Friday, September 24, 2021 (8 AM to 5 PM)
Led by: Michael Gabriel and Robert Selig with Bruce Venter
Departure: Fort Ticonderoga, NY
Tour Registration: $125.00
America’s History is proud to continue its partnership with Fort Ticonderoga by again offering a one-day tour during the Fort’s American Revolution Seminar weekend. Led by Mike Gabriel and Robert “Bob” Selig with Bruce Venter, we will visit many sites important to the Bennington battlefield on the Walloomsac River.
During the summer and fall of 1777, one of the great military campaigns of world history was fought in the dense forests and rolling fields of upstate New York. Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne led a combined force of some 9,000 British Redcoats, German hirelings, Loyalists and Native Allies.
Burgoyne’s invasion was part of a three-pronged strategic plan to break the back of the rebellion. His army marched directly south through a near-impenetrable wilderness, attempting to reach its final objective: Albany. But American fortunes changed decisively on the west bank of the Hudson River near Saratoga. The surrender of Burgoyne’s army in October 1777 was more important to the Patriot cause than any other single event during the American Revolution; this “turning point” arguably led to Yorktown four years later. The battle of Bennington may have also been a “turning point” in the campaign itself.
This tour will pick up Burgoyne’s invasion as his army reforms at Skenesborough after defeating both a Patriot rear guard at Hubbardton and the remnants of Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair’s retreating army at Skenesborough. We will follow Burgoyne’s march from Whitehall, thru Fort Ann to Sandy Hill (present-day Hudson Falls) where we’ll visit the final resting place of Jane McCrea to tell her story and its impact, if any, on the campaign. We will follow Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum’s route to the Walloomsac where we’ll visit four battle sites: the German Redoubt, the Tory Redoubt and the fighting at the bridge, plus the site where Lt. Col. Heinrich von Breymann’s relief column was stopped by Col. Seth Warner’s Green Mountain Boys.
According to Bob Selig: “the biggest difference between older studies [of Bennington] and ours [Cultural Survey ABPP Report 2017] is the use of new and/or a very wide array of archival and cartographic sources. This research has greatly expanded our knowledge of the battles. More than 120 American primary military sources were compiled, along with a dozen British officer sources and an equal number of Loyalists, more than 20 Brunswick accounts, and eight civilian sources. In addition, several maps and archival sources were consulted for the first time such as the Jared Sparks map and journal, the Fitch oral history interviews and the Hiland Hall Papers, which resulted in the most comprehensive historical treatment of the battle to date.”
Selig further says: “The archeological research has been successful in locating the German redoubt and the Tory Redoubt and reconstructing the actions there, in verifying the location of the rocky ridge (where the Rebels began the Second Phase of the battle), in identifying a formerly unknown ford across the river, and in modeling the actions that occurred in the bottomlands near the Caretaker’s house. We also identified two soil anomalies that are consistent with the documentary record that potato pits were used as mass graves. GPR [Ground Penetrating Radar] also located two other anomalies that may be two possible graves. All of this was greatly assisted by the use of new primary sources.”
New insights on Stark’s victory, therefore, show the changed positioning/turning of the Tory Redoubt, the unknown ford across the river and the ridge where the second phase of the battle began. Even if you have toured this battlefield before, Bob Selig’s encyclopedic knowledge of new archival material will surely make this a worthwhile trip. Plus Bob is a very entertaining fellow whether in a lecture hall or out in the field.
We will return to Fort Ticonderoga in plenty of time for you to attend the opening session of Fort Ticonderoga’s American Revolution Seminar.
What’s included: Motor coach transportation, lunch, snack and beverage breaks, all admissions and gratuities, a map and materials package and the services of tour leaders selected for their knowledge and expertise of the Bennington battlefield and Burgoyne’s campaign.
Our Tour Leaders:
Dr. Michael P. Gabriel is the author of The Battle of Bennington: Soldiers and Civilians (2012), Major General Richard Montgomery: The Making of an American Hero and numerous articles related to Revolutionary America. He is a history professor and chair of the history department at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and has lectured several times at Fort Ticonderoga. His most recent book is Physician Soldier: The South Pacific Letters of Captain Fred Gabriel from the 39th Station Hospital.
Dr. Robert A. Selig holds a PhD in German History from the University of Würzburg, Germany. He currently serves as project historian to the National Park Service’s Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail and is involved with numerous ABPP Projects such as the Paoli Massacre and the battles of Princeton, Red Bank, Bennington, Hubbardton, and most recently Stone Arabia in the Mohawk Valley.
He is a recipient of the French ordre des palmes académiques, the Distinguished Patriot Award of the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution, and the Erick Kurz Memorial Award for German-American History of the Steuben Society of America.
Dr. Bruce M. Venter, president of America’s History, LLC is an experienced tour leader of the Revolutionary War period. He is the author of The Battle of Hubbardton: The Rear Guard Action that Saved America.
Other Important Information: This tour is limited to one bus, so please register early. A minimum of 20 participants is needed to run the tour. This is a walking and field tour so wear comfortable shoes. The bus will leave the main parking lot of Fort Ticonderoga at 8 AM and return by 5 PM. You may also wish to attend Fort Ticonderoga’s Annual Seminar on the American Revolution. You must register for the Seminar directly with Fort Ticonderoga.
Register Online: $125.00
Register by phone, e-mail or postal mail:
- Phone: 1-703-785-4373
- Email us at: info@AmericasHistoryLLC.com
- Postal mail: America’s History LLC, P. O. Box 1076, Goochland, VA 23063
Visa, Master Card and Discover accepted. We take checks too!
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