Colonial Saratoga: War and Peace on the Borderlands of Early America
Preston DL. 2018. Colonial Saratoga: War and Peace on the Borderlands of Early America. Department of Interior, National Park Service/ In Partnership with the Organization of American Historians
This Historic Resource Study (HRS) presents new archival evidence on Saratoga, New York’s role in the broad colonial era preceding the pivotal Battle of Saratoga in 1777. The study is based on research in eighteen different archives or libraries, and I hope that these new archival sources will contribute to the Saratoga NHP’s understanding of the Revolutionary War and the historical and cultural landscape related to Saratoga’s colonial past: the Schuyler Estate, the focal point of the 1745 French attack on Saratoga; the site of Fort Hardy and the Field of Grounded Arms; and the Sword Surrender site, overlooking the area of Fort Clinton and the earliest Saratoga settlements. Without places like Saratoga, the British could never have projected military power deep into the interior or conquered New France by 1760. The epilogue points toward 1777, and how a thorough understanding of Saratoga’s colonial history vitally informs our understanding the Battle of Saratoga. The British and American armies that converged on Saratoga in 1777 did not come to a static place. Rather, the commanders, armies, and the flow of that important campaign all reflected deeper historical patterns of Saratoga’s long colonial background.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Preston, David
- Date of Issue
- 2018
- Publisher
- Department of Interior, National Park Service/ In Partnership with the Organization of American Historians
- Units
- SARA
- Keywords
- Borderland, French and Indian War, Ft. Clinton, Ft. Hardy, King George's War, Louis Cook, Saratoga, Schuyler
- Subjects
- NPS.gov Subject Site: African American Heritage , NPS.gov Subject Site: American Indian Heritage , NPS.gov Subject Site: American Military , NPS.gov Subject Site: American Revolution , NPS.gov Subject Site: Battlefields , NPS.gov Subject Site: Colonization & Settlement , NPS.gov Subject Site: Cultural Landscapes , NPS.gov Subject Site: Forts