Battle of Saratoga and Saratoga Springs

Today we drove north to on Route 4, on the west bank of the Hudson River, to the Saratoga Battlefield now in the town of Stillwater. This is the first Revolutionary War Battlefield we’ve visited, British General Burgoyne saw the Hudson River as a strategic highway in the northeast from the time he arrived in America in 1775. It was the centerpiece of his campaign of 1777, which called for his army to move south from Canada to Albany. He won the Battle of Ticonderoga when Fort Ticonderoga fell on July 6, but wasn’t as successful at Saratoga for a variety of reasons. Because the Americans won, it was a very decisive victory in the Revolution.

General Benedict Arnold was influential in this battle. They made the point that if he had died here (he was wounded in the leg) his reputation would have been stellar. John and I couldn’t remember exactly what his later treasonous act was. We were also intrigued by a large monument to Col. Thaddeus Kosciusko, a Polish military engineer working with the Americans. His defensive works helped the American cause. I never knew we had Polish military engineers helping us.


They are having an encampment at the Nielson House this week-end because it is the anniversary of the battle. We may come back.

From the battlefield we drove north to Saratoga Springs. It was raining lightly. We ate lunch at a bakery/restaurant on Broadway recommended by Rachel Ray in her “$40 a Day” book. It was charming and we had a window seat. We drove around town a bit, including Skidmore College.

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame took a couple of hours in the afternoon. It’s across the street from the racetrack. I don’t know a lot about horse racing, but they had some interesting exhibits, including a gallery of bronze sculptures; an exhibit on Triple Crown Winners and the history of horse racing in the United States. There were some wonderful paintings displayed. I was amazed by some of the huge silver trophies on display.

We decided to drive home by a different route and ended up on a dirt road for several miles, but we made it home. We went by a hair salon in Mechanicville and I made an appointment to get my hair cut tomorrow.