Initially, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois) claimed neutrality during the conflict between Britain and the colonists, seeing the disagreement as a civil war and valuing loyalty to their families and to their lands above all else. When the political discontent erupted into the American Revolutionary War, the member nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy split their support between the British and newly formed American forces. [Read more…] about The American Revolution in the Finger Lakes
Sullivan_Clinton Expedition
Albany’s Peter Gansevoort, “The Hero of Stanwix”
Peter Gansevoort Jr. was born into the Dutch aristocracy of Albany to Harman Gansevoort (1712–1801) and Magdalena Douw (1718–1796). His younger brother Leonard Gansevoort, was politically active, serving in the state assembly and senate, as well as the Continental Congress. [Read more…] about Albany’s Peter Gansevoort, “The Hero of Stanwix”
Lt. John Jenkins: Guiding The Clinton-Sullivan Campaign
On August 11th, 1779, at the height of America’s war for independence, General John Sullivan arrived at Tioga Point on the Susquehanna River at the Pennsylvania-New York border with a large force of men and began construction of what would become known as Fort Sullivan. [Read more…] about Lt. John Jenkins: Guiding The Clinton-Sullivan Campaign
Schenectady’s Relationship to Native America
For 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
Marinus Willet, Tammany Hall & The Treaty of New York
Every year in October the Lower Manhattan Historical Society holds its Saratoga/Yorktown celebration in Trinity Churchyard to celebrate the American victories at the Battles of Saratoga and Yorktown.
At that ceremony wreaths are lain on the graves of Revolutionary War figures associated with those battles — Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton and Marinus Willett. [Read more…] about Marinus Willet, Tammany Hall & The Treaty of New York
Colonial Canandaigua In War And Peace
New York’s Finger Lakes Region was well known to many Revolutionary War veterans as a place of both strife and potential. Strife because of conflict with Indigenous people, and great potential for lush productive farmland.
Soldiers witnessed both ends of the spectrum first-hand. [Read more…] about Colonial Canandaigua In War And Peace
Sullivan-Clinton Campaign Symposium in Fort Plain
The Fort Plain Museum will host a symposium on the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign against Native Americans in 1779 on Saturday, November 2nd. Pre-registration is recommended, but walk-ins are welcome. [Read more…] about Sullivan-Clinton Campaign Symposium in Fort Plain
The Sullivan-Clinton Campaign, Then and Now
On October 11 at 6:00 pm at the Unadilla Historical Association Robert Spiegelman will present the lecture “The Sullivan-Clinton Campaign, Then and Now”.
During America’s Revolution, George Washington ordered Generals Sullivan and Clinton to launch the biggest operation to date against sovereign peoples in North American history. Most Iroquois are uprooted from their homelands, making way for the Erie Canal and Westward Expansion. Strikingly, though Sullivan/Clinton has the most historical markers in New York, it has been nearly forgotten. Spiegelman’s lecture combines fresh research, visuals, and animated maps to attempt to answer why. [Read more…] about The Sullivan-Clinton Campaign, Then and Now
Touring Old Mine Road: The Esopus-Minisink Trail
The other day, driving home from Kingston, I could not help but notice the sea of New York State Education Department signs (NYSED) that lined the roadside. The blue and yellow plaques are designed to alert those passing by of significant historic events that had occurred somewhere in the vicinity of the signs. These signs made me think about when I lived in Boston and followed that city’s Freedom Trail. [Read more…] about Touring Old Mine Road: The Esopus-Minisink Trail
New York’s NPS Battlefield Grants Announced
New York State battlefield will benefit from some of the more than $1.3 million in National Park Service grants recently awarded to help preserve, protect, document, and interpret America’s significant battlefield lands. The funding from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) will support 27 projects at more than 75 battlefields nationwide.
This year’s grants provide funding for projects at endangered battlefields from the Pequot War, King William’s War, the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, World War II and various Indian Wars. Awards were given to projects in 17 states or territories entailing archeology, mapping, cultural resource survey work, documentation, planning, education and interpretation.
The Park Service also announced the award of an additional $1.3 million in grants to help with land acquisition at four Civil War battlefields. Grant projects include fee simple purchases at Averasborough, North Carolina ($103,380); Bentonville, North Carolina ($60, 380); Cool Springs, Virginia ($800,000) and Ware Bottom Church, Virginia ($367,263). The grant funds were made available under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-74), which appropriated $8,985,600 for the Civil War battlefield land acquisition grants program.
Federal, state, local and Tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions are eligible for the battlefield grants, which are awarded annually. Since 1996, the ABPP has awarded more than $13 million to help preserve significant historic battlefields associated with wars on American soil. More information is available online at www.nps.gov/hps/abpp.
New York State Grantees
Natural Heritage Trust (New York) $80,000
Long before the American Revolution, the colonies fought with the British in a series of colonial wars,
including King William’s War and King George’s War. These conflicts, though changing little of the
political landscapes of the time, would have a significant impact on future French and English
relations and the position of American Indians in those relations. Working with its partner, Saratoga
National Historical Park, the Natural Heritage Trust intends to develop a cultural resource inventory
for the overlapping battlefields of these two wars that are near Saratoga. This information is crucial
to developing an archeological research design for each of the battlefields.
The Public Broadcasting Council of Central New York, Inc. (New York) $67,744
In conjunction with the Bicentennial of the War of 1812, Public Broadcasting Council of Central New
York hopes to raise awareness about New York’s unique role in the conflict with a series of
documentaries about the state’s battlefields. The broadcasts will not only be looking at the well
known battlefields of New York, but also several of the lesser known battlefields. It is hoped that
these documentaries will not only educate but also help spur preservation for the War of 1812
battlefields of New York.
The Research Foundation of State University of New York (New York) $56,194
One of only two major engagements of the Revolutionary War’s Sullivan-Clinton Campaign, the
Battle of Chemung was fought two weeks before the better known Battle of Newtown. This ambush
on Continental forces would produce more casualties than Newtown, while the burning of New
Chemung would become an example of how Continental forces would deal with American Indians in
the future. An archeological survey will be used to help better determine the battlefields defining
features as well as assess their condition. This information will be compiled into a GIS map for
support of a future National Register nomination.
Saratoga Preserving Land and Nature (New York) $21,425
The Battles of Saratoga culminated in the fall of 1777 with the surrender of British forces under
General John Burgoyne. This American victory reinvigorated the war effort and is seen as a turning
point in the Revolution. The Saratoga P.L.A.N. looks to interpret the fighting at one of the Saratoga
campaign battles, that of Fish Creek, and wishes to do this with a number of interpretive kiosks.
Working with the National Park Service, the interpretive trail would also integrate with other
interpretive trails in the area.