Plattsburgh

Talk Marks Battle of Plattsburgh Bicentennial

September 17, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Author and historian Alan Taylor will present a lecture entitled “The Civil War of 1812: A Continent Divided” on Friday, September 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall, 1610 NYS Route 22 (at Whallons Bay Road) as part of the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Plattsburgh.

A leading historian of early United States history, Alan Taylor won a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for his book The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832. He was also a Pulitzer Prize recipient in 1996 for William Cooper’s Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic. Taylor currently teaches at the University of Virginia. [Read more…] about Talk Marks Battle of Plattsburgh Bicentennial

Battle of Plattsburgh: A Pivotal Naval Battle

September 11, 2014 by Tom Shanahan 2 Comments

They were headed this way. British troops had done that before, without success, but these were not just any British troops. They were 11,000 troops fresh from their victory over Napoleon.

By that third summer of the War of 1812, British shore raiding parties were taking a great toll in the Chesapeake Bay. Supported by a fleet of more than 30 warships, they would put troops ashore near a town, and either burn it, or demand ransom from the inhabitants. [Read more…] about Battle of Plattsburgh: A Pivotal Naval Battle

The Battle of Plattsburgh: 200 Years Of Forgetting

September 10, 2014 by Lawrence P. Gooley 1 Comment

“The naval battle of Lake Champlain was probably the greatest feat of arms that our navy achieved in the War of 1812,” said Franklin D. Roosevelt.

From Secretary of Navy William Jones on Oct. 3, 1814: “To view it in abstract, it is not surpassed by any naval victory on record. To appreciate its result, it is perhaps one of the most important events in the history of our country.”

According to Penn University historian John B. McMaster, it was “the greatest naval battle of the war,” and Thomas Macdonough was “the ablest sea-captain our country has produced.”

Like McMaster, author and historian Teddy Roosevelt called it “the greatest naval battle of the war,” and praised Commodore Thomas Macdonough thusly: “Down to the time of the Civil War, he is the greatest figure in our naval history. … he was skillful and brave. One of the greatest of our sea captains, he has left a stainless name behind him.” And one more: looking back, Sir Winston Churchill said it “was a decisive battle of the war.” [Read more…] about The Battle of Plattsburgh: 200 Years Of Forgetting

A New Biography of Plattsburgh’s Smith Weed

August 16, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Rouses Point businessman, Mark L Barie, has written the first biography of North Country politician Smith Weed. In The President of Plattsburgh, The Story of Smith Weed (Crossborder Publishing, 2014), Barie paints a portrait of Weed – six feet tall, with piercing black eyes – a man who was said to smoke nine cigars a day.

Smith Weed was instrumental in the establishment of the Champlain Valley Hospital, the YMCA, the Plattsburgh Library, and the Hotel Champlain, but was perhaps best known nationally for his central role in “The Cipher Dispatches” voter fraud controversy during the fiercely disputed presidential election of 1876. [Read more…] about A New Biography of Plattsburgh’s Smith Weed

Campaign For Plattsburgh’s Old Stone Barracks Launched

August 14, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Last week, following the announcement that the Old Stone Barracks in Plattsburgh was named to the Preservation League of New York State’s “Seven to Save” list, The Friends of the Old Stone Barracks announced that it has launched a campaign to purchase the property from its private owner. [Read more…] about Campaign For Plattsburgh’s Old Stone Barracks Launched

Rev. Charles Hagar, Chaplain of the 118th NY Volunteers

May 20, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

A talk entitled “Not Just a Sunday Man: The Civil War Story of Rev. Charles Luther Hagar, Chaplain of the 118th New York Volunteers” will be presented by Helen Nerska with music by Stephen Langdon

The Clinton County Historical Association (CCHA) will host the presentation “Not Just a Sunday Man: The Civil War Story of Rev. Charles Luther Hagar, Chaplain of the 118th New York Volunteers” by Helen Nerska, CCHA President, and a musical composition by Stephen Langdon, Saranac Lake musician (Rev. Hagar was their great-great-great uncle). [Read more…] about Rev. Charles Hagar, Chaplain of the 118th NY Volunteers

War of 1812 Historians Meeting Planned

May 16, 2014 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

Registration is now open for the special one-day Association of Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS) Region 6 conference to be held in Plattsburgh on Friday June 6, 2014 (with early arrival museum tour on Thursday evening June 5).

The conference focus is on the War of 1812,and specifically the Battle of Plattsburgh of September, 1814 with a focus on “how the community has embraced the annual commemoration of the Battle of Plattsburgh, and the excitement about the 200^th anniversary commemoration upcoming this Fall, with international participation and events spanning three weeks.” Organizers are expected to share their experiences of how this sentinel event brings together the community, historians, municipalities and visitors to gain a better appreciation of the unique position this area holds in history.” [Read more…] about War of 1812 Historians Meeting Planned

Warren Harding’s Chair: A Battle of Valcour Island Relic

May 6, 2014 by Lawrence P. Gooley 1 Comment

It’s remarkable how two unrelated historical events sometimes converge to form a new piece of history. In one such North Country connection, the job choice of a future president became linked to a famous encounter on Lake Champlain. The future president was Warren Harding (1921–23), and the lake event was the Battle of Valcour Island (1776). The results weren’t earth shattering, but the connection did spawn coast-to-coast media stories covering part of our region’s (and our nation’s) history.

In 1882, Harding (1865–1923) graduated from Ohio Central College. Among the positions he held to pay for schooling was editor of the college newspaper. In 1884, after pursuing various job options, he partnered with two other men and purchased the failing Marion Daily Star. Harding eventually took full control of the newspaper, serving as both publisher and editor. [Read more…] about Warren Harding’s Chair: A Battle of Valcour Island Relic

Martin Luther King’s Plattsburgh Legacy

January 20, 2014 by Lawrence P. Gooley Leave a Comment

Today is Martin Luther King Day, and if you lived through the 1960s, you’ll never forget that turbulent decade. Even turbulent is putting it mildly: weekly classroom drills for nuclear attacks (Get under my desk? What the heck is this thing made of?); riots over race, poverty, the draft, and the Vietnam War; the assassinations of JFK, King, and Bobby Kennedy; and so much more. [Read more…] about Martin Luther King’s Plattsburgh Legacy

New Manager for War of 1812 Museum

December 30, 2013 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

The War of 1812 Museum, operated by the Battle of Plattsburgh Association, has announced the hiring of a new museum manager. Dave Deno, a native of Plattsburgh will be taking the helm as of January 6th, 2014. Deno replaces departing museum manager Tammy Brown, who has left to take a sales position with Essex Pallet and Pellet Company of Keeseville, N.Y.

Deno studied at Clinton Community College and earned a Bachelor’s of Art Degree in History from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2009. He has recently been working toward the establishment of a new Plattsburgh Air Force Base Museum which is expected to open Saturday, June 7, 2014. [Read more…] about New Manager for War of 1812 Museum