History, Natural History & the Arts
When we picture the War for American Independence, we picture battles.
But for the men and women who actually lived and fought in it, the American Revolution was also a job with mess rotations, night watches, short rations, and children underfoot. [Read more…] about Everyday Military Life in the American Revolution
During the controversies over the enforcement of the Navigation Acts, the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765, committees were created in New York to correspond with those of other colonies and to contrive means of opposing those measures. Similar committees were organized elsewhere.
The Townshend Acts of 1767 reawakened the disturbance occasioned by the Stamp Act and furnished a renewed occasion for protests through committees. [Read more…] about The American Revolutionary Committee System: 1765-1775
The Williams Monument lies several miles south of the head of Lake George along Route 9. On September 21, 1921, workers digging a hole for a sign near the obelisk revealed five cannonballs believed to date to the French & Indian War (1754–1763).
Following the unexpected discovery, made in 20 inches of soil, the laborers refilled the excavation. They then dug a post-hole in a different spot. [Read more…] about Workers Unearth Mysterious Cannonballs in Lake George
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced the completion of the Victory Loop Trail, a new formalized recreation trail at Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site in Walloomsac, Rensselaer County, NY.
The new trail covers ground that was hotly contested in the 1777 Battle of Bennington. After the British positions collapsed under the American attack of the first engagement, General John Stark pursued the retreating Crown forces into these fields. It was here that the British forces were cut off and forced to surrender. Previously, public access to the Retreat Fields was limited. [Read more…] about ‘Victory Trail’ Opens at Bennington Battlefield Historic Site
For a century and a half prior to the American Revolution the people of New York had been accustomed to act through representative committees in order to win one concession after another for self-government.
During the Dutch period the Twelve Men (a committee chosen in 1641 by the residents to advise Willem Kieft on relations with Native Americans), the Eight Men (Remonstrance of the Eight Men, 1644), the Nine Men (Remonstrance of the Commonality, 1649, led by Adriaen van der Donck), and other groups, wrested rights for the people from autocratic New Netherland governors and the West India Company. [Read more…] about New York’s Revolutionary Committee Records: Correspondence, Safety & Conspiracies
A highly popular shore fishing destination, Target Rock is just one of five properties that form the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It also has an interesting history.
Located on Lloyd’s Neck in Long Island Sound 25 miles east of New York City, the land was originally maintained as a garden estate by the Eberstadt family who donated it in 1967 to establish a sanctuary for migratory birds. [Read more…] about Wildlife & History: Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge
The New York State Museum has unveiled a facial reconstruction of a Revolutionary War soldier whose remains were recovered from the Courtland Street Burying Ground in Lake George, NY.
Created by forensic artist Jenny Kenyon, the reconstruction depicts a young soldier believed to have been in his teens, offering a powerful new glimpse into the lives of the individuals who died while serving during the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Facial Reconstruction Brings Revolutionary War Soldier to Life
When most Americans think of slavery, they do not picture the colonial or revolutionary eras. Yet, in fact, one of six inhabitants of the thirteen original colonies was enslaved.
The Escapes of David George: an Odyssey of Slavery, Freedom, and the American Revolution (St. Martin’s Press, 2026) reveals a remarkable, untold experience of the American revolutionary period ― a Black man’s quest for the freedom espoused by our Founders, but denied him and other enslaved people. [Read more…] about The Escapes of David George: Slavery, Freedom & The American Revolution
Red Hook in Brooklyn is home to Fort Defiance, one of the most overlooked Revolutionary War sites in New York City, and it may also hold a key to the community’s climate resilient future, according to Friends of Fort Defiance and Resilient Red Hook organizers. [Read more…] about Tides of History: Red Hook, Fort Defiance & and Climate Resiliency
The skeletal remains of 44 people believed to have been associated with the Continental Army effort to invade Quebec in 1775 will be transported in historic U.S. military vehicles on Wednesday, May 20 from the New York State Museum in Albany to Lake George.
Scientists there have spent seven years identifying and reconstructing the remains. They will be reinterred in a new memorial at Lake George Battlefield Park being dedicated Friday, May 22. [Read more…] about Rev War Remains Being Brought to Lake George for Reinternment
The American Revolution in what is now Clinton County, NY, was defined by its strategic position on Lake Champlain, a critical corridor for both Continental and British forces. The county’s history is deeply intertwined with the naval struggle for control of this waterway, which served as a gateway between Canada and the Hudson Valley.
