New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Military History

Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America

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Mohawk “squaw,” watercolorFor many people, “American” history begins with European exploration of the continent. From there, the narrative invariably centers on the colonial perspective and, after 1776, the perspective of the United States.

Consequently, the general public is generally uninformed about the history of Indigenous People that both predates New Netherland and the Pilgrims and persists to the present. And this article is by no means capable of addressing this broad historical issue. So let’s turn from this historical macrocosm to the microcosm of one city, Schenectady. [Read more…] about Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America

Experiences of Revolution: Occupied Philadelphia

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ben franklins world podcast

What was everyday life like during the American War for Independence?

We’ll investigate answers to this question by exploring the histories of occupied Philadelphia and Yorktown, and how civilians, those left on the home front in both of those places, experienced the war and its armies.

These episodes will allow us to see how the war impacted those who remained at home. They will also allow us to better understand the messy confusion and uncertainty Americans experienced in between the big battles and events of the American Revolution. [Read more…] about Experiences of Revolution: Occupied Philadelphia

Black Bombardier Ned Hector at Brandywine

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re-enactor Noah Lewis as Revolutionary War soldier Edward “Ned” HectorIn February of 1777, with the American colonies engaged in a seemingly hopeless war with the world’s foremost military power, Edward “Ned” Hector enlisted in a state militia unit known as Proctor’s Third Pennsylvania Artillery, where he was assigned duties as a bombardier, one of the three rear positions on the cannon.

This fact, in and of itself, would not seem significant, but Ned Hector was African American, one of perhaps 5,000 African Americans who fought with the Continental Army in the War for Independence. [Read more…] about Black Bombardier Ned Hector at Brandywine

Museum Acquires Revolutionary Era Powder Horn Reproduction

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Horn craftsman Hank Yost presents the powder horn to Old Stone Fort MuseumThe Old Stone Fort Museum and Schoharie County Historical Society have received a donation of a Revolutionary War era powder horn.

Skillfully created by horn craftsman Hank Yost, the piece presented reflects the architecture and engraving styles of the Revolutionary period and was specifically designed to represent the life and times of the Hartmansdorf House’s original occupant Philip Bartholomew. [Read more…] about Museum Acquires Revolutionary Era Powder Horn Reproduction

Mapping World War II: Archival Resources

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71st Infantry Division - World War IIMaps and charts have always played an important role in the planning and execution of military operations. Military maps, nautical charts, and fortification plans form a significant part of the holdings in the Cartographic Branch of the National Archives.

Among these records include a recently digitized series of World War II Records from the Adjutant General’s Office of the War Department (Record Group 407). These records are available to view and download from the National Archives Catalog. [Read more…] about Mapping World War II: Archival Resources

Camp Chelsea, 1776: Manhattan’s Lost Revolutionary Garrison

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Revolutionary War Encampment courtesy frontierfolk.orgWho knew that a military encampment once existed in today’s busy eclectic Chelsea in Manhattan?

The inquisitive tourist will not see or hear anything about a Revolutionary War camp there. Nor will they hear about General John Fellows or his headquarters at a glass works factory. Additionally, there were long forgotten tent encampments near the glassworks where 1500 Massachusetts Provincials slept.

These ghosts with muskets and white canvas tents were members of the Fellows’ Massachusetts Brigade. History recorded little about their activities and no known permanent monuments or markers were ever established to give us a clue about soldiers actual location or activities. [Read more…] about Camp Chelsea, 1776: Manhattan’s Lost Revolutionary Garrison

Company H: Catskills Soldiers At Cedar Mountain

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28th Regiment MonumentOn Friday, August 8th, 1902, the surviving members of the 28th New York Volunteer Regiment held their annual reunion at the National Cemetery in Culpeper, Virginia.

Among those attending that day were two men from the Sullivan County, NY: John H. Waller of Monticello and William McIntyre of Mongaup Valley. [Read more…] about Company H: Catskills Soldiers At Cedar Mountain

American Experience in the West Indies, 1740-1742

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disaster on the spanish mainThirty-five years before the battles of Lexington  and Concord, the British colonies in North America raised a regiment to serve in the British Army for an expedition to seize control of the Spanish West Indies.

Colonial volunteers, 4,000 strong, joined 9,000 British soldiers and 15,000 British sailors in a bold amphibious campaign against the key port of Cartagena de Indias.  The expedition marked the first time American soldiers deployed overseas.

[Read more…] about American Experience in the West Indies, 1740-1742

Call for Papers: 2023 War College of the Seven Years’ War

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war college of the seven years warFort Ticonderoga is seeking proposals for papers broadly addressing the period of the Seven Years’ War for its Twenty-Seventh Annual War College of the Seven Years’ War to be held May 19th through 21st.

The Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) was a global conflict, largely between Great Britain and France, although involving other European powers as well. The conflict in North America began in 1754 at the beginning of what became known in the United States as the French and Indian War (1754–1763), which ended in France’s defeat as a land power. [Read more…] about Call for Papers: 2023 War College of the Seven Years’ War

Long Island’s Gold Coast & The First World War

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Long Island’s Gold Coast Warriors and the First World WarRichard F. Welch book Long Island’s Gold Coast Elite and The Great War (History Press, 2021) looks at how Long Island’s leading North Shore families supported the Allies at the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914. Welch considers the Morgan bankers, movie producers, society glitterati, government officials, politically connected lawyers, and a former U.S. president who arranged massive loans and supplies for the Allies, while agitating for militarization and intervention.

This undercut the Wilson Administration’s official policy of neutrality and led the United States on a course, which led us inexorably to war with Germany in 1917. [Read more…] about Long Island’s Gold Coast & The First World War