New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Military History

Colonial Conflict, Native People, Anti-Catholicism & The Burning of Schenectady

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In 1652, New Netherland Director General Peter Stuyvesant declared that Fort Orange and everything around it, including the village outside the fort, often called Oranje after the fort, was independent of the ownership of the Van Rensselaer family. He named the small mostly Dutch village “Beverwyck.”

Possibly at the urging of the Van Rensselaers, their earlier manager Arendt Van Curler (Corlear) began planning the construction of a new village. [Read more…] about Colonial Conflict, Native People, Anti-Catholicism & The Burning of Schenectady

‘Shockingly Decomposed’: Morgan Filkins Returns Albany Co Civil War Dead

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A soldier looking upon a Union soldier’s grave with the body of a Confederate soldier seemingly tossed aside in Antietam, Maryland (September 1862) (Photo courtesy of Library of Congress)Morgan Filkins was born August 20, 1826, son of Richard Filkins and his second wife, Catherine Angle. Of English and Dutch descent, he was the twentieth of twenty-five children born in the town of Berne, Albany County.

His paternal ancestors were originally from Dutchess County. His father was a volunteer in the War of 1812 and after living awhile in Rensselaer, he moved across the Hudson River to Albany County, where he died in 1841. His maternal grandfather came to America as a soldier under Burgoyne, and after the latter’s surrender, remained in the service until honorably discharged in 1783 at West Point. [Read more…] about ‘Shockingly Decomposed’: Morgan Filkins Returns Albany Co Civil War Dead

Arto Monaco’s Valcour, Plattsburgh Battle Dioramas Being Conserved

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Battle of Valcour diorama created by Arto Monaco The Clinton County Historical Association has announce it has received a Conservation Treatment Grant from the Greater Hudson Heritage Network for the conservation of a diorama created by Adirondack artist and theme park creator Arto Monaco (1913-2003).

The diorama was a gift from the Plattsburgh Rotary who commissioned the work for the 1976 United States Bicentennial celebration. It’s been moved to several locations over the years, resting finally within the CCHA Museum at 98 Ohio Avenue on the Old Base Museum Campus in Plattsburgh, NY. [Read more…] about Arto Monaco’s Valcour, Plattsburgh Battle Dioramas Being Conserved

World War II Escape and Evasion Firsthand Accounts

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Hamblin, Oscar Klass Escape and Evasion Reports, 1942-1945 At the National Archives there are nearly 3,000 reports containing information on escape and evasion activities and training of U.S. soldiers serving in the European theater during the Second World War.

These records contain dramatic and gripping firsthand accounts of survival, including these three: [Read more…] about World War II Escape and Evasion Firsthand Accounts

The Marquis de Chastellux’s Visit To Saratoga Battlefield

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Portrait of Francois-Jean de Chastellux 1782 by Charles Willson PealeThe 1777 battles of Saratoga drew visitors to the region even before the Revolutionary War ended.

It is well known that the American victory at Saratoga garnered the outright support of the French. Not only did the French decide to send part of their navy, but they also sent troops under Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau.

A member of Rochambeau’s staff, François Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux, was particularly interested in the Battles of Saratoga. Being the ninth child of an aristocratic family, Chastellux entered into a military career. Eventually his military career and his knowledge of English led him to join Rochambeau’s staff, which brought him to the United States. [Read more…] about The Marquis de Chastellux’s Visit To Saratoga Battlefield

The Civil War Confederate Army’s Forced Labor Slave Records

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Confederate breastworks in front of Petersburg, Virginia, 1865During the U.S. Civil War, the Confederate Army required enslavers to loan the people they held enslaved to the military. Throughout the Confederacy from Florida to Virginia, these enslaved people served as cooks and laundresses, labored in deadly conditions to mine potassium nitrate to create gunpowder, worked in ordnance factories, and dug the extensive defensive trench networks that defended cities such as Petersburg, Virginia.

To track this extensive network of thousands of enslaved people and the pay their enslavers received for their lease, the Confederate Quartermaster Department created the record series now called the “Confederate Slave Payrolls.” [Read more…] about The Civil War Confederate Army’s Forced Labor Slave Records

Saratoga National Historical Park Getting $6.6M For Infrastructure

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saratoga national historic park courtesy wikimedia user UpstateNYerThe primary visitor experience at Saratoga National Historical Park is about to benefit from $6.6 million in funding provided by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA).

Extensive work on the park’s self-guided battlefield Tour Road will begin in 2022 and is expected to result in increased accessibility and visible improvements to the parking areas, trailheads, walkways, seating, exhibits and viewing areas along the ten-mile-long route. [Read more…] about Saratoga National Historical Park Getting $6.6M For Infrastructure

A Little-Known Civil War Hero From The Catskills

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William Henry NewmanHe was born on December 12, 1838 in Highland Mills, in Orange County, and moved with his family to Sullivan County while still a young boy.

He enlisted in the Union Army shortly after the Civil War broke out, eventually achieving the rank of Captain.

In April of 1865, while serving with Company B of the 86th New York Infantry at Amelia Springs, Virginia, he captured the Confederate flag, and a month later was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. [Read more…] about A Little-Known Civil War Hero From The Catskills

NY Man Who Affected The Outcome at Pearl Harbor

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December 7th 1941-The USS Nevada by R G SmithOn December 7, 1941, the Japanese forces launched a devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and a New York man played a big role in defending against that attack. Furthermore, his actions have been credited with shortening the war in the Pacific. [Read more…] about NY Man Who Affected The Outcome at Pearl Harbor

The Third Patroon & The English Take-Over of New York

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Van Rensselaer Stained GlassThe third patroon was Kiliaen Van Rensselaer II (1655-1687) son of Johannes, who was the first patroon to live at Rensselaerswyck, the van Rensselaer Patroonship in most of what is now Albany and Rensselaer Counties, along with parts of Columbia and Greene Counties.

Kiliaen II was only seven years old when his father died however, so his uncles continued to manage the colony. Jeremias was director in 1664 when the English seized New Netherland and renamed Beverwyck “Albany.”

Jeremias’ constant conflict with Stuyvesant and his possible establishment of overland fur trade with the English in Massachusetts, avoiding Peter Stuyvesant’s tax collections in New Amsterdam (New York City), may have facilitated the English take-over. [Read more…] about The Third Patroon & The English Take-Over of New York