Albany in the Civil War Exhibit Opens Saturday

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The Albany Institute of History & Art will be opening Albany and the Civil War: Medicine on the Home and Battle Fronts on Saturday, September 3, 2011, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the war. The exhibition will focus on the medical concerns and necessities of the Civil War by examining the role of the 1864 Albany Relief Bazaar and the letters, field notes, and photographs of Albany brothers Garrett Vander Veer and Dr. Albert Vander Veer, who served as dean of Albany Medical College from 1895 and 1904. Also featured will be silver loving cup presented to Dr. Vander Veer by his students in 1907.

On the 1861 home front, President Abraham Lincoln authorized the formation of the United States Sanitary Commission to raise private funds for the medical care of the Union Troops wounded in Civil War battles. In February 1864, a group of Albany women organized the Albany Relief Bazaar and raised $17,189. This three-week event included ethnic booths, art exhibitions, tableaux, souvenir shops, and lotteries, all well-documented with detailed photographs.

Meanwhile, on the battle front, Dr. Albert and Garrett Vander Veer kept detailed accounts of their experiences on Civil War battlefields. Albert, a doctor who served as a surgeon for the Sixty-Sixth at Gettysburg, kept detailed records of each of the soldiers he treated. He also used his battlefield experiences to advance the quality of medical practices when he returned to Albany. He would later go on to become an influential professor and internationally known surgeon at Albany Medical College and Hospital – an association that lasted for more than 60 years. Garret Vander Veer, who was killed in action, wrote numerous poignant letters home describing his battlefield experiences.

The exhibition, supported by Albany Medical Center, will be open through February 26, 2011 and will be displayed in the Albany Institute’s entry gallery.

Photo: Garrett Vander Veer, Vander Veer Family Photographs, Albany Institute of History & Art Library.

Teacher Open House at Schoharie Crossing

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Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site will host an open house for teachers and parents who home school on Saturday, September 10, 2011 from 9 am to noon at the Visitor Center.

There will be lots of handouts available for use in the classroom, a free raffle for all who attend, and free continental breakfast. Participants will receive 20% off discount in the gift shop on books and historical toys. There will be a guided walking tour of the East Guard Lock, the Original Crossing and the Schoharie Aqueduct at 10 am. Have all your canal questions answered by the Canalgirl. The new and improved 4th grade scavenger hunt will be featured so complete it for yourself.

For more information by call the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center at (518) 829- 7516 or email [email protected]

Sponsors Sought for Bear Mountain Inn Reopening

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When first opened in 1915, The American Architect declared the Bear Mountain Inn to be one of the “finest examples of rustic Adirondack architecture in America.” Commission President George W. Perkins Sr. described the building as &#8216-a rugged heap of boulders and huge chestnut logs assembled at the base of Bear Mountain by the hand of man and yet following lines of such natural proportions as to resemble the eternal hills themselves.’

In the last few years, the historic Bear Mountain Inn underwent extensive renovations to restore its original rustic splendor. To help raise additional funds to complete the rehabilitation of the Inn and promote the grand reopening celebration on Friday, November 11, 2011, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and its non profit partner, the Palisades Parks Conservancy invite you to promote your business at this long anticipated event. They expect leaders in environmental protection, philanthropy, government, commerce, education, law, and medicine to attend.

They ask you to join our list of Corporate Sponsors, which you can do by purchasing a table, tickets, or advertising in the dinner journal. All proceeds support the ongoing preservation and restoration of the Palisades Park’s treasures, trails, recreational facilities, open spaces, group camps for children, educational exhibits, and historic sites that benefit the people of New York and New Jersey.

As a corporate sponsor, your business name will be published in the Bear Mountain Inn Reopening Celebration dinner program that is distributed to 450 guests. In addition, your support will be identified in all event related email advertising (distributed to 7000 individuals and media outlets), and the bi-annual print newsletter (distributed to 5000 recipients) throughout 2012. If your sponsorship order is placed prior to September 15, 2011, your name will also be listed on the event invitation as a member of the benefit committee that is mailed to 5000 individuals and emailed to over 7000 individuals and media outlets in the tri-state area. The Palisades Parks Conservancy will publicly acknowledge your tax exempt support.

