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American Revolution

Revolutionary Albany: Supplying Ticonderoga, Dealing With Loyalists & Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Relations

March 2, 2022 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

Idealized version of the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga attributed to Alonzo Chappel probably ca 1853 (courtesy Fort Ticonderoga)In early May, 1775 the Revolutionary War was underway on largely local scale. The attack on the British forces leaving Lexington and Concord had happened less than a month earlier, and 4,500 British troops had landed in Boston.

The lightly defended Fort Ticonderoga was taken on the morning of May 10, 1775, in a surprise attack by the Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, with the help of Benedict Arnold. The fort had been held by the British for 16 years, since it was taken from the French in 1759. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: Supplying Ticonderoga, Dealing With Loyalists & Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Relations

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, American Revolution, Benedict Arnold, Essex County, Fort Ticonderoga, German Flatts, Guy Johnson, Haudenosaunee, Military History, Mohawk, Mohawk River, Oneida Indian Nation, Philip Schuyler, Revolutionary Albany

A Free Black Man’s Revolutionary World: Jacob Francis, 1754-1836

February 25, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

the revolutionary world bookWilliam L. Kidder’s book The Revolutionary World of a Free Black Man: Jacob Francis, 1754-1836 (Self-Published, 2021) tells the story of Jacob Francis of Amwell township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey who was indentured out by his free Black mother to the age of 21.

Five different men “owned his time” during his indenture and each provided a different experience for him. The last man lived in Salem, Massachusetts and Jacob lived there between 1768 and 1775 during the buildup to fighting in the American Revolution. [Read more…] about A Free Black Man’s Revolutionary World: Jacob Francis, 1754-1836

Filed Under: Books, Events, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: American Revolution, Black History, Fort Plain Museum, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Slavery

Running From Bondage in Revolutionary America

February 23, 2022 by Liz Covart 1 Comment

ben_franklins_worldIn this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Karen Cook-Bell, an Associate Professor of History at Bowie State University and author of Running From Bondage: Enslaved Women and Their Remarkable Fight for Freedom in Revolutionary America (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021), joins us to investigate the experiences of enslaved women who fled their bondage for the British Army’s promise of freedom. [Read more…] about Running From Bondage in Revolutionary America

Filed Under: Books, History Tagged With: American Revolution, Podcasts, Slavery, womens history

Did the Nation Betray Benedict Arnold?

February 18, 2022 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoThis week’s guest on The Historians Podcast is James Kirby Martin, executive producer of the documentary Benedict Arnold: Hero Betrayed.

The film is based on Martin’s 1997 book Benedict Arnold Revolutionary Hero. The documentary, streaming on several TV platforms, is narrated by Martin Sheen and stars Peter O’Meara. Three men from the Mohawk Valley area created the documentary: Niskayuna native Chris Stearns, Saratoga Springs native Tom Mercer and Fort Johnson native Anthony Vertucci. [Read more…] about Did the Nation Betray Benedict Arnold?

Filed Under: History Tagged With: American Revolution, Benedict Arnold, film, Military History, Podcasts

Herkimer County Loyalist Raids & The Battle of West Canada Creek

February 15, 2022 by Louis Baum 6 Comments

West Canada Creek Monument photo courtesy Dale K Benington via Historical Monument Data Base (2012)During the American Revolution, British loyalists frequently raided the farms and homes of their former friends and neighbors in what is now Herkimer County, NY, with the support of their Native allies.

Among the communities raided were Andrustown (July 18, 1778), Rheimensnyders Bush (April 3, 1780, also known as Yellow Church), Shells Bush (August 6, 1781) and Little Falls (June 1782). The Loyalists knew the landscape well, for many of them had lived there for a generation or two. Many were relatives and friends of the recently deceased Sir William Johnson who had been Commissioner of Indian Affairs for North America.

