GREAT SCOTS!
Scottish soldiers to visit Saratoga National Historical Park
STILLWATER >>
Saratoga National Historical Park is one of many stops 16 Scottish soldiers are planning during a nearly two-week canoe trip from Montreal to New York, to mark the 15th anniversary of 9/11.
They belong to the Royal Regiment of Scotland, part of the British army, and most have served in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Global War on Terror.
During the 340-mile voyage, called “Northern Liberty Paddle,” they’ll also trace the footsteps of their 18th century Scottish military ancestors who fought with the British during the French and Indian War and American Revolution.
“I believe soldiers throughout history have faced the same feelings and emotions, facing the unknown, often in a strange land,” said Major Scotty Menzies, the trip’s leader. “Many Scottish soldiers fought and died in the areas we will pass through, so I am sure our soldiers will feel a sense of connection.”
At each location, they’ll pay tribute to the respective Scottish units that served there.
The 42nd Royal Highland Regiment, also known as the Black Watch, lost more than 500 killed and wounded at Ticonderoga on July 6, 1758, during the French and Indian War.
In October 1777, the 21st Royal Scots Fusilier was part of British Gen. John Burgoyne’s army that surrendered to Americans following the Battles of Saratoga, the “Turning Point” of the American Revolution.
“The regiment was formed in the 17th century and was one of the more famous and respected regiments in the British Army,” said Eric Schnitzer, Saratoga National Historical Park acting chief of interpretation. “The regiment was sent from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Chatham, England and then to Canada in 1776 in order to save Canada from the American invasion made in 1775. They didn’t see much fighting in 1776. In 1777, the regiment was part of Burgoyne’s army.”
“Although some elements of the regiment fought at Hubbardton, Vt., most of the battalion was completely engaged in the war until the Sept. 19, 1777 Battle of Freeman’s Farm at Saratoga,” Schnitzer said. “The regiment’s lieutenant colonel and commander in the field, James Hamilton, commanded an entire brigade in Burgoyne’s army, and so command of the 21st Regiment went to its major, George Forster. The regiment suffered a great deal at Freeman’s Farm, losing over 110 officers and men killed and wounded, about a quarter of the battalion’s strength. The battalion didn’t partake in further fighting during the campaign, and ended up surrendering at Saratoga with the remainder of Burgoyne’s army.”
This Tuesday, plans call for the group to start out traveling south on the Richelieu River in Quebec, followed by Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Hudson River.
“The canoe trek by soldiers of the Royal Regiment of Scotland is a timely reminder to the local populace about the history that took place in our very backyards,” said Joseph W. Zarzynski of Wilton, a colonial-era historian and maritime archaeologist.
After leaving Ticonderoga, the soldiers are tentatively scheduled to paddle down Lake George and arrive at Fort William Henry in Lake George Village on Saturday, Sept. 3. The next day they’ll move to Glens Falls for the next leg of their trip on the Hudson River to Saratoga National Historical Park, in Stillwater.
“Visits like this are important because it reminds us all, once again, that the historic 1777 battles have meaning today,” Schnitzer said. “In this case, those who currently serve in the Royal Regiment of Scotland can trace their unit’s lineage back to 1777, where their predecessors fought and suffered in the Battle of Freeman’s Farm, which took place on land that is forever preserved, protected and interpreted to visitors from the world over. Most of those officers and men are buried here at Saratoga.”
Also, there’s a second, extremely important lesson to be learned from the group’s trip, Schnitzer said.
“In 1777, the Royal North British Fusiliers invaded New York from Canada in an attempt to capture Albany,” Schnitzer said. “Today, members of the Royal Regiment of Scotland are touring New York from Canada. We were enemies in 1777, but friends today, as seen when the Royal Regiment of Scotland recently fought alongside our Armed Forces servicemen and women in the Middle East, in order to keep freedom alive in the world.”
Scottish soldiers making the journey are in the Regular Army and Reserve. The trip’s purpose is to “expose soldiers to an element of the unknown, building rigor, confidence, teamwork and leadership while gaining an understanding of the history of our antecedent regiments,” Menzies said.
He organized the trip with Warrant Officer Class 1 James Maitland, the group’s second in command.
“He and I were discussing the book ‘War on the Run’ by John Ross,” Manzies said. “We were looking to organize an adventurous training expedition, but one with an element of education. We looked into the history of the French and Indian War and then the War of Independence and decided the area was shrouded in so much history we would retrace the waterways used during those eras. This would allow us to visit some of the battlefields our antecedent regiments fought at.”
“Those who currently serve in the Royal Regiment of Scotland can trace their unit’s lineage back to 1777, where their predecessors fought and suffered in the Battle of Freeman’s Farm, which took place on land that is forever preserved, protected and interpreted to visitors from the world over.” — Eric Schnitzer, Saratoga National Historical Park acting chief of interpretation