SURRENDER CELEBRATION
Area history-lovers mark 242nd anniversary at Saratoga National Historic Park
SARATOGA, N.Y. » On the 242nd anniversary of British General John Burgoyne’s surrender to American General Horatio Gates, at the exact site where it happened, local historylovers celebrated the grand opening of a brand new memorial plaza.
A large crowd of project supporters braved rainy weather on Thursday afternoon to attend a dedication ceremony, during which the one-acre site was donated to the Saratoga National Historic Park.
Located at 139 Schuyler St., one mile south of Schuylerville on Route 4, the Saratoga Surrender Site’s new memorial plaza reflects the significance of its history with a bronze basrelief at its center depicting John Trumbull’s 1821 masterpiece depicting the historical event, which altered world history and assured America’s victory of the Revolutionary War.
Supporting this centerpiece, visitors will find a granite wall overlooking the Hudson River and landscape that has been preserved since the Revolutionary War.
Through a highly successful fundraising campaign, Friends of the Saratoga Battlefield worked with other community organizations to construct the memorial plaza.
The preservation of the site would not have been possible without devoted partners. With
funding support from the State of New York, land conservation partner Open Space Institute,
purchased the property in 2006. The Friends of the Saratoga Battlefield took the lead in
developing the memorial park on the property in collaboration with the Historic Hudson-Hoosic
Rivers Partnership. The Town of Saratoga and the New York State Natural Heritage Trust both
received a grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program to prepare a Cultural
Landscape Protection Plan to develop the site for public access.
“It takes community support and initiative to tackle such a monumental task like this impressive plaza,” park superintendent Amy Bracewell said in a press release. “Our future visitors will now have a more complete understanding of the significance of the history here in 1777. We are all grateful to our community patrons whoworked together to complete this gift to the American public.”
Thursday’s event included a keynote address by historian James Kirby Martin, a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, a reenactment of the surrendering and a ceremonial cannon firing.
In his speech, Martin emphasized the Battles of Saratoga as significant in not only U.S. History but world history, because it launched two centuries of revolution elsewhere across the globe. “Over 100 examples exist of other peoples in other locations modeling their design to rebel against the oppression in their lives,” he shared. “They modeled it on our Declaration of Independence.”
Saratoga National Historical Park ranger Eric Schnitzer also spoke of the site’s importance. “Long before it was known for its horse racing or spring waters, Saratoga gained international fame because of the extraordinary surrender of a British army, an oc
currence which had never before happened in the history of the world,” he said.
The public is invited to visit the Saratoga Surrender Site, the newest part of the visitor experience at Saratoga National Historical Park, which is also home to the Saratoga Battlefield. The site is open to visitors from dawn to dusk throughout the year.
Final site development will continue in 2020. Landscaping, additional interpretive signage, period fencing, and cannons are all part of the comprehensive plan.
Once complete, the property is expected to be enjoyed by thousands of visitors every year.
Friends of the Saratoga Battlefield board president Brian Mumford said the organization hopes many will visit the memorial plaza “to take in the spirit of this location, to take in the meaning and significance of the American victory, and to be overwhelmed with the importance of our local heritage, and also to ponder how fortunate we are to have in our community this world significant site,” he said during the recent ceremony. “The Friends also hopes that this convenient sized plaza, just over an acre, will become a destination where children will be brought by their parents and grandparents, to experience the origin of our country’s freedom and democracy.”