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Tour of the Saratoga AWI Battlefield at Council of Five Nations

Saratoga Battlefield Tour

Benedict Arnold Wounded

The Battle of Saratoga (1777) is often cited as the turning point of the American War of Independence (summaries here and here).

Of special interest to our Historical enthusiasts, we have arranged for a private group tour of Saratoga Battlefield (click here for web site), led by historian and AWI re-enactor Jim Hughto.

This will happen during the daytime on Friday, October 9th, the first day of the convention.  We'll get you back in time for the 7pm events.

The cost is $10 per person.  We are not doing this to make money; this is a simple break-even cost.  We just want to provide this unique opportunity to interested Council attendees. 


The Experience
  • The tour starts at the Visitor Center.  There is a 15-minute movie, and an amazing "electronic map" of the the entire battlefied that gives a birds-eye view of the terrain and ebb-and-flow of the troop lines over the course of the whole battle.
  • The tour itself is a mixture of driving and walking.
  • We will see the sites of the battles of Freeman's Farm and Bemis Heights.  The entire Saratoga campaign will be explained in detail.
  • See the American defensive positions at Bemis Heights, and the defenses overlooking the Hudson River.
  • See where Benedict Arnold fought his last non-traitorous American victory.  See the spot where Simon Fraser was killed.  See the HQ of General "Johnny" Burgoyne.
  • See an original Revolutionary War-era farm that still stands today.
  • Walk the hallowed ground of one of American's most important battlefields.

Carpooling
We hope a few folks will be willing to car-pool.  We expect a decent sized group, some of whom might be traveling from out of town by rail, bus or plane.  Please let Steve know if you're able to give a fellow historian a ride.  Please also let Steve know if you need a ride; we'll coordinate the carpooling. We consider it polite for riders to offer their driver a few bucks for gas.


Here's the current version of the plan:
  1. On Friday, October 9th, at 10:45 AM, some people will meet at Muddy Cup coffee shop inside the Proctors convention site. People needing a ride will be matched up with drivers.  It will take about an hour to drive up to Saratoga.  We'll leave at 11:00 AM sharp, so don't be late!
  2. The auto caravan will arrive at the Saratoga Battlefield Visitor Center at 12 noon.  Some other people will probably skip meeting at Proctors and drive straight there; that's an option.  Either way, the tour starts at 12 noon sharp.
  3. Everyone be sure to eat a good breakfast, as we'll be touring for several hours.
  4. The tour will wrap up around 3:00 or 4:00 PM.
  5. If some folks want to grab an early group dinner, Steve will lead those vehicles to a good local eatery (specific location TBD). 
  6. Other folks will head down to the convention on their own.
  7. Everyone gets to Proctors by 6:00 PM, in time to get ready for 7:00 PM events.
When the Council pre-registration material is available, we will have a sign-up procedure in place.

If you have any questions about the Saratoga Battlefield tour, please email Steve Keyer at TwoSoldierX /at/ aol.com





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