How Saratoga Changed the American Revolution | Buying Local #81

00;00;00;02 – 00;00;06;08
Speaker 1
I should probably introduce you to, sure. Our listeners here, like Bill Teator from, campaign for Saratoga 250.

00;00;06;14 – 00;00;10;24
Speaker 1
I’m going to say it this way and it’s the, well, this thing to me, but America’s got a big birthday coming up, right?

00;00;10;29 – 00;00;15;05
Speaker 1
And I don’t know that everyone really understands how big that birthday is.

00;00;15;11 – 00;00;43;17
Speaker 2
That’s true. I mean, we’re trying to do our part. Communities across the country have formed various to 50th commissions. But I got to say, you know, Saratoga with a huge hat tip to our county leadership, had the vision since 2021, really to make this what it should be, you know, a real reflection, a real commemoration of all the varied people and and the places in our backyard that shapes America’s founding.

00;00;43;17 – 00;01;09;03
Speaker 2
And our big birthday is coming up, and we commonly sell it, celebrated as the 4th of July. But it really was, you know, a lot of years leading up to it, which have already been being commemorated in New England. You know, where arguably the, you know, the ignition of a revolution was sparked. But it’s places like Saratoga who are big two 50th anniversary is the battles of Saratoga next year, 2027.

00;01;09;03 – 00;01;32;12
Speaker 2
So we like to say this birthday absolutely is gigantic, incredible hallmark in world history, setting out a course of self-determination, here in America. But really declaring your independence is just that. It’s it’s well thought out for sure and well founded. But then you had to fight for it. So it’s just the start, really, this birthday for a lot of America.

00;01;32;12 – 00;01;53;11
Speaker 2
We’d like to encourage people to think of it as just a start of reflection and commemoration of what made our nation possible. And it’s places like Victory at Saratoga, as battles that proved the ideas in the declaration could stand. It’s our victory here in our backyards. For those of us in the Greater Capital Region, Adirondacks, all of New York State.

00;01;53;11 – 00;02;22;10
Speaker 2
Really? It’s the kind of victory that occurred at Saratoga that told the world, it made our rebellion a world wide at the time, global conflict among powers and attracted needed allies like France, the Netherlands, others to America’s cause and, really led to eventual true independence. Yeah, a treaty seven years from this birthday in 1783 is what finally secure the United States of America.

00;02;22;13 – 00;02;42;07
Speaker 1
It’s wild to me when I think about it, about the people that put their name on the Declaration of Independence. Like, realistically, it wasn’t just like signing a piece of paper. I mean, it was literally it was putting their life on the lines like they either had to win or they were going to be put to death like there was no other option about it.

00;02;42;07 – 00;02;57;02
Speaker 1
Yeah. It’s so when I think about the Declaration of Independence, to me, I’m just like, man, like the, I the bravery that would go in, the courage that would go into putting your name on that piece of paper. Yeah.

00;02;57;02 – 00;03;23;08
Speaker 2
And now that was truly, telling a largest, arguably most powerful empire that, we’ve tried, and we’re breaking up. We’re over you now and then. Not only that, they knew again, when you declare that that definitively that’s you’re putting your old life and your family and everybody that supports you in harm’s way. What’s interesting and been really enjoyable for me, honestly, is, you know, I love history.

00;03;23;11 – 00;03;52;07
Speaker 2
I come from a place where I like to be involved in cause based missions like this. And again, so it’s such a hot tip to the Saratoga 250 commission, the board members that volunteer all their time with our campaign for Saratoga, 250 and volunteers that turn out and attendees at our events. It’s so fun to see the pent up demand for a reflection period and, honor on things like you just noted about our founding era and what we learn and still trying to improve upon, I think people are very, very interested.

00;03;52;07 – 00;04;15;09
Speaker 2
And we’ve been fortunate to see a lot of, like, our multimedia strategy manifest itself in people coming to live events, you know, in live programs because they feel moved by that history or they want to learn more and they they want to, you know, have a pride of place in our backyard, again, where a lot of the more significant, you know, battles we’ve discussed occurred.

