History, Natural History & the Arts
Whitehall‘s Patrick J. Harvey was lucky when it came to fishing and foraging. In late February 1928, spring-like weather had already arrived. With the milder temperatures, Harvey was fishing from a boat on Lake Champlain. Beneath lay the sunken wreck of the British battlecraft Confiance from the War of 1812.
The once-mighty warship lay near the mouth of the Poultney River. [Read more…] about 1928 Angler Catches Jug of Liquor Fishing Lake Champlain
The coming of autumn often makes trees harder to identify – but sometimes, it does the opposite. The black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a case in point.
In summer, its bluish-green, oval-shaped compound leaves could easily be confused with those of the honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), a close cousin. [Read more…] about Black Locust: An Invasive with Historic Roots
The Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site’s digital archive holds over 11,000 names of military personnel who served at, or passed through, Sackets Harbor during the War of 1812.
Sackets Harbor became a strategic location in 1808 when the military arrived to enforce the Embargo Act of 1807. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, the harbor became the US military headquarters for the northern frontier on Lakes Ontario and Erie. [Read more…] about A Teenager’s War of 1812 at Sackets Harbor, Plattsburgh & Greenbush
Once in a while some very special tie to the past happens which reminds us of our debt to the people who settled in our county early on. In July of 2024 the Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA) got a call from Lynn Foerster who said she was coming from California to visit the site of her 5th great grandfather’s long-time home. [Read more…] about Benjamin Mooers: Veteran of the Revolution & War of 1812
On June 18, 1812, Congress passed and President James Madison signed a declaration of war against Great Britain, marking the beginning of the War of 1812. Frustrated by Britain’s maritime practices and support of Native American resistance to western expansion, the U.S. entered the war with ambitious plans to conquer Canada, a goal that was never realized. [Read more…] about June 18, 1812: War of 1812 Begins When US Declares War On Great Britain
Clinton County’s Riverside Cemetery is a beautiful park-like old cemetery in the heart of Plattsburgh, bordered by Steltzer Road (formerly Riverside Road). It’s so old, in fact, that it holds the remains of Plattsburgh’s earliest settlers, Revolutionary War veterans and casualties from the Battle of Plattsburgh during the War of 1812.
[Read more…] about Plattsburgh’s Riverside Cemetery: Burial Place of Early Settlers, Veterans
What follows is a letter to addressed to Secretary at War Hon. John H. Eaton at Washington, DC, from Brigadier General John E. Wool in the Inspector General’s office (although that position had been vacant for many years).
Conformably to your wishes, expressed when I met you at Buffalo, in July last, I have the honor to present my views on the expediency of fortifying the Northern Frontier, and particularly in the neighborhood of Rouses Point on Lake Champlain. [Read more…] about General John E. Wool & New York’s Northern Defenses, 1830
From the winter 1812 “Camp Saranac” (Pike’s Cantonment) to the fortifications built for the defense and protection of the village of Plattsburgh and the important military stores in 1814 (Forts Brown, Moreau, and Scott, the wooden barracks and two additional forts – Forts Gaines and Tompkins – in 1815), the Plattsburgh Stone Barracks in 1838, the brick “brownstones” of the 1890s, to the establishment of the Army’s “Plattsburgh Barracks” in 1945 and the “new base” of the Air Force in the 1950s, the military presence in Plattsburgh have had a long and interesting past. [Read more…] about 1888: The First National Monument to Unknown Soldiers
By any measure, things were looking very grim for General Alexander Macomb and his army on September 3, 1814. Scouting reports indicated that as many as 11,000 battle-hardened British troops were moving south along the western shore of Lake Champlain with Plattsburgh in their sights, and most Plattsburgh inhabitants had left for safer quarters. [Read more…] about Aitkin’s Rifles: Mementos of the Battle of Plattsburgh
One of the important historical figures of Clinton County, who is not often mentioned, is Dr. William Beaumont (1785 – 1853), considered “The Father of Gastric Physiology.”
His name is honored across the nation on schools and hospitals and locally on historic markers, a SUNY Plattsburgh building, and a local medical practice. [Read more…] about William Beaumont, Father of Gastric Physiology
Alexander Macomb, the elder, (1748–1831) was a fur trader, land and currency speculator, and slaveholder who supported the British during the American Revolution and provided the occupying British army with trade goods. [Read more…] about The Two Alexander Macombs: A Slaveholder & A Duplicitous Negotiator
The Clinton County Historical Association has announce it has received a Conservation Treatment Grant from the Greater Hudson Heritage Network for the conservation of a diorama created by Adirondack artist and theme park creator Arto Monaco (1913-2003).
