Ann was staying on the boat for the first
3 full days, and then I drove her to Fairhaven, NY to pick up her vehicle to
drive back to Ohio. That drive was over 150 road miles each way, but it also
served to remind us how far we had actually travelled on Lucky Us. The weather was scattered rain for most
of Ann’s final few days, but she made the most of her time by walking all over
Schuylerville soaking up the history. Speaking of history, the photos in this
post are in no particular order, except all of the photos of historical places
are at the end. On the Erie Canal we had passed one of the two “beer barges”,
which was a big local event.
Since, the 1970s, there has been almost
no commercial traffic on the Erie Canal so the barges carrying the large tanks
to the Genesee Brewery in Rochester were unusual. The Champlain Canal has some
commercial traffic even today, and I was greeted with the view of this tug and a
large, empty barge (photo above at right). Several local people standing near where I
was hardly seemed to notice the passing of the tow. Later, I passed several
barges waiting to be loaded at a gravel quarry. Quite a different feeling after
seeing helicopter views on TV and hearing reports on TV and radio daily for at
least 10 days.
The photo at the left shows Lucky with a
bored look that tells her opinion of the weather. Usually when I offer her a
chance to go for a walk, she jumps up and heads for the salon door, but when she
sees rain, she can put on the breaks very fast. I try to walk 3 to 5 miles with
her every day, but when it is raining, that total goes way down with her
approval.
Downtown Schuylerville is active with a
grocery, 7 restaurants, several churches but no real stores. Most of the
remaining store fronts are for services like lawyers, music, laundromat, and
teaching yoga, art and drums, etc. The only store is a thrift store that
occupies two store fronts. The buildings are old and in reasonable condition
(photo at right). So, it is a pretty little downtown, but it is a little
different.
One cute thing
on main street was this horse painted to look like a cow (photo at left). Several
of the towns in previous stops also had (only) one painted animal in a prominent location (e.g. the painted mule in Waterford).
Or is it a horse? The next photo (at right) shows that the horse
actually has two pairs of ears… That’s right there are both horse and cow ears on a horse tat is painted with spots like a cow...
Somebody has a strange sense of humor.
Judy at the marina has a green thumb,
and she has planted a lot of flowers, including this brightly colored hanging
basket (photo at left). There are a lot of long term summer residents in the
mobile home park that is also part of the marina. Most of them are from this
area, but they have retired to Florida and come back here every summer. Anyway,
they all contribute to a very friendly atmosphere here.
Schuylerville also has a long, well
preserved segment of the original Champlain Canal (photo at right). There is a
stream that flows into the old canal from the upper right, and the added water
circulation keeps the canal in good shape. More and more small towns are
restoring small segments of both the original Erie and Champlain Canals as a
means of attracting tourists.
The photo at the left shows another
portion of the original canal with a gravel one lane road along the old
towpath. Lucky and I walked about a half mile along here on one of our daily walks.
It was fun walking along here and thinking back to the time when a team of
mules was pulling a barge along this very spot…
…and they’re headed down the straight
approaching the finish line. Saratoga Springs, NY is a beautiful town about 8
miles west of Schuylerville. It and Lake George were a favorite summer home to
many wealthy people from New York City since the very late 1800s. Horse racing
has also been a large part of the local activities. We went to see some racing,
but it was dirt track car racing at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway (photo at
right). It is a 1/3 mile dirt track with about ten 8 lap qualifying races with
2 races for each class. The final races are usually 20 laps. Given the high
speeds and short track, the races do not last very long, but they are very
organized with never more than about 5 minutes between races.
We had a
great time at the races as can be seen in the smiling faces in the photo at the
left. If you look closely, you can see that the Admiral is wearing a set of
noise deadening head phones, which definitely helped her enjoy the races. I had
not been to a short, dirt track race since I was in high school so I was
definitely looking forward to this event. On the other hand, the Admiral had
never been to one of these races, and as she said later, she was not at all
sure that she would like it. Don’t hold your breath, but I do think that we
will go again someday.
In driving around the area we passed
several osprey nest on top of electric power lines (photo at right). Someone
went to some effort as the wire had been removed from the top of the pole and a
wooden box had been added. The osprey population has really rebounded from near
extinction in the 1960s due to the effects of the pesticide DDT that caused
their eggs to have very thin shells that cracked very easily.