00;04;15;09 – 00;04;39;00
Speaker 2
But beyond that, people were not always patriots, even though a lot of those brave souls had thought and considered a form of governance. And to break up with the monarchy and in Parliament in Britain at the time, a lot of New Yorkers didn’t, you know, agree with that at the time. And all over the colonies there were, you know, arguably a third of loyalists or Royalists that still supported the Crown.

00;04;39;00 – 00;05;11;07
Speaker 2
And, you know, we all like to feel, of course, we would be patriot. But, you know, if you were here sending furs or growing crops and feeding your local family under that rule, you know, it’s hard to throw all that away to for an idea. Yeah. So you’re right that folks who really had definitively made that determination and met in a couple of continental Congresses and decided to send that declaration after many attempts to make up, you know, and say, hey, let’s figure this out and work together.

00;05;11;10 – 00;05;23;00
Speaker 2
You know, they they really were remarkable because they did give all type of, energy and effort to continue that partnership, if you will, between Britain and the colonies.

00;05;23;02 – 00;05;44;01
Speaker 1
And some of those people had really, quote unquote good lives. And yeah, you know what I mean? Like, they were not just risking their lives, they were risking everything, and they could very well have just stayed comfortable where they were and gone along to get along, to continue to live the lives they were living. But it’s true. They saw a greater idea.

00;05;44;01 – 00;05;47;06
Speaker 1
And there, you know, like it’s it’s amazing.

00;05;47;06 – 00;06;10;10
Speaker 2
Yeah. And the one thing I think that I love to talk to people about is like, we are 250 years plus. And, you know, if you go back to again where the ignition was kicked off largely in New England, and a lot of the, you know, those areas of areas have already celebrated remarkable 250th commemorations of the Boston Tea Party and shots heard around the world.

00;06;10;10 – 00;06;36;11
Speaker 2
And, you know, the British, you know, sending a very intimidating forces into the land, you know, from Boston up to, Lexington and Concord and shots being fired, deaths. That was a heck of a spark. But again, I think we kind of look at the word revolution and, in relation to America 250 years later and kind of treat it like cliche, like, yeah, that was always going to happen.

00;06;36;13 – 00;06;46;23
Speaker 2
That was always meant to be. Not no, not really. To your point, people had a lot staked out. You know, they’re living their lives there and, you know, struggling and working in much different conditions.

00;06;46;23 – 00;06;47;03
Speaker 1
Yeah.

00;06;47;03 – 00;07;11;09
Speaker 2
Than we enjoy today. Arguably and sincerely on the, on the backs of their initiative and ideas. You know, they were risking it all to your point. So, you know, it’s it’s not cliche when we talk about it was revolutionary. You know, this wasn’t just meant to be manifested without a lot of consideration and time and, you know.

00;07;11;12 – 00;07;29;00
Speaker 2
Yes. Absolutely. Other good fortune, you know, interwoven with some folks who decided, yeah, this is worth, you know, looking at what’s been done there over the course of human history and deciding there’s a way to self-governance and self-determination that respects inherent liberties.

00;07;29;02 – 00;07;43;10
Speaker 1
And those liberties that we still enjoy today. Correct. And that most of us take for granted. But like I, you know, there’s so many things about our lives that came directly from that Declaration of Independence absolutely, 250 years ago and still stand very strong.

00;07;43;10 – 00;08;11;20
Speaker 2
Yeah. And that’s, again, one of the great things about being involved with something like this. It’s a it’s a chance to really, you know, think about those things again. Reconnect with them, put ourselves in their shoes a little bit and again, variety of perspectives. Shoes, and understand it gives you a lot of context on, you know, your life today and, hopefully it’ll give people a chance to, to pause and think about, you know, this isn’t an accident.

00;08;11;23 – 00;08;34;10
Speaker 2
It is something that has to be maintained and people have to be vested in it and in our country. And preserving our public, you know, takes people’s energy and effort. You know, that’s part of what those, founders ended up seeing that many years after a Saratoga or after the Treaty of Paris in 1783, they were convening again to come up with a better way to govern.

00;08;34;13 – 00;08;56;28
Speaker 2
You know, because it was pretty rocky, you know, road as a new country. Yeah. So they really, actually incredibly went back to back to work, back to studying history that they, you know, revisited to come up with the Constitution and this form of state and federal federalism and, yeah, you know, multiple branches and checks and balances. I mean, it’s all so carefully orchestrated.

