All Forums  OFF THE BEATEN TRAIL  Historical Sites!  Fort Montgomery State Park, N. Y.

Note: You must be registered in order to post a reply.
To register, click here. Registration is FREE!

Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Videos: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message Icon:                             Message: Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by James N.[/i] [br]I just returned from the first vacation to Upstate N. Y. I've made in over a decade. ( The very first was in 1992 to see where what we had filmed in North Carolina had REALLY occurred: Ft.s William Henry, Crown Point, Ticonderoga; Saratoga, etc. ) This time I rented a car at Newark and put almost 1000 mi. on it revisiting all those plus others lower down the Hudson. I was most pleased and pleasantly surprised at what I found at this relatively NEW state park, scene of a major battle in Sir Henry Clinton's brief attempt to create a "diversion" in Burgoyne's favor during the Saratoga Campaign. Previously, the nearby smaller Ft. Clinton ( named for either the American George or James, not Sir Henry! ) had been "developed" almost to extinction as part of Bear Mountain State Park. ( The main work was destroyed in building the western support for Bear Mountain Suspension Bridge in the 1920's. ) Only a well-defined outwork and a small museum remained as part of what is basically operated as a zoo and local nature center; nevertheless it's a beautiful place right on bluffs above the Hudson in the Highland Narrows across from the promontory known as Anthony's Nose. But NOW the much larger and more important Ft. Montgomery ( named for Richard, killed in the assault on Quebec ) has been developed into a wonderful site which I think eclipses the better-known Stony Point a few miles to the south. There is a very good museum with a better display of artifacts, both excavated and otherwise, including some really excellent and lifelike mannequins displaying Revolutionary garb. Park personnel seemed knowledgeable; I followed one in the uniform of the New York Line as he gave a guided walk to a remarkably quiet, respectful, and attentive group of what I took to be Middle School students on a field trip. A somewhat arduous trail links this site with Bear Mountain and Ft. Clinton which is just to the south across the Popolopen Creek Gorge. Wisely, there has been no attempt to reconstruct any of the exposed and well-preserved foundations and earthworks which have somehow survived in a remarkable state of preservation. With the development of this site, it makes the entire action much clearer for the average tourist who might well be too distracted by the adjascent scenery, bridge, and zoo over at Bear Mountain. The biggest revelation for me with my bit of knowledge is that the existing Route 9W going north from Bear Mountain to the modern villiage of Ft. Montgomery actually bisects the original fort, which was quite large. I'd actually driven through Ft. Montgomery before without realizing it! [b]Image Insert:[/b][br][img]http://www.mohicanpress.com/messageboard/../uploads/James N/20091120121846_IM000633A.JPG[/img][br][size=1] 71.55KB[/size=1] [b]Image Insert:[/b][br][img]http://www.mohicanpress.com/messageboard/../uploads/James N/20091120122211_IM000643A.JPG[/img][br][size=1] 80.85KB[/size=1] [/quote]    Upload an Image File From Your PC For Insertion in Your Post    -  HTML is OFF | Forum Code is ON   Check here to include your profile signature. Check here to subscribe to this topic.