For information about the event, please call (845) 786-2701 x239 or email [email protected]

Photo: Bear Mountain Inn about 1920.

New Windsor Blast From The Past

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Over 7,000 Continental Army soldiers and 500 of their family members encamped at New Windsor, New York, during the winter of 1782-83. “A Blast from the Past” will recall that encampment at the New Windsor Cantonment & Knox’s Headquarters, on Saturday September 24th, Museum Day & a Hudson River Valley Ramble Weekend

At 2:00 PM, Revolutionary War soldiers perform a military demonstration and fire a cannon. A gallery tour will follow the demonstration. From 3:30 to 4:30 PM tour the nearby 1754 Ellison House, Knox’s Headquarters. New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site is co-located with the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor on Route 300, 374 Temple Hill Road, in New Windsor, NY, just three miles south of the intersection of I-87 and I-84. Knox’s Headquarters is located at 289 Forge Hill Road in Vails Gate, New York. For more information please call (845) 561-1765 ext. 22.

When 300 soldiers from the 2nd and 3rd Continental Artillery Regiments established a winter encampment at New Windsor, New York, in November 1780, American fortunes were at their lowest ebb. The previous spring, their southern army had surrendered to British forces at Charleston, South Carolina and a second army sent from the north was routed at Camden, northwest of modern Columbia. In September, Benedict Arnold’s treason shook what little confidence Americans still had in the nation’s leadership. The alliance with France produced little, but discord, the country’s finances were in shambles and the growing number of mutinies exposed the fact that the American soldiers’ often-praised perseverance was starting to waver.

When the artillerymen marched out of New Windsor, in June 1781, some of their number would assist in compelling over 8,000 British soldiers and sailors at Yorktown Virginia to surrender, in October. American joy following the victory at Yorktown was short-lived, however, because the British still controlled Maine, New York City, Wilmington, Charleston and Savannah. At the end of October 1782, the Continental Army returned to New Windsor with 7,500 soldiers. They built a city of log huts which they occupied until June 1783. American finances remained precarious. Resentful of past mistreatment and the nation’s unfulfilled promises, the officers and soldiers looked to the future with growing uncertainty. Only by a personal appeal to his officers, at New Windsor, did Washington prevent a possible mutiny.

DATE CHANGE:30th Annual Iroquois Indian Festival

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The Iroquois Indian Museum of Howes Cave, New York, will host the 30th Annual Iroquois Indian Festival on Saturday, October 15 through Sunday, October 16 (date corrected 10/14). Festival offerings include Iroquois music and social dance, traditional stories, all-Iroquois art market, games and Native food.

New this year will be a silent auction on Saturday from 10 to 5, on the main floor of the Museum will feature contemporary and vintage Native artwork- limited edition Yankees and Red Sox Native player collectibles- Native performers autographed memorabilia- local business gift certificates- antique books- music & DVDs- and more.

The Sky Dancers from Six Nations Reserve in Ontario will perform traditional Iroquois social dances. Also for the first time, audience members will be invited to participate in a Smoke Dance competition with prizes for adults and children.

Additional highlights include: Children’s Activities Tent- wildlife rehabilitator Kelly Martin with a variety of recent rescues- Pamela Brown “Wolf Teacher” returns to promote understanding and awareness of wolves- archeology ID table- survival skills presentation with Barry Keegan- and flintknapping demonstrations.

The Festival is supported in part through grants from The New York State Council on the Arts, and donations from members and friends of the Museum.

The Iroquois Indian Museum is located just 35 miles west of Albany New York, near the intersection of highways 7 and 145. Take exit 22 from Interstate 88 and follow the signs. There is a fee for entrance to the Festival grounds.

For more information contact email [email protected] or visit the museum’s website.

New Fort Ticonderoga Tour Highlights Artillery

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Fort Ticonderoga’s newest tour “The Usefulness of those fine Cannon” highlights the museums extensive 18th-century artillery collection. The walking tour takes visitors through the armament history of Fort Ticonderoga and is presented as part of the daily schedule for the remainder of the 2011 season.

