Military History

Program on Crown Point Cannon Offered

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Where, in the Lake Champlain region, was the richest trove of artillery pieces at the time of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War? Most published histories, including those used in the classroom, overlook the largest British fort ever built in North America &#8211 Crown Point. At 7:00 pm, May 12th, artillery expert Joseph M. Thatcher will present a free public lecture inside the museum auditorium at the Crown Point State Historic Site on the little-known but fascinating topic of “The Cannon From Crown Point.”

As the long-time Supervising Curator for the New York State Bureau of Historic Sites, Thatcher tracked the movements – over the centuries – of artillery pieces. His presentation falls precisely on the 236th anniversary of the liberation (by the Green Mountain Boys militia, led by Captain Seth Warner) of more than 100 British-held artillery pieces at Crown Point. Those cannon from the French and Indian War-period would soon be put to use during the War for American Independence.

Crown Point seasonal staff will return to service at the site on Saturday, May 14, to provide history interpretation in the museum and in both fort ruins at Crown Point. Summer open hours are 9:30 – 5:00, Thursdays through Mondays. The museum contains an audio-visual presentation and exhibition, both installed in 2009, that features four different original artillery pieces from the 1700s.

Crown Point occupies a key location, both geographically and historically. Before the 1730s, Woodland Indians camped on the peninsula. In 1734, the French military built an impressive stronghold here, Fort St. Frederic, with its tall limestone tower and its artillery-fortified windmill. A quarter-century later, when the British arrived, they built a vast fort at Crown Point, starting in 1759. The limestone ruins of both the French-built fort and of the earthen walls and stone barracks of the British fort have remained largely unchanged since a devastating fire burned the British fort in April 1773, just two years before the start of the War for American Independence.

Database: NYs Black Loyalist Refugees

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Black Loyalist is a repository of historical data about the African American loyalist refugees who left New York between April and November 1783 and whose names are recorded in the Book of Negroes. In this first stage, the site concentrates on providing biographical and demographic information for the largest cohort, about 1000 people from Norfolk Virginia and surrounding counties.

Working on the principal that enslaved African Americans were not just a faceless, nameless, undifferentiated mass, but individuals with complex life experiences, the site seeks to provide as much biographical data as can be found for the individual people who ran away to join the British during the American Revolution and were evacuated as free people in 1783.

The project emerged from the research of Cassandra Pybus for her book Epic Journeys of Freedom: Runaway Slaves of the American Revolution and Their Global Quest for Liberty.

The site was created by Cassandra Pybus, Kit Candlin and Robin Petterd and funded as a pilot project in 2009 by the Australian Research Council.

Illustration: Certificate of freedom, 1783. Courtesy Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management.

Civil War: Remembering the Seventh Regiment

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It was a military movement, but it was also a party, on April 19, 1861 as the men of the Seventh Regiment of the New York State Militia (the name change to National Guard came in 1862) set out for the Civil War.

&#8220New Yorkers cheered and applauded as the Silk Stocking Regiment marched through the city. The line of march was a perfect ovation. Thousands upon thousands lined the sidewalks. It will be remembered as long as any of those who witnessed it live to talk of it, and beyond that it will pass into the recorded history of this fearful struggle,&#8221 the author of the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Military Statistics of the State of New York remembered in 1866. Read more →

Fort Ticonderoga Names Interpretation Director

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Fort Ticonderoga has announced the appointment of Stuart Lilie to serve as Director of Interpretation at Fort Ticonderoga, one of the oldest and most significant historic sites in North America.

“Stuart Lilie arrives at the Fort,” said Beth Hill “with tremendous vision and enthusiasm for the Fort’s future. He is extremely competent as a leader in the profession and has a clear commitment to the high quality historic interpretation required for the Fort to attain its vision to be the premier military historic site and museum in North America.”

He will begin work at Fort Ticonderoga on April 25, 2011 and will be responsible for the development and implementation of Fort Ticonderoga’s Interpretive Department.

With a Bachelor of Arts in History from The College of William & Mary, Stuart Lilie has extensive knowledge of material culture, trades and historic interpretation. He has worked in several interpretive and trades positions at Colonial Williamsburg and served as an apprentice archaeologist with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities at Jamestown. An accomplished horseman and saddler, Mr. Lilie began and currently operates the only 18th century reproduction saddle company. He has consulted on historical equestrian matters for films at Mount Vernon, 96 Battlefield, Moore’s Creek, Vicksburg and Cowpens National Park.

An avid Revolutionary war and Seven Years war re-enactor for 15 years, Mr. Lilie has taken his belief in high standards of authenticity to work on the development of educational programming for many national sites including Colonial Williamsburg, Putnam Memorial State Park, Fort Dobbs State Historic Site, Minute Man National Park, Endview Plantation, Virginia War Museum, and Middleton Place. “I am both honored and excited to be part of such a great team, making such a huge difference at one of America’s most historic sites.”, said Mr. Lilie about his new post.

Photo: Fort Ticonderoga’s Director of Interpretation, Stuart Lilie. Lilie will begin work at the Fort on April 25, 2011.

