibition. Included will be important American works by Thomas Davies, Thomas Cole, and Daniel Huntington. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga Receives Art Exhibit Grant

Tories: American Revolution and Civil War

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In 1777, as General John Burgoyne’s army marched south, having taken Fort Ticonderoga, a temporary loyalist enclave was created in Rutland County, Vermont. While many rebel Americans fled before the British Army, a few stayed on. In Rutland Nathan Tuttle, a rebel known locally for hating and taunting loyalists, was one of them.

Tuttle’s decision to stay behind was not a very good one at a time and place when the American Revolution was a full-scale Civil War. As Burgoyne’s army passed through Rutland, Tuttle disappeared. Ten years later it was revealed by a local Tory that Tuttle had been bayoneted, his body weighted with stones and thrown into a creek. Nathan Tuttle was an American, and so were his murderers, likely men associated with the notorious Loyalist and close confidant of John Burgoyne, Philip Skene of Whitehall. [Read more…] about Tories: American Revolution and Civil War

Fort Ticonderoga Receives Program Grant

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Fort Ticonderoga has been awarded a grant in the amount of $15,000 by the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust of Saratoga Springs, NY. The funds will support an expanded interpretive program entitled “These Worthy Fellows are Second to None in Courage” highlighting the daily lives of the soldiers garrisoned at Fort Ticonderoga.

The funding support from the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust will help support interpretive staff and the purchase of interpretive clothing, weapons, accoutrement and tools. The Fort’s expanded programming will further bring to life the Fort’s social and military history as well as the material culture of the 18th century soldiers who served at Fort Ticonderoga.

Beth Hill, Executive Director, said the generous grant provided by Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust will “support a significant initiative at Fort Ticonderoga that invests in the visitor’s experience, serves the heart of our mission and meets a national need.” As part of an institutional-wide assessment, Fort Ticonderoga has identified the need for more interpretive opportunities that engage visitors through expanded living history programs.

According to a recent national study, 83% of U.S. adults failed when tested on the beliefs, freedoms and liberties established during the American Revolution. A goal of the Fort’s interpretive initiative is to address in part the historical amnesia identified in the report. Fort Ticonderoga, often called “America’s Fort,” tells the story of how the blood spilled in the name of empire during the French and Indian War became part of the same story of the blood spilled in the name of liberty during the American Revolution.

Photo: Interpreters portray Loyalist militia at Fort Ticonderoga.

The Jersey Greys in New York Event

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Fort Montgomery State Historic Site (690 Route 9W, Fort Montgomery, NY) will be offering an evening lecture, “The 3rd New Jersey in New York: Stories from “The Jersey Greys” of 1776” on Thursday, December 2nd at 7 PM.

Speaker Philip D. Weaver will utilize correspondence, company account books, and period diaries to acquaint you with one of the best equipped, most interesting, and dysfunctional regiments in the early Continental Army, the 3rd New Jersey of 1776. Attendees will be given a quick introduction to the organization and the personalities, followed by a discussion of their New York campaign. Weaver will focus on a number of stories and anecdotes. The program will also include information on their garrisoning of Fort Stanwix and their subsequent relocation to “the old French Barracks” at Fort Ticonderoga.

This lecture is FREE and open to all. For more information or directions, call (845) 446-2134.

Image: Charles Wilson Peale portrait of then Captain Joseph Bloomfield of the 3rd New Jersey.

Russell Bellico: Empires in the Mountains

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Russell Bellico Empires in the MountainsMeeting Russell Bellico, you’d think you were in the presence of an old sea captain spending his retirement in the softer wind and spray of Lake George. You’d be surprised to know that he spent 35 years in the economics department at Westfield State College in Massachusetts.

You’d be glad to hear that Bellico spent his time away from Westfield at Lake George, where as a summer resident he invested himself in local history. He has spent over three decades photographing shipwrecks and historic sites on Lake George and Lake Champlain. He served as a consultant on the National Park Service’s Champlain Valley Heritage Corridor, a trustee of the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance, and a board member of Bateaux Below, the organization founded by the archaeological team (which included Bellico) that documented the 1758 radeau Land Tortoise which lies underwater at the southern end of Lake George. [Read more…] about Russell Bellico: Empires in the Mountains

George Washington’s Great Gamble Author Event

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Fort Ticonderoga’s 2010 Author Series concludes on Sunday, October 17th, with James Nelson, author of George Washington’s Great Gamble: And the Sea Battle That Won the American Revolution. The program takes place in the Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center at Fort Ticonderoga at 2:00 p.m., followed by a book signing at 3:00 p.m. in the Fort Ticonderoga Museum Store. The program is included in the cost of admission.

In George Washington’s Great Gamble, Nelson tells the story of the greatest naval engagement of the American Revolution. In the opening months of 1781, General George Washington feared his army would not survive the coming campaign season. The spring and summer only served to reinforce his despair, but in late summer the changing circumstances of war presented a once-in-a-war opportunity for a French armada to hold off the mighty British navy while his own troops with French reinforcements would drive Lord Cornwallis’s forces to the Chesapeake. The Battle of the Capes would prove the only time the French ever fought the Royal Navy to a draw; but for the British army it was a catastrophe, leading to Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown.

James L. Nelson is the author of 15 works of fiction and nonfiction. His novels include the five books of his “Revolution at Sea” saga and three in his “Brethren of the Coast” series. His novel Glory in the Name won the American Library Association’s W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Best Military Fiction. He is also the author of Benedict Arnold’s Navy and George Washington’s Secret Navy, which earned the Samuel Eliot Morison Award.