The diorama was a gift from the Plattsburgh Rotary who commissioned the work for the 1976 United States Bicentennial celebration. It’s been moved to several locations over the years, resting finally within the CCHA Museum at 98 Ohio Avenue on the Old Base Museum Campus in Plattsburgh, NY. [Read more…] about Arto Monaco’s Valcour, Plattsburgh Battle Dioramas Being Conserved
The summer of 1776 was among the most perilous periods of the Revolutionary War, and almost all the action took place in New York. The young nation tottered on the edge of destruction that summer.
With an army of 20,000 men, George Washington could not hold New York City against an enemy force twice as large. The British drove him out of the city and across New Jersey into Pennsylvania. By December, he had 3,000 men left and was admitting to his brother, “I think the game is pretty near up.” [Read more…] about Valcour Island: Keeping The Cause of Liberty Alive
September marks the anniversary of the Battle of Plattsburgh.
There were two battles at Plattsburgh however, one on the bay and one on land. This quiz covers the land battle and related subjects. See if you can answer a few, and learn a few fun facts in the bargain. [Read more…] about Test Your Battle of Plattsburgh Knowledge
The Battle of Plattsburgh celebration is upon us again, so there’s no better time than now for a little Q&A to test your knowledge (and you’ll learn stuff, too!) about a truly remarkable victory.
The focus here is on Commodore Thomas Macdonough, who was lauded nationally as a hero for his actions on Lake Champlain. On Plattsburgh’s museum campus (located on the former air base property), you’ll find the Battle of Plattsburgh Association’s War of 1812 Museum, and check out the schedule of events for the 2017 Battle of Plattsburgh commemoration running from September 7–10. There’s something for everyone, with plenty of great family venues. [Read more…] about Q&A: Test Your Battle of Plattsburgh Knowledge
The Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA) will host a presentation by Vincent Puliafico on the Treaty of Ghent on Monday, December 1st at 7 pm. Using John Quincy Adams diary and other sources, Puliafico impersonates John Adams, giving a chronological presentation on the Treaty of Ghent negotiations.
The presentation emphasizes how the news of the Battle of Plattsburgh arrived and affected the mood at the peace table discussions. Other questions answered include, who won the War of 1812 and what was gained? [Read more…] about John Quincy Adams, Treaty of Ghent Event
Author and historian Alan Taylor will present a lecture entitled “The Civil War of 1812: A Continent Divided” on Friday, September 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, 1610 NYS Route 22 (at Whallons Bay Road) as part of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Plattsburgh.
A leading historian of early United States history, Alan Taylor won a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for his book The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832. He was also a Pulitzer Prize recipient in 1996 for William Cooper’s Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic. Taylor currently teaches at the University of Virginia. [Read more…] about Talk Marks Battle of Plattsburgh Bicentennial
They were headed this way. British troops had done that before, without success, but these were not just any British troops. They were 11,000 troops fresh from their victory over Napoleon.
By that third summer of the War of 1812, British shore raiding parties were taking a great toll in the Chesapeake Bay. Supported by a fleet of more than 30 warships, they would put troops ashore near a town, and either burn it, or demand ransom from the inhabitants. [Read more…] about Battle of Plattsburgh: A Pivotal Naval Battle
“The naval battle of Lake Champlain was probably the greatest feat of arms that our navy achieved in the War of 1812,” said Franklin D. Roosevelt.
From Secretary of Navy William Jones on Oct. 3, 1814: “To view it in abstract, it is not surpassed by any naval victory on record. To appreciate its result, it is perhaps one of the most important events in the history of our country.”
According to Penn University historian John B. McMaster, it was “the greatest naval battle of the war,” and Thomas Macdonough was “the ablest sea-captain our country has produced.”
Like McMaster, author and historian Teddy Roosevelt called it “the greatest naval battle of the war,” and praised Commodore Thomas Macdonough thusly: “Down to the time of the Civil War, he is the greatest figure in our naval history. … he was skillful and brave. One of the greatest of our sea captains, he has left a stainless name behind him.” And one more: looking back, Sir Winston Churchill said it “was a decisive battle of the war.” [Read more…] about The Battle of Plattsburgh: 200 Years Of Forgetting
Registration is now open for the special one-day Association of Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS) Region 6 conference to be held in Plattsburgh on Friday June 6, 2014 (with early arrival museum tour on Thursday evening June 5).
The conference focus is on the War of 1812,and specifically the Battle of Plattsburgh of September, 1814 with a focus on “how the community has embraced the annual commemoration of the Battle of Plattsburgh, and the excitement about the 200th anniversary commemoration upcoming this Fall, with international participation and events spanning three weeks.” Organizers are expected to share their experiences of how this sentinel event brings together the community, historians, municipalities and visitors to gain a better appreciation of the unique position this area holds in history.” [Read more…] about War of 1812 Historians Meeting Planned
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