War of 1812-Like Quilts Sought for Bicentennial Event

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It’s “a once-in-200-years” opportunity. The Seaway Trail Foundation is asking quilters and non-quilters, to make quilts with War of 1812-era colors and patterns for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail 2012 War of 1812 Bicentennial Quilt Show and Challenge event.

Organizers are reaching out to American history enthusiasts and re-enactors, children and people of all ages from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Native nations, and internationally to enter and attend the commemorative event to be held March 17-18, 2012 at the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Discovery Center in the War of 1812 heritage community of Sackets Harbor, New York.


Guidelines for making “cot to coffin”-size (30 inches x 70 inches) quilt using a variety of fabrics, including cotton, linen, silk, wool and linsey-woolsey, and patterns common to the 1812 period are online. Entries must be committed to the show by January 15, 2012- quilts must be completed by March 3, 2012.

The Great Lakes Seaway Trail 2012 War of 1812 Bicentennial Quilt Show and Challenge guidelines suggest studying the research works and books of noted quilt historians Barbara Brackman, Anne Orr and Pepper Cory.

Brackman of Lawrence, Kansas, suggests that a quilt in medallion or strip format would be a good patchwork design for the historical era. Brackman says, “Patterns that were popular during the 1812 time were simple stars and basic nine-patch and four-patch variations. The War cut into fabric imports into America but well-to-do women already had stashes of imported French, English and Indian chintzes and calicoes in a variety of colors, and loved to mix large-scale and small-scale prints. For those thinking of using fabric reflecting the domestic prints of the time, indigo blues, browns and a touch of pink would be among the best colors.”

Brackman has designed a reproduction collection of prints from the era for Moda Fabrics- the “Lately Arrived from London” collection should be available in quilt shops by the end of the summer of 2011.

The Seaway Trail Foundation is sponsoring the event as part of a host of War of 1812 Bicentennial commemorative plans for tourism, cultural heritage and military history programs in 2011-2014. The March 2012 show will be the kickoff for a 2011-2014 traveling educational exhibit of the War of 1812-like quilts.

The 518-mile Great Lakes Seaway Trail along the freshwater coastline of New York and Pennsylvania is a National Scenic Byway offering authentic American travel experiences

Illustration: War of 1812 attack on Oswego from the Paul Lear collection.

Rochester Honoring African-Am Civil War Soldiers

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Nazareth College is hosting the Rochester-Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission’s seventh annual tribute to the nearly 200,000 men of color and 7,000 white officers that constituted the United States Colored Troops (USCT) (USCT) on Tuesday, April 5, at noon in Nazareth’s Linehan Chapel of the Golisano Academic Center. On Behalf of Those Who Lie in Yonder Hallowed Ground is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. David Anderson at [email protected] or (585) 389-5140.

The event will include dramatic readings of events that were tearing the nation apart during the Civil War, and will be posed against President Lincoln’s executive order that provided for arming men of color, and the eventual Union victory. Frederick and Anna Douglass, parents of two Union soldiers, will also be honored. Frederick’s advocacy was crucial to the Union’s belated decision to enlist men of color.

These commemorative events result from a collaboration of the Rochester-Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission and Nazareth College Service Learning Center, and support from several community organizations.

Founded in 1924, Nazareth College is located on a close-knit, suburban campus in the dynamic, metropolitan region of Rochester, N.Y. The College offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional programs in health and human services, education, and management. Nazareth’s strong cultures of service and community prepare students to be successful professionals and engaged citizens. The College enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students.

Seven Years War College Teacher Scholarships

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Fort Ticonderoga is has announced the winners of teacher scholarships to attend the Sixteenth Annual War College of the Seven Years’ War May 20-22, 2011. They are: Wendy Bergeron, of Winnacunnet High School, Hampton, New Hampshire- Steven Hammerman, Falcon Cove Middle School, Weston, Florida- Judd Kramarcik, Commack Road Elementary School, Islip, New York- and Bill Sullivan, Northwestern Regional High School, Winsted, Connecticut.

Fort Ticonderoga’s teacher scholarships are supported by generous War College patrons and have been awarded to 53 teachers since 2001. Teacher scholarships are also offered for the annual Fort Ticonderoga Seminar on the American Revolution, held this year September 23-25, 2011. The seminar brochure and teacher scholarship application form are both available on the fort website at www.fort-ticonderoga.org by selecting the “Education Program” tab and then clicking on “Revolutionary War Seminar.”

Photo: Fifteenth Annual War College of the Seven Years’ War, May 2010.

Former Northern NY Military Rifle Range Inspections Set

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The National Guard Bureau will surveying old National Guard rifle range in Ticonderoga, Malone, Glens Falls, and Saratoga Springs for the presence of environmental poisons this summer. The ranges are among 23 former New York Army National Guard training sites used between 1873 and 1994 that the National Guard Bureau will be inspecting for potential environmental hazards.