One of these raids resulted in what has become known as the Battle of West Canada Creek, which occurred in September 1781. [Read more…] about Herkimer County Loyalist Raids & The Battle of West Canada Creek

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History, Mohawk Valley Tagged With: American Revolution, Fort Dayton, Fort Herkimer, Herkimer COunty, Indigenous History, Iroquois, John Johnson, Marinus Willett, Military History, Oneida Indian Nation, Palatines, Tryon County Militia, West Canada Creek

Revolutionary Albany: Organizing The Committee of Safety, Protection and Correspondence

February 14, 2022 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

The able doctor, or America swallowing the bitter draught (NYPL cropped)Beginning in 1764, the Parliament of Great Britain passed a series of tax acts attempting to tax the colonies to help pay for the costs of troops provided during and after the French and Indian War (which had ended the year before). Various taxes were imposed on sugar, newspapers, printed documents, dice and playing cards and later, glass, lead, paint, paper and tea. British tax collectors were physically threatened and prevented from collecting the tax and British goods were boycotted. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: Organizing The Committee of Safety, Protection and Correspondence

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, American Revolution, John Johnson, Political History, Rensselaer County, Rensselaerswijck, Revolutionary Albany, Saratoga County, Schenectady County

The Captive Boys of Rensselaerville: John and Robert Brice

February 8, 2022 by Peter Hess 2 Comments

painting of Dietz Massacre by James Dietz The following captivity narrative was related by Robert Brice and includes an account of the September 1781 “Dietz Massacre” that took place a few miles south of the Village of Berne, Albany County, NY.  This story was taken down from Robert Brice when he was still living by Josiah Priest and published in his Stories of the Revolution in 1836 as “The Captive Boys of Rensselaerville – John and Robert Brice.”  This version has been lightly edited for easier reading, but has retained much of the tone and style, including the use of disparaging terms to refer to the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people who took part in these events. Additional details and background about this event can be found here. New York Almanack is presenting this story to illustrate historical attitudes about these events from a victim’s perspective.

The Brices had migrated from their native country of Scotland in the year 1774 and settled in a new place, southwest of the city of Albany. At this place, a few families had chosen a residence, which was then called Van Rensselaer’s Patent, but now Rensselaerville. Here the newcomers erected a few log houses. [Read more…] about The Captive Boys of Rensselaerville: John and Robert Brice

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany County, American Revolution, Berne, Buffalo, Catskill Creek, Fort Erie, German-American History, Mohawk, Mohawk River, Old Fort Niagara, Rensselaerswijck, Schoharie County

The State Historian on the 250th Anniversary of the Revolution

February 4, 2022 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoThis week on The Historians Podcast, New York State Historian Devin Lander discusses plans to observe the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution.

Prior to being named State Historian, Lander was executive director of the Museum Association of New York. [Read more…] about The State Historian on the 250th Anniversary of the Revolution

Filed Under: History Tagged With: America's 250th Anniversary, American Revolution, Military History, Podcasts, State Historian

Henry Knox, Phillip Schuyler and Lake Champlain’s Cannon in Boston

February 3, 2022 by Guest Contributor 3 Comments

Knox Artillery Train courtesy National Archives CollectionOne of the iconic stories of the American Revolution is the laborious trek of a contingent of newly-minted patriots, led by Henry Knox, lugging cannon from the fort at Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, forcing the British to abandon Boston, an important early victory is our long fight for freedom.

Few may realize that important decisions while the expedition was in Saratoga County were key to the success of the mission. [Read more…] about Henry Knox, Phillip Schuyler and Lake Champlain’s Cannon in Boston

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: American Revolution, Columbia County, Essex County, Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox, Lake Champlain, Military History, Philip Schuyler, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga County History Roundtable, Warren County

The Albany Congress of 1754: Native People, Colonists & the Monarchy

January 26, 2022 by Peter Hess 1 Comment

Dec 1754 Map of the English Colonies (LOC)William Shirley was the Royal Governor of Massachusetts, appointed by the King of England. Shirley had been a British official in England serving on negotiating committees with French officials determining boundaries. This had led Shirley to a thorough dislike of the French.

He was very aggressive and had been a stalwart advocate of invading Canada and driving the French out of North America. Shirley had written a strong criticism of the New York Congress for its resistance to an invasion of Canada in 1748. He was upset when New Jersey and Rhode Island refused to cooperate in the invasion because they were not threatened. [Read more…] about The Albany Congress of 1754: Native People, Colonists & the Monarchy

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Western NY Tagged With: Albany, Albany Plan of Union, American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, Canajoharie, Colonial History, Connecticut, French And Indian War, French History, George Clinton, Haudenosaunee, Hendrick Theyanoguin, Indigenous History, James DeLancey, Kayaderosseras Creek, Lenape, Maryland, Massachusetts, Military History, Mohawk, Mohawk Valley, Mohican, New France, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Northwest Territory, Oswego, Pennsylvania, Political History, Rhode Island, Saratoga County, Schaghticoke, Stockbridge Indians, Virginia, West Canada Creek, William Johnson

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