00;08;56;28 – 00;09;00;03
Speaker 2
And we benefit from that every day to remind folks.

00;09;00;03 – 00;09;21;17
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah. And the fact, you know, to your point to like it, it is something that there’s no perfect system. Right. And that has to be revisited and refined and, but also like I know not strayed too far away from either. Right. Easy to forget the reason for something and. Yeah. And just focus on what’s not working instead of why it did work.

00;09;21;17 – 00;09;46;03
Speaker 2
Yeah. And this again gives us a chance to do that I think as a nation. So, you know, even if some areas it seems like or may feel like, you know, maybe the the commemorations aren’t as loud, again in Saratoga where we’re doing our part and, really? Yeah. Trying to do everything from video and, you know, steady content and produce historical facts, but also connect it to the 21st century.

00;09;46;03 – 00;10;07;05
Speaker 2
And, you know, we’re producing things like, you know, the Saratoga revolutionary experience, which is really something that we’re excited about. I wanted to talk to you about some more, and I know you know about it, but like, it’s a, it’s a website. Currently, it’s the Earl long mouthful Saratoga revolutionary experience. But, you know, we wanted to tell people what it is.

00;10;07;05 – 00;10;27;15
Speaker 2
It’s a place to land. And you can look at curated guides on how to access the history right here in our backyard sites to go to, but then match it with our incredible hospitality. And one thing I love that you do, you know, through this program, through buying local, you know, it’s highlight entrepreneurs. We have an incredible hospitality sector as we all know in our region.

00;10;27;18 – 00;10;28;08
Speaker 2
So

00;10;28;08 – 00;10;52;19
Speaker 2
Saratoga revolutionary experiences, our effort to say even beyond this 250th commemorative period, this heritage is lived here. It’s, it’s a appealing destination draw for both locals. Drive time travelers and even travelers across the country are certainly into places where a lot of Europeans have roots, you know, and in the revolution and and in Saratoga is fight.

00;10;52;21 – 00;11;12;28
Speaker 2
So with that platform gives you a chance to check, you know, say, hey, I got an afternoon, I want to see what I could do with my family. Well, there’s a guide for you and it matches you with, you know, stop with kids at Stewart’s Ice cream or, you know, go but grab, you know, something, at a local brewery, you know, afterwards and round out the whole experience and make it a fun educating.

00;11;13;03 – 00;11;40;05
Speaker 2
Yeah. No trip. So that’s a big part of it. And the other fun multimedia sort of comment, content that we’re creating will live in an app under the same name. Version 1.0, so to speak, already exists on both Apple and Google Play Store called Separate Saratoga Revolutionary Experience. And that allows you to choose currently from about ten, you know, directly connected heritage sites, to the revolution in Saratoga

00;11;40;07 – 00;11;42;26
Speaker 2
and takes you there turn by turn, of course.

00;11;42;26 – 00;12;15;01
Speaker 2
But while you’re going, you’re getting audio storytelling. You know, some in the voice of figures of history, some about the, the landscape and the ground that really shaped why these fights happened in our in Saratoga. And then, we’re going to continue to release what’s called augmented reality that, at each site eventually, by next year, we’re on pace to produce like simulated 3D moving figures of history or portrayals of some of the remarkable events that happened at a site.

00;12;15;03 – 00;12;20;11
Speaker 2
And you use your smartphone, you know they’re not going away anytime soon. As much as it may frustrate us.

00;12;20;11 – 00;12;21;02
Speaker 1
Yeah.

00;12;21;05 – 00;12;57;25
Speaker 2
We’ll direct you onsite to a location where you can launch, a 3D simulation. You know, a, you know, a the Baroness, this great story of Lady Riedesel talking about her experience leading into surrender as the wife of the German commander on the British side and, you know, becoming a prisoner of war with three kids, you know, we’ll have, you know, stories from, Henry Knox, who came here before the battles of Saratoga and his two 50th of his expedition from Fort Ticonderoga to bring 60 ton of cannon all the way out to Boston or, you know, to force the British out of Boston, rolled right through here.