The program is being conducted worldwide to address human health, safety, and environmental concerns at former non-operational defense sites. This includes over 400 sites in 48 states and two territories formerly used by the National Guard. The training sites in New York vary in size from 3.7 to 939 acres.

Currently, the New York National Guard has three training sites located in Guilderland, Youngstown and at Camp Smith, near Peekskill. Soldiers also train regularly at Ft. Drum, near Watertown.

Current property owners are in the process of being asked to allow contractors on their property to conduct this check which although mandated by the Department of Defense Military Munitions Response Program, will only include soil samples from a depth &#8220less than two to three inches.&#8221 The survey will also a visual inspection and checks with hand-held metal detectors. According to a press release issued by the Guard, &#8220the inspectors will collect the samples with disposable plastic spoons, which are about the size of an ice cream scoop.&#8221

A preliminary assessment to identify locations, research historical records, land usage and past incident(s) in the area was completed in 2008- this summer’s site inspections are expected to collect additional information, data and samples necessary to determine if following actions are warranted.

About the sites:

The Malone Small Arms Range was used from about 1895 to 1985. The range was approximately 43 acres- the range layout and boundary are unknown, as are the types of ammunition used there. The former range is located on state land, redeveloped for a correctional facility, northwest of Malone.

An older Ticonderoga Small Arms Range measured about 406 acres and was used from about 1950 to 1973- the newer one measured 105 acres and was used from about 1986 to 1994. The layouts and boundaries of the ranges are unknown, as are the types of ammunition used at them. The former ranges are located between Vineyard Road and Corduroy Road.

The Glens Falls Small Arms Range was used from about 1878 to 1955. The range was approximately 876 acres- the range layout has been verified, but the types of ammunition used there are unknown. The former range is located on forested, municipal property north of Peggy Ann Road.

The Saratoga Springs Small Arms Range was used from about 1878 to 1951. The range was approximately 100 acres- the range layout has been verified, but the types of ammunition used there are unknown. The former range is located on residential properties and forested land east of Weibel Avenue.

Anyone who has documents, records or photographs of the range are encouraged to contact Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo at [email protected] or (518) 786-4579.

Photo: New York Army National Guard Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, conduct weapons training at the Guilderland Weekend Training Center.

New Windsor Cantonment Revolutionary War Encampment

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New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site will host a weekend of Revolutionary War military firing demonstrations and period activities on Saturday April 16, 10 AM – 4:30 PM and Sunday April 17, 1 – 4:00 PM. The event is presented by the Brigade of the American Revolution, an international organization dedicated to recreating the life and times of the common soldier of the War for Independence, 1775-1783.

A battle demonstration takes place at 2:00 PM each day with colorfully uniformed soldiers firing muskets and maneuvering to the music of fifes and drums. The soldiers will also set up tents, prepare cooking fires and demonstrate other aspects of 18th century life. For more information please call (845) 561-1765 ext. 22. Admission is free.

At 3:00 PM, on Saturday April 16, historian Norm Fuss will present a talk on The Battle of Great Bridge: the South’s Bunker Hill. At 3:00 PM, on Sunday April 17, historian Barnet Schecter will give a talk on his latest book George Washington’s America: a Biography through His Maps. After the presentation he will have copies of his book for sale. At 10:15 AM on Sunday April 17, Norm Fuss will give a presentation on Surviving Military Uniforms in North American Repositories. At 12:30 PM, on Sunday April 17, Eric Schnitzer, Park Historian, Saratoga National Historical Park, will present A primer to using artwork for living history clothing documentation. All lectures are open to the public. Members of the Brigade of the American Revolution use this weekend to teach the latest knowledge in recreating life from that era. The presentations are an enjoyable experience, something to be long remembered. Through lectures and demonstrations, a wide variety of 18th century period life is revealed. New Windsor Cantonment site staff is present to perform blacksmithing, woodworking and military medicine Saturday April 16, 10 AM – 4:30 PM and Sunday April 17, 1 – 4:00 PM.

The New Windsor Cantonment is co-located with the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor at 374 Temple Hill Road, Route 300, in the Town of New Windsor, four miles east of Stewart Airport and three miles from the intersection of I-87 and I-84 in Newburgh, New York.

Photo: Brigade of the American Revolution.

Clinton, Essex Counties 150th Civil War Anniv Meeting

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Town and village historians as well as historical organizations and individuals who may have a stake in creating an appropriate series of commemorative events for the Civil War sesquicentennial in Essex and Clinton counties are invited to join a meeting this week to coordinate possible events. Although the anniversary is fast approaching, there is as yet no commission or even an informal group organizing events in Clinton County.

Amanda A. Palmer, chairperson of the Adirondack Coast Cultural Alliance (ACCA) (and also Director/Curator of the Alice T. Miner Museum) and Jim Brangan of the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership are calling for coordinated events among local organizations, historians, towns, villages as well as with Vermont and groups south of Clinton and Essex counties.

The sesquicentennial will be the major item on the agenda of the next meeting of the Adirondack Coast Cultural Alliance (ACCA), scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on March 16 at the United Way on Tom Miller Road in Plattsburgh.