The tour provides a window into the events where Fort Ticonderoga’s heavy cannons played such a large part in General Montgomery’s siege of Quebec, General Benedict Arnold’s navy, and Henry Knox’s epic efforts to haul these guns to Boston to force a British withdrawal in 1776. With three artillery pieces original to these events in Fort Ticonderoga’s collection, and many others nearly identical to the historic pieces, the tour of the Fort’s cannons allows visitors to experience Fort Ticonderoga’s important place in American history.

Fort Ticonderoga is home to one of America’s largest collections of 18th-century military material culture. The weapons collection is composed of over one thousand muskets, bayonets, pistols, swords and pole arms representing most of the major types of weapons used in the colonial wars and struggle for American Independence. The museum’s collection of 18th-century artillery is considered the largest collection of its type in the western hemisphere.

The special tour is included in the admission price. Visit www.fortitonderoga.org for calendar details or call 518-585-2821.

Fort Ticonderoga offers programs, historic interpretation and tours, garden tours, demonstrations and exhibits daily from 9:30 am &#8211 5 pm, May 20 &#8211 October 20. A full schedule and information on events can be found at www.Fort-Ticonderoga.org or phone (518) 585-2821. Fort Ticonderoga is located at 100 Fort Ti Road Ticonderoga, New York.

Photo: Artillery at Fort Ticonderoga. Photo by John Warren.

Adirondack Gilded Age Tour

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The Adirondack Region offers heritage tours, hiking, unique events and more to make the most of the fall landscape of the Adirondack Park. The Gilded Age Tour allows guests to step back in time and discover an age where captains of industry and socialites brought unimaginable luxury to New York’s vast Adirondack wilderness. This fall, you can rediscover this Adirondack history with rustic heritage events, expeditions, themed entertainment &#8211 as well as the Gilded Age Tour.

The Gilded Age Tour includes:

• A two-hour tour of Great Camp Sagamore in Raquette Lake. This National Historic Landmark, recently featured by Martha Stewart Magazine, is a 27-building estate.

• A lunch or dinner cruise on Raquette Lake aboard the W.W. Durant, a magnificent vessel name for the Gilded Age developer who once claimed one million acres of the Central Adirondacks as his own. Learn the history of the region and see elaborate camps of industrial giants Collis P. Huntington and the Carnegie family.

• A pass to the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. The Adirondack’s historical and cultural treasure center, this exceptional museum offers more than 200 years of Adirondack history, spread throughout 32 acres and offering 22 indoor and outdoor exhibits.

The Adirondack Museum showcases the collective treasures and heritage of the Adirondack Park’s history. Offering continuing education opportunities, workshops, events and annual festivals, the museum aims to engage and inspire interest in Adirondack heritage crafts through experiential exhibits.

Adirondack Heritage Events:

• 24th Annual Rustic Furniture Fair September 10-11 at the Adirondack Museum. Celebrate the refined and distinctive artisan craftsmanship found in Adirondack furnishings, furniture and paintings. Enjoy live music, demonstrations and great food throughout the two day event.

• Adirondack Plein Air Workshop October 2-7 at White Pine Camp. Located on Osgood Pond, this former Great Camp turned four-season lodge once served as President Calvin Coolidge’s Summer White House. Tour the property’s extensive grounds, rustic buildings and Japanese teahouse, then hone your artistic &#8220en plein air&#8221 skills.

Take a walk in the woods with the Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) group for special tours of historic and architectural significant sites. Explore the century-old, remote Otis Mountain Camps in the Bouquet River Valley near Elizabethtown on September 8th.

Additional AARCH Tours Scheduled for this fall include:

• Preserving Camp Santanoni II September 27 in Newcomb. Built in 1892 for an Albany couple, AARCH staff will lead a tour of the 200-acre-farm, Main Camp on Newcomb Lake and the Gate Lodge. Learn more about the ongoing restoration of the camp complex during the 9.8 mile round-trip tour along a gently sloping carriage road.

• The World of Arto Monaco September 10 in Upper Jay. Arto Monaco was one of the most innovative and unique artists to come out of the Adirondacks. Born in 1913, Monaco worked for MGM Studios in Hollywood, before returning home to the Adirondacks to pioneer the Christmas theme park, Santa’s Workshop in Wilmington, NY. He also designed and built a children-sized theme park called the &#8220Land of Makebelieve&#8221 in Upper Jay. Take a behind-the-scenes tour of Monaco’s incredible visions-come-to-life.