Clinton County was a constant site of troop movements and tactical maneuvering. The region remained a front line of defense as an important line of communication and a barrier against northern incursions even after the war ended. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Clinton County: 250th Anniversary Efforts and Events
The Fort Plain Museum and Historical Park has announced the finalists for the 2026 James Kirby Martin Book Prize.
The award honors the memory and scholarly contributions of the late historian James Kirby Martin, the Hugh Roy and Lilli Cranz Cullen University Professor of History at the University of Houston and a member of the Fort Plain Museum board. [Read more…] about James Kirby Martin Book Prize Finalists Announced
In April 1775, when news of the Battle of Lexington and Concord reached New York, Nicholas Fish, born in Newtown, Long Island, was a 17-year old law student at King’s College (now Columbia University).
Together with his close friend, Alexander Hamilton, and other law colleagues who were members of the Sons of Liberty, Fish without hesitation joined a volunteer militia called the “Corsicans” – later named the “Hearts of Oak.”
The Hearts of Oak carried out one of the early actions of the war in August 1775 when they seized 21 royal cannons from New York’s Battery under fire from the British warship HMS Asia. [Read more…] about Revolutionary, Military & Political Leader Nicholas Fish Focus of New Exhibit
Town of Lake George officials say construction continues on schedule for the “Repose of the Fallen” project involving the reinterment of the skeletal remains of 44 people who are believed to have been associated with a Continental Army smallpox hospital when they died during the American Revolution.
The remains will be interred in a new memorial located in Lake George Battlefield State Park that will be dedicated during a public ceremony on Friday, May 22. [Read more…] about Revolutionary War Smallpox Hospital Reinterments on Schedule
As America marks its 250th anniversary, the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor is launching Revolutionary Experiences, road trips along New York’s historic waterways.
These self-guided itineraries invite participants to explore the people, places, and ideas that helped shape the nation. [Read more…] about Erie Canalway Launches “Revolutionary Experiences” Tours
Veteran journalist and newspaper editor Anthony Hall of the Lake George Mirror alerted us to this story. Subscribe (or just make a gift) to the Mirror to support the important work of local journalists.
In the murky depths of Lake Champlain, the skeletal remains of the Continental Navy schooner Royal Savage rested for over 150 years, a silent witness to the birth of the American Navy.
However, after recovery in 1934 through turbulent years of improper storage, possibly being sold off to the highest bidder, and the government’s rescue of artifacts, countless hours of preservation, 3D-scans of original timbers and 1:12 scale models, visitors to the National Museum of the U.S. Navy in Washington, DC, can finally see history re-imagined. [Read more…] about Royal Savage: Neglected Champlain Warship Finally ‘On View’
What if the American Revolution didn’t just create the United States, but also created Australia? And what if the Muslim ruler of Mysore in southern India was, by the logic of wartime coalitions, George Washington‘s ally?
These aren’t thought experiments. They’re history – part of the surprisingly global history of the American Revolution. [Read more…] about The Global History of the American Revolution
According to Webster’s American Dictionary, “critical mass” is the time when a turning point is reached in a series of events leading to a major action. Scientifically, the term is used when sufficient size of matter leads to a chain reaction, as in a nuclear reactor.
Thus, “critical mass” can help explain the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Critical Mass and the Road to Revolution, 1763-1776
A 70-year-old Benjamin Franklin passed through upstate New York in the spring of 1776 on a mission to Canada that failed in the moment but helped shape the American Revolution.
Traveling north in poor health, Franklin traveled up the Hudson River, passing through Albany, Saratoga, and up Lake Champlain, reaching Montreal in April 1776. [Read more…] about Benjamin Franklin’s Travels Through Upstate New York in 1776
Live Free or Die: The Life and Times Of John Stark (Page Publishing, 2025) by William Baker Jr. is the story of how one of the American Revolution’s best battlefield commanders triumphed over the self-interest of others to play a major role in securing victory for the new republic.
Most often referred to as the “Hero of the Battle of Bennington,” John Stark also played pivotal roles in the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Trenton. [Read more…] about The Life and Times of John Stark
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