Revolutionary War site offers few battle artifacts

Albany Times Union ^ | LEIGH HORNBECK

[Pharmboy]

Much of the land surrounding the battles of Saratoga woods or farmland, so it is an especially great park to visit.

[Pharmboy]

Pinging the Short RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington list. Freepmail me to get ON or OFF the Big list and/or the Short list.

In this view, you can see the battlefield's relationship to Albany, NY and Bennington, VT (follow Rte. 7 to the east). Follow Rte. 4 north and you will see the green area to the NE of Bemis Heights--that's the Saratoga National Battlefield State Park.

Here's a closer view:

[edpc]

[Artifacts] were likely picked clean years ago by scavengers with metal detectors.

There are a lot of historical sites in my area. These guys are all over the place.

[Straight Vermonter]

I believe this is just down the road from you.

[NYer]

The roasting pit is a collection of scattered stones, probably used to cook acorns by Mohican Indians.

Anyone have a recipe? Last year, there was a bumper crop of acorns and we were all slip sliding around our yards, trying to rake them away.

Thanks SV, for the ping! This site is not far from me.

[aumrl]

Amazes me how Brits could forage from Bemis Hts to Hoosick - but couldn't manage the final miles to Albany.

[Pharmboy]

I guess they thought they would meet less resistance. They were sadly disappointed when Burgoyne sent Col. Baum to get some grub near Bennington. Col. Baum, meet Col Stark; Col. Stark, meet Col. Baum.

Stark told his men right before the battle: "TODAY THE BRITISH ARE OURS ...OR ...MOLLY STARK’S A WIDOW!"

[blam]

"[Artifacts] were likely picked clean years ago by scavengers with metal detectors."

We have Confederate battle sites down here (Mobile) that are out-of-bounds for metal detectorists. It's against the law.

[Pharmboy]

Yep--it is now against the law at all federal sites. I do not know when the law was written, The damage was already done...

[FReepaholic]

...They were likely picked clean years ago by scavengers with metal detectors. ...

Perhaps the British or someone else during that period cleaned up the mess and there was nothing left to find by those EVIL metal detectorists.

[lotaxes]

A scant two miles north of the Victory Woods stands The Marshall House, the only structure remaining that not only witnessed the closing days of the Battles of Saratoga but figured prominently in their conclusion. The house was commandeered by the Briish for use as a shelter for some of the women traveling with their army and as a field hospital for wounded officers and men. The pain, fear and roar of war were captured in writing by the brave and lovely Baroness Frederika Riedesel whose husband, Major General Adolph Riedesel led the hired German mercenaries serving under British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne. The Marshall House was repeatedly struck by American canon balls, three of which are preserved in the house together with numerous articles remaining from that time or subsequently found. The History Channel recently filmed a pilot there. The National Park Service's interpretation of the battles largely ignores the well chronicled events that occurred in the house but the also the perceptive observations of the intelligent woman who described the characters the battles' chief actors. The Marshall House is privately owned but persons interested in the Burgoyne Campaign and its details are warmly welcomed. The article wrongly dates the British surrender as October 14. It was October 17, 1777.

[Pharmboy]

Thanks for the terrific post.

I have read parts of the Baroness's writings that were contained in some of the books I have read on Saratoga. However, I did not know the Marshall House still stands.

I will visit it someday (perhaps this summer when I travel to Albany to visit the NY Giants summer camp).

[Sentis]

http://www.nativetech.org/recipes/recipe.php?recipeid=115

[Chode]

there is a drive on to make Newtown Battlefield in Chemung county a National Park. this is a poor summary of what happened.

In 1779, General George Washington ordered General John Sullivan to gather an army and form an offensive against the Iroquois Nations and their allies.

Because of repeated attacks against the white settlers, his orders were to drive the Indians out of the wilderness of New York, to burn their villages and destroy their crops so they could not return. The army was to push its way northward to the shores of Lake Erie and to capture the British Forts Oswego and Niagara.

As the army of about 5,000 soldiers pushed northward from Pennsylvania, they came to this hill and here, on August 27, 1779, near an Indian Village called New Town, they engaged in a battle The Battle of Newtown.

http://www.pouchmusic.com/generalsullivan/newtown.htm

[Pharmboy]

Indeed...familiar with that campaign (it is this Sullivan for whom "Sullivan Street" in Greenwich Village in NYC is named). Washington was responding to the Wyoming Massacre, engineered by the tribal chief, Joseph Brant. This was a particularly bloody campaign--on both sides. There was a massacre near Geneseo, NY among others.

[Pharmboy]

One more thing since you brought up the NY State Indians: Only one of the five nations were on the Patriot's side in the RevWar--the Oneidas. That is a tribe that has always had my support.

[Chode]

if that was the one in PA... i think it was done by Queen Ester(blood thirsty as they come) who was Sister to Queen Catherine deMontour in Montour Falls NY.

IIRC Ester was killed, but Catherine and her village escaped while Sullivan was still literally mired in the swamp between Newtown and Montour Falls, the heart of the FingerLakes region.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Thank you

[Pharmboy]

My pleasure, doc.

[Pharmboy]

He was not there--you are right. But it was him--from Wikipedia:

Brant became infamous for the Wyoming Valley "massacre", which it was widely believed he led, although he was not present at the battle. During the war, he was known as the Monster Brant and stories of his massacres and atrocities created a hatred of Indians that soured relations for 50 years. In later years historians have argued that he actually been a force for restraint in the violence that characterized many of the actions in which he was involved.