History, Natural History & the Arts
Every year in October the Lower Manhattan Historical Society holds its Saratoga/Yorktown celebration in Trinity Churchyard to celebrate the American victories at the Battles of Saratoga and Yorktown.
At that ceremony wreaths are lain on the graves of Revolutionary War figures associated with those battles — Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton and Marinus Willett. [Read more…] about Marinus Willet, Tammany Hall & The Treaty of New York
The Rome Historical Society (RHS) has released The British Lines, a digital tour reviewing the movement of British troops during the Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. [Read more…] about Video Tour Tracks British Troops at Fort Stanwix in 1777
A sculpture of Brigadier General Peter Gansevoort stands in a city park named in his honor at Rome, Oneida County, NY. This bronze, dedicated November 8, 1906, was created by Emilio F. Piatti. It presents the General in dress uniform grasping his sword and holding what is perhaps one of the most impactful tools (or weapons) ever devised – an accurate map. [Read more…] about General Peter Gansevoort’s Map
The Rome Historical Society’s auditorium Archaeologists from Binghamton University’s Public Archaeology Facility (PAF) are set to present the interim results of their archaeological investigations of Fort Bull on Saturday, September 28 at 11 am.
As part of Archaeology Day at Fort Stanwix National Monument, PAF archaeologist Brian Grills, will give a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation on the ongoing archaeological research at the Society’s Fort Bull site. Following the presentation, the audience will be invited to see some of the latest archaeological finds which have been recently recovered from the battlefield. [Read more…] about Fort Bull Archaeological Survey Interim Results Presentation
Author and story teller Paul Boehlert is set to tell the story of the siege of Fort Stanwix and the Battle of Oriskany, one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution, on Wednesday, July 17th at 7 pm, at the Rome Historical Society, 200 Church Street. [Read more…] about Battle of Oriskany and Nicholas Herkimer
Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome, NY is closed and its employees furloughed as a result of the Government Shutdown.
“We hope that Washington D.C. will quickly come to a consensus on the Federal budget,” a statement sent to the press by the Rome Historical Society – Friends of the Fort said.
The original Fort Stanwix was built by the British between 1758 and about 1762. The fort was located to guard the Oneida Carry between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, an important portage during the French and Indian War. The Fort was the site of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768) between Britain and Native American tribes, and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) between the tribes and the American government. [Read more…] about Fort Stanwix National Monument Shut Down
The Rome Historical Society is set to host a live podcast recording of “Iroquois History & Legends” with Andrew and Caleb Cotter on Thursday, September 20th at 7 pm.
The Cotter brothers, from Canandaigua, New York, grew up with a fondness for Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) stories and fables. After researching early American and Canadian history they found the Haudenosaunee were at the center of it all, yet most textbooks had left their contributions out. For that reason, Andrew and Caleb began a podcast to tell the story of the Iroquois people and share how they influenced events throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. [Read more…] about Iroquois History and Legends in Rome Sept 20
The Fort Plain Museum will host an American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference, May 1 through 3, 2015 at the Museum. Almost 100 battles of the American Revolution were fought in New York State, including, in the Mohawk Vally, the Battle of Oriskany and defense of Fort Stanwix.
A series of raids against valley residents took place during the war. Led by John Johnson, they are collectively known as the “Burning of the Valleys”. Presenters for this conference that are confirmed so far include: [Read more…] about Conference: American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley
Scholars divide time into periods in an effort to make history comprehensible, but when to draw the diving line can be problematical and historians often disagree where one period ends and another begins.
For the birth of the nation, I am using the end of the colonial period, roughly from the French and Indian War to the end of the War of 1812. The colonial era for me was the time of the settlement of the 13 colonies which would become the United States. That process began in Jamestown and ended approximately 130 years later in Georgia. Up until then individual colonies, notably New York, Massachusetts / New England, and Virginia, dominate the curriculum, scholarship, and tourism, with only passing references to the Quakers in Pennsylvania and the Dutch in New York. [Read more…] about New York History and the Birth of the Nation
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.