History, Natural History & the Arts
Trivia clue: He was the vice-presidential running mate of Grover Cleveland in 1888.
Correct response: Who was former U.S. Sen. Allen G. Thurman of California?
“The patriot of Columbus cannot be allowed to wither in retirement,” M.F. Tarpey said, when placing Thurman’s name in nomination, according to June 8th, 1888 report in The Morning Star of Glens Falls. “His fame is not his alone; it is the proud heritage of the American public.” [Read more…] about Political Anecdotes from the Past
Call it the little newspaper that hoped it could.
“What! another paper in Washington County!” publisher George A. Nash wrote in the first issue of The Commercial Advertiser of Sandy Hill, now Hudson Falls, on November 26th, 1879. [Read more…] about The Little Newspaper That Hoped It Could
In the first days of August, 1777, Albany seemed doomed to be overrun by the British. General John Burgoyne had taken Crown Point, Fort Ticonderoga, Fort George, Fort Anne, Fort Edward and Fort Miller, the last substantial fortified place protecting the city from the north. To the west at Fort Stanwix, a siege was underway requiring many of General Philip Schyuler’s troops being sent to that fort’s defense from their camp on Van Schaick Island, now in the city of Cohoes.
Burgoyne however, had severely stretched his supply line. He was now having problems bringing up food and supplies over primitive roads that had been severely rutted and nearly destroyed by the Revolutionaries. He had to slow down to wait for food and had to keep his supply line protected all the way back to Canada, spreading his troops more thinly. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: The Battles of Saratoga & Loyalist Opposition
After a late-summer of preparations, too late in the fall of 1775, the Colonial Army mounted a two-pronged invasion of Canada. General Schuyler invaded Montreal from Fort Ticonderoga and General Benedict Arnold attacked Quebec.
Schuyler fell ill and was replaced by General Richard Montgomery. Montgomery took Montreal and then marched to assist Arnold at Quebec. [Read more…] about Revolutionary Albany: Setbacks As The War Presses Toward Albany
A new historic marker will be dedicated at Rogers Island, in the Hudson River at Fort Edward. The marker commemorates the history of the site where Major Robert Rogers wrote his Rules of Ranging in 1757.
Fort Edward was at one time located in Dutch New Netherlands territory on the ancient Native American route through the Hudson and Champlain Valleys. A trading post was built there in the 1730s by J.H. Lydius.
Fort Edward (1755) was one of the largest military fortifications in North America and a northern outpost of the British Empire. It spanned both Channels of the Hudson River with the main structure on the mainland of the East Channel, a military hospital on the island and a large Royal Block House on a bluff of the West Channel.
[Read more…] about Historic Marker Being Placed at Rogers Island, Fort Edward
In Upstate New York, few tragedies have the cache of the death of Jane McCrea. In the summer of 1777, British armies were pressing southward through New York to Albany, with the goal of dividing the rebellious colonies.
On July 27, 1777 a young woman named Jane McCrea was killed in the vicinity of Fort Edward. There are conflicting stories about what happened, but most accuse Ottawa or Mohawk allies of Burgoyne in her death.
The murder of the young Loyalist bride changed the public perceptions of the war. General Gates wrote Burgoyne a scathing letter. Sir Edmund Burke, a Whig member of British Parliament, used the tragedy to rail against the Crown’s policies regarding its Indian allies.
[Read more…] about The Death of Jane McCrea and Revolutionary War Opinion
Rogers Island in Fort Edward (Washington County) is offering a walking tour on Thursday, June 28, at 7 pm. This event, open to the public free of charge, is hosted by the Old Saratoga Historical Association.
Exhibits at the Visitors Center, opened in 2001, highlight the history of the Fort Edward area from the earliest Native Americans through the Revolutionary War.
According to the Rogers Island website, “Fort Edward and adjacent Rogers Island was once the third largest ‘city’ in colonial North America.” The site continues, “The history that was made from this place at the bend in the Hudson River in the 1750s would lay the foundations for the nation that would be born two decades later.”
There are picnic tables for those who would like to enjoy supper at the Visitors Center before the 7 pm tour begins. Sturdy shoes are advised for the walking tour of the island. Rogers Island is just off Route 197 (Bridge Street) between the two bridges just west of Route 4. For more information call Historical Association president Deb Peck Kelleher, 698-3211 or visit the website, www.rogersisland.org.
Historians recognize the taking of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 as one of the first great American military victories of American Revolution. As early as the fall of 1776, however, there were hints from the fort’s commander that, owing to a lack of men, the Americans may not be able to hold the spot. General Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) wrote in November 1776: “We shall be hard pushed for time and materials, to put this place in any tolerable state of defence.”
In February 1777 Wayne reported “I have done everything in my power to render this place tenable—by surrounding the Works with wide and good Abbettus [abbatis, a type of breastwork defense]—I have also provided timber for two Block Houses—which will be erected in a few days—and dropt the Notion of Pickets as we could not man them.” Wayne somewhat underestimated Ticonderoga’s readiness.
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.
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Two full days of free family entertainment and education are being offered at Rogers Island Visitors Center in Fort Edward this weekend, September 25 and 26. French and Indian War reenactors from across the Northeast will establish an authentic period encampment on Rogers Island along the Hudson River.
Visitors can see how the men prepared for battle, learn what the women did in the military camps, and browse through the sutlers’ tents and see the merchandise that was offered in the military camps. Enjoy the smells as meals are prepared over open camp fires and listen to stories of 18th century camp life. At the 2:00 PM military tactical each day you will hear the musket fire as troops are ambushed by the French beyond the fort and watch as the British and provincial soldiers, along with their Native American allies, hurry to their defense. With the dredging now completed around the Island four period bateau will be launched in the river and joining in the battle.
“The End of the Campaign Reenactment” is this Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rogers Island Visitors Center, Route 197 (just off Route 4) in the Village of Fort Edward. Free admission. For more information call 518-747-3693.