Tuesday June 15, 2010

With a 4 1/2 hour bus ride we arrived at Ft.Ticonderoga.

Our first stop was at the French Lines from a battle in 1758. I was a bit confused as to why we were stopping here and what this battle in 1758 had to do with the Revolutionary War. This is what I learned…

The French Lines - Battle of Carillon - 1758

The French actually built the Fort in 1755 and it was called Fort Carillon. In the Battle of Carillon the French were able to defeat the British, even though the Brits had twice as many soldiers as them. This set a precedent, showing that the Americans, with their smaller forces could also hope to beat the British in this same area.

On to the Revolutionary War – When the war began the fort was in the control of the British, but wasn’t manned to full capacity. (I’m still not really clear on how this shift from French to British occurred. Need to study this more!) On May 10, 1775 a group of soldiers including Green Mountain Boys, Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen were able to capture the fort.  I find it odd that this first “win” of the Revolutionary War is not what is usually taught in our classes, but only the information about Colonel Henry Knox the following winter, having the foresight to go to the fort and take the cannon to Boston to help the American Army.

Fort Ticonderoga

Various notes taken during Saratoga tour

-Americans were down at the Mohawk River where they had retreated.

-If the British could take Albany, they can cut off the New England states – felt they could negotiate with the lower colonies

-The Dutch farmers in the Hudson River Valley referred to the New Englanders as Yaunkee’s which was a Dutch word for Johnny or a person of little intelligence

-Daniel Morgan monument – put up by his great granddaughter – This is where Daniel Morgan would muster his riflemen

-He targeted British officers because of the beating (flogging with cat-o-nine tails) he received – When he had the opportunity to have General Fraser shot, he took it

-The ideal course to cut off New England is to control Lake Champlain and the Hudson River (these were the interstates of the 18^th century)

-As you tour Saratoga Battlefield white fence posts with blue tops depict the American lines and ones with red tops depict British lines

-Beemis Heights – The Neilson Farmhouse which was erected by John Neilson from NJ – It is the original house 1775/1776 – Consists of one room downstairs and a loft upstairs, pantry in the back and a root cellar underneath – In the 1800 census, there were 13 people living there

-Taddeus Koshuiska – set up this defensive line at Beemis Heights – it is the weakest part of the American line because it angles – Each angle represents a weakness – The British goal was to get their guns up to the west and bombard with shells

-Neilson House was a headquarters – John Neilson was in the Albany County Militia – General Benedict Arnold was stationed there with 2 others

-The British never get anywhere near here – they were coming from the North

-Mountains to the east, Ticonick Mountains – they were once higher than the Himalayas – some of the oldest mountains – all of these bluffs are erosion from those mountains -Ticonick non-conformity (geologists call it this) – it is very unstable and subject to landslides

-3 defensive elements here – (1) bluffs close to the river (2) steep ravines protecting the bluffs (3) the great Vly which is a Dutch term for wetlands which is like a swamp most of the time and mud the rest of the time

-Burgoyne splits his army into 3 columns – sets stage for Sept. 19^th 1777 battle – he stayed with the center column- (1) Germans by the river (2) advance column up by where the visitors center is now (3) up the center

-James Wilkinson – Adjutant General – 19 years old

-Stop 5- Barber Wheat Fields  (Oct 7^th battle)

-Gates and Arnold could not agree – Arnold advanced out, set up a field headquarters and fed his troops in incrementally

-600 British casualties on the 1^st day of battle most from the 62^nd

-Gates refused to send troops to support Arnold, so the Americans with Arnold had to retreat

-Gates and Arnold get into an argument – Arnold tries to quit, Gates told him no, that he was fired

Our Guide - Jim Hughto

**I had a hard time following a lot of what our guide had to say. I’m not sure if this was due to my exhaustion or the bouncing back and forth with information about the September battle and October battle held at Saratoga, and throwing in information about the French from 1758. This just reinforces the fact that as teachers we need to be careful how much information we throw at our students at one time. They can only absorb so much and then the rest is lost. I think overall I have a pretty good understanding, and this is what I gleaned from all the information we were presented with…

On September 19, 1777 the British army began to head towards the American lines in 3 separate columns.  The battle began with a group of VA and PA rifleman starting a brief engagement with the center column of Burgoyne’s troops. This happened in an area known as Freeman Farm.

The battle then began in earnest and lasted about three hours, switching back and forth between the British and Americans making advances. Burgoyne’s troops were beginning to waver but were saved by a group of German (Hessian) reinforcements.  Even though the British now held the main battlefield, they had not reached the American lines. The British troops, even though they technically won the first battle, were worn down. Burgoyne had two choices; keep fighting or retreat. He decided to fight again and on October 7 they met the Americans in an area near Barber Farm, actually fighting in the wheat fields.

Barber Wheat Fields

After several encounters the British and their German counterparts were forced back to Freeman Farm.  The American’s then led by Benedict Arnold attacked the Balcarres Redoubt and the Breymann Redoubt. They were well on their way to victory when it got dark. The British retreated the following day and several days later General Burgoyne surrendered.  These two engagements with the ultimate surrender of Burgoyne are remembered as one of the most decisive victories in American history.

When we were at the monument honoring Benedict Arnold I was a little taken aback by our guide (Jim Hughto’s) comparison of Benedict Arnold with Timothy McVeigh.

Memorial Honoring Benedict Arnold

While I understand the similarities in that they were both in the American military and served valiantly and then both turned on their country, that’s where the similarities end. If Arnold’s dispatches hadn’t been captured, the result may have been as devastating as the Oklahoma City bombing, but they weren’t. I just don’t see Arnold and McVeigh being on the same level of domestic terrorism.

On to dinner at Salty’s Pub and Bistro. As we entered the restaurant some of the locals asked how we had heard about this place as it was their favorite local place to eat. They said we would love the food, and boy did we ever! I had a huge Pastrami on Rye which was quite delectable! Can’t find a sandwich like that around Pueblo!

Dinner at Salty's Pub and Bistro

Followed that up with a delicious, mouth watering concoction called a Chocolate Concorde. Yum! Thanks Marie for sharing!

Ahhh, Chocolate!

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