00;12;57;27 – 00;13;13;21
Speaker 2
So we have a site where we’ll have him talking and on and on. We’re going to just keep releasing, hopefully, that kind of content that will, the 21st century era, digital natives, young people and families with kids will we’ll find an entertaining and informative.

00;13;13;24 – 00;13;44;29
Speaker 1
Well, I think that’s one of the cool things about what you guys are doing too, is you’re not just telling the story from the standpoint that we’ve always heard it and seen it is that you guys are really looking at different perspectives, whether it’s the children’s book that you did and looking at it through the eyes of a kid, or if it’s coming from like the the wife that you were just talking about from the eye, because it wasn’t just, you know, those five figures in history that we read about all the time that had an impact or it had a story to tell and, you’re seeing it through the eyes of all these

00;13;44;29 – 00;13;49;11
Speaker 1
different types of men, women, kids, adults. It’s just it’s really cool.

00;13;49;11 – 00;14;20;16
Speaker 2
Yeah. Great. Great point. And, to emphasize that, again, a great kudos to the Saratoga 250 commission led by our county historian, Lauren Roberts, and her team of living, you know, living historians which make our live events incredible. Folks that, from portray civilians portray obviously patriots from various regiments, be they Continentals or militia, portray British regulars that were here in the 24th of foot and, portray loyalists or royalists.

00;14;20;16 – 00;14;40;27
Speaker 2
You know, a lot of them who like again, were a good portion of of the society at the time. We really made it a point to bring out relatable perspectives. You can all put yourself in various people’s shoes, you know, you’re conscripted. And then Britain at the time from Ireland and sent over as a regular as a kid.

00;14;40;27 – 00;15;19;03
Speaker 2
Essentially, you’re 18, if you’re lucky, if you’re lucky or a lot of younger than that. Folks on both sides in the battles of Saratoga, tragically. But yeah, we we made it a real priority to continue to try and bring out relatable points of view. So it does resonate with more people. And the goal with the youth outreach, be it some of our own content or partners that we love, seeing the inspiration from other content producers or authors, artists, you know, we want to still see more artists and the like come forward, inspired by maybe this renaissance, if you will, of awareness to say, yeah, we want to put some imprint on it that

00;15;19;03 – 00;15;44;07
Speaker 2
we think will connect this heritage to the future. You know, our goal really is to educate, promote and preserve this heritage. And we think by having those sorts of media, but more importantly, those relatable personas or perspectives brought to life that that can spark something with, you know, a teenager or a five or 6 or 7 year old’s earliest memories for 50, 60 years, you know, God willing, for that.

00;15;44;07 – 00;15;45;03
Speaker 1
Yeah.

00;15;45;06 – 00;16;06;24
Speaker 2
So that’s really what’s amazing. That’s the good, great fun about being involved in something like this since cause based and you have those clear Northstar objectives that we really are trying to stand on the shoulders of the folks who are involved in the fight. To the folks 50, 100, 100, and 50, 200 years after, then did their part to get us here.

00;16;06;25 – 00;16;08;09
Speaker 1
Yeah. Where we are, the keep is kind of a.

00;16;08;09 – 00;16;31;28
Speaker 2
Lot of people we all know and love in our lives. Still remember the bicentennial very clearly, you know, and another insanely, mesmerizing thing to me that the, again, the county historian and our team brought out was sort of the history historiography of commemorating this battle. The 150th anniversary had like 100 some odd thousand people come out, you know, out to the battle sites.

00;16;32;06 – 00;16;48;20
Speaker 2
And just for pageantry and commemoration and celebration and various forms of of the day, 1927, you know that many people it was reportedly the largest upstate New York gathering, single gathering until Woodstock in 1969.

00;16;48;21 – 00;16;49;06
Speaker 1
No kidding.

00;16;49;06 – 00;16;53;04
Speaker 2
Pretty amazing. No North way. You know, not everybody even had.

00;16;53;04 – 00;16;58;14
Speaker 1
Cards, right? 1927. Yeah. I mean, yeah, there’s definitely some walk ins or some buggies. Yeah.

00;16;58;16 – 00;17;20;01
Speaker 2
That they were I mean, it was so cool because I mean, honestly, because it was limited types of infrastructure and travel. They were, you know, kind of stuck there for days. You know, once you got everybody into this, you know, remote site and beautiful Saratoga County’s eastern part of the county, you know, which is still you can see the landscape almost as it looked at 1777 at the battlefield.