This is the Gen. Philip Schuyler House on the west edge of
Schuylerville. The town was ultimately renamed after Gen. Schuyler replacing
the informal name of the area of Saratoga. This beautiful colonial style house
is actually the third built on this site by members of the Schuyler family as
the first two were destroyed by fire. As part of a recurring theme, this photo was also taken in the rain...
There were several beautiful, old
churches, including this one that looked abandoned and was for sale (photo at
right). Some people buy old churches and convert them into a home, but this one
was so large that it would cost a fortune to heat. Anyway, it looked very sad sitting there…
Just up the hill from the church in the
previous photo at the right sits the Saratoga National Monument (photo at
left). It was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
Revolutionary forces at the Battle of Saratoga that happened over several weeks
in September and October of 1777. It sits at the edge of what looked like an
old stream terrace, and it has a commanding view of the Hudson River over 150
feet below. Just to the west of the monument is Victory Woods where British General
Burgoyne and his army retreated after losing the battle. They had previously laid down their arms in what is now a waterfront park in Schuylerville.
The handsome gent in the photo is me for
scale and shows some of the details in the monument (photo at right). The
victory at Saratoga marked the first major victory for the Revolutionary Army
since the Declaration of Independence was signed about 15 months before. By
that point the British controlled New York City, the Hudson River Valley and
north through Lake Champlain all the way to Montreal. The nearly 13,000
American troops outnumbered the 8,000 British (and Hessian) troops who were
more heavily armed and well trained, professional soldiers. By the time the
battle actually began, the British army was down to as few as 7,000 troops due
to casualties and desertions while the Revolutionary forces were growing daily.
The final battle began here about 8 miles
south of Schuylerville (photo at left). The Revolutionary forces had set up
fortified lines for defense to stop the British from advancing South along the
Hudson River (river is near the top of the photo). Hessian forces were moving
South along the river, and the line of cannons placed along the edge of this
terrace some 70+ feet above the river. The Hessians were turned back in the face of cannon and musket fire raining down on them and
rejoined General Burgoyne who decided to attack through the trees further up the
hill.
When the British moved up the hill to
attack through the trees, they lost the advantage of their superior cannons
that were useless in the trees. The British came out of the tree line and
started to cross this field where they were met by intense fire from the
defenders protected behind earthen works. This part of the battle was to prove
the turning point, and Burgoyne’s army retreated to Saratoga where they
ultimately laid down their arms. There were negotiations about the document
that was signed. Burgoyne refused to use the word “surrender”, but that is what
they did when they laid down their arms in what is now a Schuylerville park
adjacent to the marina where Lucky Us was docked.
I am standing next to one of the (few)
cannons that the Revolutionary force possessed (photo at left). It could only
fire a (very small) one pound ball, but at the range of a thousand yards it was accurate. I am also holding an
umbrella because it poured during the entire tour of the battlefield.
The photo at the right shows one of the
high-tech cannons captured from the British. It could shoot a larger ball much
further and with greater accuracy than any cannon in the US arsenal. There was
no foundry in the US that could produce such a weapon. Thus, the 138 cannons
captured from the British were a huge addition to the Revolutionary army. The
cannons were used against the British for the rest of the war and proved
particularly effective against the British in Boston.
Patriot John Neilson’s farm house was used for
planning and his fields were used for camping. During the early part of the
campaign one of the smaller engagements was fought along the edge of his farm,
but Neilson’s family had already moved to safety. This is an exact reproduction of the
original farmhouse (photo at left).
On May 30 we also visited the National
Cemetery (photo at right) that is adjacent to the Saratoga Battleground National Park. Before it
became a floating holiday, Memorial Day was fixed on May 30 so it seemed
appropriate that we stop to visit and pay our respects. As far as national
cemeteries go, it is a relatively new one, but of course, it is filling far too
fast.
The last photo (at left) from my extended stay in
Schuylerville is the ship’s bell from the USS Saratoga, which is now on display
at the Saratoga National Cemetery. I did not look it up, but I believe that the
USS Saratoga was an aircraft carrier that played a prominent role in the battle
of Midway Island in WW II. If I am not correct, I am sure that I will hear from
my 7 year old Grandson Will who would know the answer.
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