New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Knox's Headquarters

Knox’s Headquarters Halloween Event

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knox headquartersKnox’s Headquarters in Vails Gate, Orange County, NY, will host a 45-minute scary theatrical presentation between 7 and 10 pm on October 26, and will offer self guided ground tours.

The 1754 Ellison home will serve as a stage for this macabre presentation about ghosts and strange happenings. This program lasts approximately 45 minutes and is recommended for visitors 12 years and older. Reservations are required and visitors are asked to arrive in the parking lot at least 10 minutes prior to their scheduled start time. Admission is free.  [Read more…] about Knox’s Headquarters Halloween Event

Independence Day At New Windsor Cantonment

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Continental Army Soldiers from the 7th Massachusetts Regiment Drill on the Grand Parade at the New Windsor CantonmentThe New Windsor Cantonment and Knox’s Headquarters will present a day of Revolutionary War activities on July 4, 2017. At New Windsor Cantonment see a military drill and cannon firing at 2 pm, followed by a children’s wooden musket drill.

At Knox’s Headquarters tour the 1754 Ellison House, the military command post for three generals.  [Read more…] about Independence Day At New Windsor Cantonment

Christmas at Knox’s Headquarters December 10th

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john ellison houseTour the 1754 house of John and Catherine Ellison from 5 to 8 pm on Saturday December 10th, decorated for Christmas and staffed by Revolutionary War era costumed interpreters.

For two Christmases, John and Catherine Ellison shared their home with the officers and soldiers of the Continental Army. Over the winter of 1780-81, General Henry Knox, his wife Lucy and their children Henry and Lucy were there, while two years later it was General Horatio Gates and his military family of aides de camp who shared in the season’s festivities. [Read more…] about Christmas at Knox’s Headquarters December 10th

18th Century Fashion Show at Knox’s Headquarters

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Tiffanie Downs, from Pine Bush, portraying an upper class lady in her silk gown (provided).On Saturday, August 13th from 5 to 7 pm, Knox’s Headquarters presents a fashion show of 18th century civilian and military clothing.

Visitors will see elegant ladies gowns of silk, gentlemen officer wear and the patched and worn garments of the lesser sort. Learn who would have worn the clothing, why it is constructed in that manner, and what function it served. Accompanying the clothing display will be a power point demonstration and narrator describing the portraits and research behind the gowns. Staff members of the New Windsor Cantonment and Knox’s Headquarters State Historic Sites have painstakingly researched and constructed by hand reproductions of period clothing. [Read more…] about 18th Century Fashion Show at Knox’s Headquarters

Artillery Day At Knox’s Headquarters

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American Revolution ArtilleryThe long barrel artillery piece or gun was a dominating presence on most of the battlefields of the American Revolution.  Firing solid iron balls out to distances of 1,000 yards and deadly shotgun blasts of caseshot, small iron balls, in a tin canister, up to 300 yards, the gun devastated enemy formations.  The larger versions battered down walls and smashed holes in great warships.

On Saturday, June 20th, from 11 am to 3 pm, Revolutionary War cannon firings every half-hour will highlight a program about the 1780-81 artillery encampment at Knox’s Headquarters in New Windsor, Orange County, NY. [Read more…] about Artillery Day At Knox’s Headquarters

Washington’s Birthday: Guide To Hudson Valley Events

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FSHSHH_2015GWBCschedule_GraphicDepending on where you are or who you talk to, the third Monday in February represents either Presidents’ Day or Washington’s Birthday. At three Revolutionary War historic sites in the Hudson Valley, the day is part of a three-day celebration of George Washington.

The Friends of the State Historic Sites of the Hudson Highlands (FSHSHH) have created an inclusive schedule to the array of activities taking place at Washington’s Headquarters, Knox’s Headquarters, and the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Sites on February 14th, 15th, and 16th. Each day offers something new. [Read more…] about Washington’s Birthday: Guide To Hudson Valley Events

Knox Headquarters: Hauntings in the 18th Century

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220px-Hammersmith_GhostTwo or three hundred years ago people were terrified of what lurked in the night. Ghosts stalked the gloomy forests and hovered about dark corners, preying on the unwary. Learn what role ghosts, specters and apparitions played in the lives of these people.

Stories such as the Tedworth Drummer show that the supernatural was an ever present part of English and American life. Ghost appeared baring their death wounds, as walking corpses or disembodied heads. [Read more…] about Knox Headquarters: Hauntings in the 18th Century

Knox’s Headquarters To Celebrate General’s Birthday

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New Windsor Cantonment StaffGeneral Washington knew exactly what he was about, in the summer of 1781, by trying to convince the British and his own soldiers that he would attack New York City. Unbeknownst to all but trusted officials, he had agreed to move with the French Army south to Virginia.

In Virginia, a French naval force from the Caribbean would join them to complete the encirclement of the British Army at Yorktown. The soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Continental Artillery Regiments, encamped at New Windsor, NY since the previous November, spent their time assembling and training on heavy siege artillery. Without the heavy guns to batter down the fortifications of British General Cornwallis’ Army at Yorktown, the decisive victory achieved there would not have been possible. [Read more…] about Knox’s Headquarters To Celebrate General’s Birthday

Presidents Weekend: Events At Knox’s HQ, New Windsor Cantonment

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soldier 2Knox’s Headquarters in Newburgh and the New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site will be offering a full schedule of activities for the Presidents’ weekend. New Windsor Cantonment was the final encampment of the northern Continental Army, in 1782-83. Here over 7,000 soldiers and 500 family members endured the winter and prepared for a renewal of the fighting in the spring. Instead peace was proclaimed and after 8 long years of war they returned home.

Knox’s Headquarters, the elegant 1754 combination English and Dutch style home, of the prosperous merchant miller John Ellison, was one of the longest occupied military headquarters of the Revolutionary War. Continental Army Generals, Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox and Horatio Gates used the house as headquarters, during various periods between 1779-1783. [Read more…] about Presidents Weekend: Events At Knox’s HQ, New Windsor Cantonment

First-Person Living History at Knox’s Headquarters

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image004General Washington knew exactly what he was about, in the summer of 1781, by trying to convince the British and his own soldiers that he would attack New York City. Unbeknownst to all, but trusted officials, he had agreed to move with the French Army south to Virginia. In Virginia, a French naval force from the Caribbean would join them to complete the encirclement of the British Army at Yorktown. [Read more…] about First-Person Living History at Knox’s Headquarters