Military Reenactments:

• The Battle of Plattsburgh September 3-11 in Plattsburgh. For a week in September, the battle will rage once more on the shores of Lake Champlain &#8211 culminating in the action-packed Commemorative Weekend. Events kick off September 3 and 4th with live music performances at Clinton Community College. Throughout the week, enjoy live music, a parade, kid’s games, guided walks and more.

• Revolutionary War: Struggle for Liberty Reenactment September 10-11 at Fort Ticonderoga. Watch colonial trade demonstrations, interpretive vignettes, experience camp life and a daily battle reenactment. Additionally, through October 20th, Fort Ticonderoga’s Heroic Maze offers a challenge to any history buff.

Adirondack Artistic Heritage Events:

• Murder Mystery Weekend September 9-11 at Great Camp Sagamore. A former Vanderbilt estate in Raquette Lake, the entire weekend is devoted to solving the murder surrounding an auction of Alfred Vanderbilt’s unused Titanic ticket. Join friends and strangers for a weekend of fun as you strive to solve the murder and catch the killer before he &#8211 or she &#8211 gets to you!

• New York, New York! The 20th Century exhibit through September 18 in Glens Falls. Explore the artistic history of New York at the Hyde Collection, where some of the most beloved depictions of NYC will be on display. This major exhibition features over sixty works of art, including photographs, paintings, sculptures and works on paper. Featured artists include Diane Arbus, Edward Hopper, Stuart David, Berenice Abbott, Jim MacMillian and many more.

Judith Wellman Keynotes Annual Peterboro Tea

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Dr. Judith Wellman, well known scholar and author on the history of women’s rights and the Underground Railroad, will be the keynote speaker on Sunday, September 25 at 12:30 p.m. at the Annual In the Kitchen Bloomer Tea held at the Smithfield Community Center in Peterboro to celebrate Elizabeth Smith Miller’s birthday and women’s rights heritage. Miller, daughter of Ann and Gerrit Smith, is credited with creating a trouser costume in the mid 1800s that became a symbol of the women’s movement.

Dr. Wellman, author of The Road to Seneca Falls, will describe Peterboro’s role in the women’s movement, including the influence of Gerrit and Ann Smith during the summers that Elizabeth Cady Stanton spent in Peterboro, the debates over dress reform, and the inclusion of women in the Liberty League convention. Wellman states, “Everybody knows about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her work for women’s rights. But few people understand how important her cousins, Gerrit and Ann Smith and their daughter Elizabeth Smith Miller, were in shaping her reform agenda. Stanton and Elizabeth Smith Miller had a lifelong friendship, based on their shared sense of humor and their commitment to women’s rights (including dress reform). From Gerrit Smith, Stanton gained access to ideas and people at the highest levels of antislavery organization. (If you) want to hear the backstory of the Seneca Falls convention, come to this talk!”

Judith Wellman, Ph.D., is Historian and Principal Investigator, Historical New York Research Associates, and professor emerita, State University of New York at Oswego. Wellman has more than 30 years of award-winning experience in research, teaching, cultural resource surveys, and grants administration in U.S. history, women’s history, local history, Underground Railroad history, and historic preservation.

After earning her Ph.D. at the University of Virginia in 1974, Judith Wellman taught history at the State University of New York at Oswego. She teaches two online courses through the SUNY Learning Network and the State University of New York at Oswego: &#8220Doing History Locally&#8221 and “Historic Preservation and Heritage Tourism.”

Judith Wellman has worked as a consultant and principal investigator on award-winning projects with the National Park Service, the Mary Baker Eddy Library, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the U. S. Department of Education, the Preservation League of New York State, the New York State Office of Historic Preservation, the New York Council for the Humanities, the Documentary Heritage Program of the New York State Archives, National Public Radio, the U.S. Department of Education, the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History, and a wide variety of local historical, genealogical, teachers, women’s, and preservation groups. She also regularly gives papers at major scholarly conventions, including the Organization of American Historians, Association for the Study of African American Life, and the National Council on Public History.

