History, Natural History & the Arts
Today it’s a State-owned island – a day use area for picnics – but Diamond Island on Lake George witnessed a horrific bombardment by gun boats manned by Patriots during the American Revolution.
The fight occurred during British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne’s 1777 campaign to capture Albany. Initially, Burgoyne’s 9,000 man army had successfully captured Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence in July. [Read more…] about The Battle of Diamond Island on Lake George
The latest episode of the A New York Minute in History podcast tells the story of Lady Christian Henrietta Caroline “Harriet” Acland, aristocratic wife of Major John Dyke Acland, who commanded the British 20th Regiment of Foot during the Saratoga Campaign of 1777.
During the American Revolution it was not uncommon for the family of military officers to accompany them to camp. This was the case for Major Acland, who was accompanied by his wife Lady Harriet Acland. [Read more…] about Lady Acland’s Voyage: A First-Hand Account of the Battles of Saratoga
This week on the Historians Podcast, New York City correspondent Jim Kaplan on Revolutionary War General Horatio Gates. American commander in the key victory over the British in the Battles of Saratoga, Gates’s reputation suffered at the end of the war.
He later moved to the city of New York and helped elect Thomas Jefferson as President in 1800. He is buried in Lower Manhattan. [Read more…] about General Horatio Gates after the Revolution
For many years New York City has not been known for its patriotic ceremonies recognizing important Revolutionary War heroes or sites.
Recently this has begun to change, beginning with the rediscovery of the grave of General Horatio Gates, who many consider the second most important American general of the American Revolution. Until about ten years ago his grave located in Trinity Churchyard in Manhattan was completely unmarked.
Gates was the commanding general at the Battle of Saratoga in October of 1777, which most historians agree was the most important battle of the American Revolution and the turning point of the Revolutionary War. He played another important role in early American politics in the city of New York after the war. [Read more…] about General Horatio Gates in New York City: A Political Legacy
Lake George’s drive to honor the many who died at the smallpox hospital at Fort George in the first years of the American Revolution has gained new momentum. [Read more…] about Growing Support for Reinternment of Lake George Colonial War Dead
Just prior to victory of American colonists at the Battles of Saratoga, the Continental Congress replaced Major General Philip Schuyler as Commander of the Northern Army with General Horatio Gates. Many colonial military units from New England had been reluctant to assist at Saratoga to serve under a “Dutch commander” but readily reported to serve under the English-born Gates. [Read more…] about Marquis de Lafayette at Albany During the Revolution
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
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
Donald Trump’s recent impeachment trial in which the President was accused of incitement of insurrection against the United States recalls to mind a case from more than 200 years ago.
In that case another New York politician, former Vice President Aaron Burr, whose personality was arguably not dissimilar from Donald Trump, was tried and acquitted of treason in 1807. [Read more…] about Trump Impeachment Recalls Aaron Burr’s Treason
On October 28, 2018, the Lower Manhattan Historical Association (LMHA), the Sons of the Revolution of the State of New York, the New York Veteran Corps of Artillery, and various French civic and military groups will hold the Sixth Annual Saratoga/Yorktown celebration in the cemetery at St. Paul’s Chapel and at Trinity Churchyard.
This celebration is intended to honor the American victories in the two most important battles of the American Revolution — the Battles of Saratoga on October 17, 1777 and the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, 1781. It is also intended to honor three important Revolutionary War figures connected with those battles who are buried in Trinity Churchyard — General Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton, and Marinus Willett. [Read more…] about NYC Elections of 1800: Alexander Hamilton and Horatio Gates
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