The 1777 March of the Saratoga Convention Army

On October 29, 1777, the German column of the Convention Army marched seven miles.  The bad weather continued; more rain, accompanied by snow and ice, but it was less windy than the day before.  The roads improved, one German officer noting they  "... were golden in comparison to the earlier ones”,  or at least  "no longer abominable” . [1]  The Berkshire mountains were now behind them.  Their march east from Westfield, Massachusetts ,  took them to West Springfield, on the west bank of the Connecticut River; flat, fertile farmland settled by Europeans over a century earlier, and occupied by Native people for countless generations before that.   When the German column stopped for the night, several noted that the people there  "... took us into their houses" , though it was “in spite of the residents aversion to receiving us” . [2]  Once again it appears likely that the Brunswick Grenadier Johann Bense was assigned qu...

Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne's British and German soldiers left their camp on the morning of October 17, 1777, with orders to march "... to the verge of the river where the old fort stood, where the arms and artillery are to be left; the arms to be piled by word of command from their own officers." [1]  Following the surrender, American Colonel Jeduthan Baldwin would record in his diary that among what was captured were "5000 Stands arms" , or as Lieutenant-Colonel James Wilkinson would quote  decades later  from Major Ebenezer Steven's return: "five thousand stand of arms are taken ..."  [2]     What is a stand of arms?  The term does not appear in Thomas Simes " A Treaty on the Military Science" .   Captain George Smith's  Universal Military Dictionary  helps some, as  "Stand of Arms"  is defined as being  "a complete set of arms for one soldier."   What is meant by "arms" though is open t...

On October 28, 1777, the two thousand German prisoners from General John Burgoyne's army who surrendered at Saratoga reached Westfield, Massachusetts.  After leaving  Great Barrington  on the 26th they had marched through  "a desolate mountain range…" , where the roads "were not only very hilly but also stony and rocky" . [1]  It had already rained for two days, and the weather was getting worse.   Brunswick Grenadier Johann Bense would record in his diary: "... again a very wretched march in rain and snow on an impossible road through Westfield...  One man from the Grenadiers froze to death.”  [2]   The march on the 28th was the most difficult day of their journey.   All day “... hail, rain, and snow succeeded one another strangely.  The wind penetrated the whole body, no matter how much stuff you had wrapped around you.  The wet clothes froze like armor on the body; one grenadier froze to death on the marc...

February is Black History Month.  According to the website of the National Museum of African American History and Culture , our national celebration of African-American history, culture and achievement dates back to 1926, when it began as "Negro History Week".  Carter G. Woodson, historian and founder of Black History Month, is quoted as saying: "Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history."   [1] The contributions of persons of color was overlooked in the telling of American history for many years.  Over time there has been a conscious effort to tell their stories, or at a minimum note their presence, such as through these bottle trees last year entitled  “Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street” , on the lawn of the Hooker-Lee-Nichols House in Cambridge, Massachusetts (now the home of " History Cambridge ").  ...