Judith Wellman is a member of the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, the American Association for State and Local History, the Association for the Study of African American Life, and the National Council for Public History. She is a member of the Preservation League of New York State and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She is listed as a researcher for cultural resource surveys with the Preservation League of New York State and with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. She has served on the boards of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, the Women’s Museum and Leadership Center, the Heritage Foundation of Oswego, and the New York State History Advisory Board of the New York State Education Department. She is currently Coordinator of the 1816 Farmington Quaker Meetinghouse Museum.

Wellman’s keynote Peterboro on the Road to Seneca Falls follows a tea catered by The Copper Turret of Morrisville NY and served by ladies attired in the Bloomer costume of Peterboro. Debra Kolsrud will describe ongoing history activities in Stanton’s hometown of Johnstown NY. Maxine Getty and Jody Luce will read Miller and Stanton letters. There will also be basket raffles and door prizes.

The tea is a presentation in a series of programs offered by the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark in Peterboro made possible, in part, by a PACE grant from the Central New York Community Foundation. $35 reservations required by August 27. $40 reservations by September 17. Seating is limited. Send check to Smithfield Community Association (501c3) PO Box 42, Peterboro NY 13134 or visit www.inthekitchentea.com

Irish History: Eamon De Valera in America

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A new book by Irish journalist and commentator Dave Hannigan, De Valera in America: The Rebel President and the Making of Irish Independence, illuminates an interesting period in New York Irish history when de Valera, born in New York City in 1882, made an important return trip to convince Americans to recognize the newly proclaimed Irish Republic.

Eamon de Valera is one of the most famous characters in Irish history. He commanded troops during the 1916 Easter Rising, co-authored the Irish constitution, and in 1926 founded Fianna Fail, which continues to be the largest political party in Ireland today. De Valera was head of the Irish government from 1932–48, 1951–54 and 1957–59 and President of Ireland from 1959–73.

In June 1919, he arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel pronouncing himself the &#8220President of Ireland.&#8221 He was on a mission to convince the United States to recognize Ireland as an independent nation, and also to fund the independence movement, which would be a clear affront to Britain. De Valera went on to give speeches in some of America’s largest venues, including Madison Square Garden and Fenway Park, where he drew crowds of 60,000 people. Over the course of that year, he accumulated fame and scandal, but more importantly, he gained essential financial support for the fledgling Irish Republic.

For the first time, a book follows de Valera on his controversial trip across America, exploring his personal and political relationships, and the costs and benefits of his perilous crusade. From newspaper headlines to cloak and dagger antics, Hannigan delivers a truly unique slice of Irish Americana, bringing to life this pivotal moment in history.

Dave Hannigan is a columnist at The Sunday Tribune in Dublin, the Evening Echo (Cork) and The Irish Echo. A former Irish young journalist of the year, he is also an adjunct professor of history at Suffolk County Community College on Long Island. He lives in Rocky Point, New York.

Prescribed Fire Program at Saratoga Battlefield

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With favorable weather conditions in place, certified wildland firefighters at Saratoga National Historical Park in Stillwater in conjunction with DEC Forest Rangers, will undertake prescribed burning of approximately 46 acres in the center of the park, near Stop 4 in late August and early September. The park will remain open to visitors during this time.

For over twenty years, prescribed fires have been a valuable and safe tool in managing Saratoga Battlefield’s 3200 acres. Planned burns allow the park to maintain its historic 1777 landscape, reduce the spread of exotic plant species, encourage regeneration of natural grasses and eliminate the need for personnel to work on hazardous slopes with mechanical equipment. Additionally, hazard fuel reduction around developed areas provides for fire fighter safety and structure protection in the event of a natural wildfire.

An official Fire Management Plan is required before such a prescribed fire can occur. Saratoga National Historical Park’s Fire Management Plan was approved by regional NPS Fire Management Officers. Neighboring fire departments are informed of daily plans and prior to igniting a fire, and park staff runs down a go/no go checklist prior to any firing.

If you have any questions about prescribed fires at Saratoga National Historical Park or park events, please contact the park’s visitor center at (518) 664.9821 ext. 224.