The 1777 March of the Saratoga Convention Army

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...

On June 24 and 25, 2023, the Bidwell House Museum in Monterey, Massachusetts, will host a Revolutionary War "Living History Weekend" that recreates the camp of an army on campaign.  Modern day "living history" can trace its roots to our nation's Bi-Centennial period, when participants generally focused on re-enacting a major (or imagined) battle.  Many of today’s re-enactors have benefitted from years of research and the greater availability of primary source information on which to base their presentations, and a shift to an immersive experience for visitors, such as recreating a Continental Army camp. The Bidwell House campaign event will be just that.  Most of the participants at the Bidwell House will portray troops on the march camped on the grounds of the Bidwell House, to give visitors the opportunity to see how the common soldier of the Revolution may have lived, what he ate, and how he spent his time in camp, drilling, maintaining his clothing and equ...

Last week I shared that tracking the 1777 journey of Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne from Saratoga to Cambridge was a challenge.  Several primary sources document he stayed in Albany at Major-General Philip Schuyler's home until October 27th, and arrived in Cambridge on November 7th.  Less clear was where he stopped in between, though multiple locations lay claim to the statement "Burgoyne slept here" - some relatively easy to challenge, others not so much so. Travelers during the Revolutionary War going from Albany to Boston (or Boston to Albany) generally followed one of two major routes that correspond to the routes taken by the British and German columns.  A traveler leaving Albany could head south towards Kinderhook, then east through Great Barrington to Springfield, and on to Boston (or Cambridge for our purposes) along the Western Post Road.  Alternatively, a traveler could head east from Albany to Pittsfield or Williamstown, then through the Berkshires to c...