New York, Saratoga. American Revolution: Battle of Saratoga NY

 Battle of Saratoga

The Revolutionary War - Refresh your memory with a loop around several battlefields related to the Revolutionary War and its memorials.  We chose  1) Saratoga NY;  2) Ticonderoga NY;  and 3) Bennington VT general route.

Saratoga.

The War had begun in 1775, and the British had hopes of ending it at this battle at Saratoga. There were three prongs to the attack planned by the British - 10,000 soldiers from Canada under General Burgoyne (who had just retaken Fort Ticonderoga to the north; the Patriots had earlier taken it from the British), a second British army from Lake Ontario to the Mohawk River, and a third British army under General Howe from New York. There were Germans fighting with General Burgoyne, other nationalities also represented.

On this Battlefield, General Benedict Arnold fought with distinction - see his later status as a "turncoat" to the British, at Studying Wars: Benedict Arnold, "Turncoat".  He had his reasons, and much contributed to it.


Saratoga National Park cannon

The American plan was to keep the British divided. There were only about 8500 Americans. See the battles history at http://www.nps.gov/sara/historyculture/index.htm. There is a fine drive around and through the battlefield, with markers and narratives explaining.

There is an annual re-enactment of the battle, see http://www.saratoga.org/battle1777/reenact.html

Saratoga Surrender Memorial Tower, Victory, NY.

 A pedestal is empty, for Arnold.

Then, go to the Saratoga National Cemetery nearby for the many war heroes and veterans there.

Saratoga National Cemetery.

Prepare for a surprise.

Here is veteran Wilbert Thomas Lagassse in the cemetery named after Gerald Brooks Hunt Solomon, a NY congressman. See http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000675.  Fields of rows of headstones, and Mr. Lagasse claims the best tan. America. Would Mr. Solomon admire the humor of this lucky one, not killed in battle, or not so much?


Lake Saratoga, NY.

Near the battlefield, home of the fine old Victorian resort at Saratoga Springs and racetrack, see http://www.nyra.com/index_saratoga.html

Many fine Bed and Breakfasts.  There is no need to call ahead for reservations.  Choose one with a view.

Environmental issue: Food chain broken.  No bugs. What have we done to the food chain?

Bug alert. Ominous. With a 5-day overall trip, in summer, our windshields were almost clean. No bugs. A few butterflies, very few, on the vast battlefields. Have we finally broken the food chain? Remember when each stop for gas meant scraping the windshield, hard, with that liquid, just to get those millions off? And the wings in the grille?