The 1777 March of the Saratoga Convention Army

How well recognized was Henry Knox for his journey to Ticonderoga and return to Cambridge? On November 16, 1775, General George Washington tasked twenty-five-year-old Henry Knox (seen here in a 1778 painting by Charles Wilson Peale, from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ), a bookseller from Boston, Massachusetts, to travel to New York and bring back artillery, ammunition and gun flints for the Continental Army which surrounded British occupied Boston.   The story of Knox's return from Fort Ticonderoga with his "Noble Train of Artillery" is fairly well know today.  Two hundred and fifty years ago only a few seemed to have taken note of what he did.  Many still overlook the first two parts of his mission.   Washington's instructions first directed Knox  "... to examine into the state of the artillery of this army, and take an account of the cannon, mortars, shells, lead, and ammunition, that are wanting."   Next, Knox was "... t...

A number of museums have displayed items said to be associated with British Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne.  They offer visitors a physical connection to the Saratoga campaign, and serve as a reminder of the American victory in October of 1777, which changed the course of the Revolutionary War.  One of these objects is a kettle described as “Burgoyne’s Camp Kettle” which, up until recently, was on display at the Bennington Battle Monument in Bennington, Vermont. My introduction to Burgoyne’s Camp Kettle came by way of a postcard, as pictured here.  In addition to the painted description on the kettle itself which identified this as “Gen. Burgoyne’s Camp-Kettle”, the back of the postcard indicated that this was “Gen. Burgoyne’s Camp Kettle captured October 17, 1777, in the battle of Saratoga, where Gen. Burgoyne surrendered” .  A caption on the front of the postcard indicated that the picture was taken at the Bennington Battle Monument, a Vermont State Historic Sit...

Reenactors, scholars and historians will remember the Revolutionary War with a variety of events in September and October of 2024.  Several will commemorate Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne's failed 1777 campaign, including his surrender on October 17th, as shown in this photo taken last year at a recreation of the event in Schuylerville, New York. September and October are great months to visit historic sites in New York and New England.  First up on my list is "Soldiers on the Mount", on Labor Day weekend at Mount Independence, a Vermont State Historic Site in Orwell, Vermont .  Several reenactor groups will camp out there to portray the American occupation of the site from July 1776 through July of 1777.  Site staff are organizing what they call their "Walkabout" on Saturday, August 31st.  This will feature a number of reenactors and historians at several points along the site's Baldwin Trail, who will interact with visitors on a variety of topics. ...

On October 22, 1777, Brigadier-General John Glover notified state officials that the British force surrendered at Saratoga was on its way to Massachusetts.  Over 2,000 British troops would come by way of Northampton, and 2,198 "foreign troops" would come by way of Springfield. [1]  Those foreign troops  were German, and in an age before a unified Germany they were often referred to as "Hessians", though most were from the principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel .  For four months they fought along side their British comrades, and after the surrender on October 17, 1777, they shared their fate as prisoners of the Convention Army. The commander of Burgoyne's German troops was Major-General Friedrich Adolph Riedesel, age 39.  Like Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne he was a cavalry officer, had fought in Europe during the Seven Years War, and had distinguished himself through his bravery in battle.   Riedesel, unlike Burgoyne, was with his troops f...