00;17;20;03 – 00;17;25;12
Speaker 2
You know, they were there for a while hoping to get their way back out. Yeah, there they got there. But that’s how big.

00;17;25;12 – 00;17;26;16
Speaker 1
A deal.

00;17;26;19 – 00;17;42;16
Speaker 2
This history was in America. I can imagine that. So here we have that opportunity to take, you know, the means that we have of this era and hopefully sparked that kind of awareness for another, you know, 50 years. Yeah. Stacked the legacy, so to speak.

00;17;42;19 – 00;18;14;08
Speaker 1
Now, can we just touch on for people that maybe are unaware of the important role that Saratoga Springs in the battles of Saratoga actually played in that war? Because I yeah, you know, we drive around and we see monuments and go and and there’s parks and there’s different things, but it’s I don’t I don’t know if even I realized until getting involved with the a few years back that of what a yeah influential role Saratoga and the Battle of Saratoga.

00;18;14;13 – 00;18;16;20
Speaker 1
Like what it had on the missionary war.

00;18;16;21 – 00;18;38;27
Speaker 2
Well, boy, you’re speaking our language. Yeah, well, thank you for that. Yeah. The, Battles of Saratoga occurred in what was called the Saratoga district of Albany County in Albany, who, you know, again, all of our viewers, our listenership primarily, although this could go anywhere in the world, you know, they know where Albany is and the state capital today, etc., and we call ourselves the Greater Capital region.

00;18;38;27 – 00;19;06;29
Speaker 2
Some of us are. But yeah, Albany County covered all of that basically. And then the districts was Saratoga and out by the what’s now the town of Saratoga in the eastern part of the county, button up against the Hudson River and Schuyler Ville and south to the town of Stillwater. Those existed, you know, as as places Saratoga Springs did not exist, you know, was not incorporated, was not a city at this time.

00;19;06;29 – 00;19;36;16
Speaker 2
So it was really these battles occurred based on the advance of General Burgoyne and his army, you know, with the aid of others natives and, Germans at the time traveling down in the thousands from Canada, you know, right following Lake Champlain, following the Hudson River Valley, ended up here largely because of that geography, trying to support logistics, you know, using waterways, of course, following what natives and animals said followed, you know, for millennia before that.

00;19;36;16 – 00;20;12;28
Speaker 2
Right. So they’re advancing. And the goal, you know, was to get to Albany and sort of split New England, where the hotbed of the rebellion had occurred. And the British read on it at the time, was still that’s those were really the rabble rousers, you know, throughout New England as we kind of isolate them and separate New York and some of the trade down the from the Mohawk Valley with a lot of royalists or loyalists and into the port where we already the British in this case, already took New York in Long Island and controlled the harbor, that we would isolate the real rabble, so to speak, and then be able to snuff out this

00;20;12;28 – 00;20;22;12
Speaker 2
revolution. This is 1777, only a year in from the the birthday. Right. So we may have declared independence, but it was not looking like we were going to be free.

00;20;22;12 – 00;20;23;08
Speaker 1
It was far fetched.

00;20;23;08 – 00;20;48;27
Speaker 2
Yeah. They had already taken New York in the harbor. You know, they’re sending a full army down from, you know, Montreal essentially straight down the Hudson Valley. They’re sending others down the Saint Lawrence Sea Valley to come from the west to the east and pinch us off. And that was all happening in summer of 1777. And again, if you look at the state of play at the time and you were like a quasi market or something that existed, then we would have been very low chances.

00;20;48;27 – 00;21;06;22
Speaker 2
So, yeah, nation two or so, that’s what was really at stake. Like we were at a very little chance and, you know, France and others were all sitting on the sideline. You know, they may have, you know, had some supporters like, you know, you know, Lafayette as a teenager at the time, like, and others trying to send us one off shipments.

00;21;06;25 – 00;21;28;06
Speaker 2
But there was no full alliance. So yeah, everything was at stake. Back to your point about what people had put pen to paper and declared who had a lot to lose and everybody who would join the fight, you know, was stake in their claim against all odds. It arguably leading into the summer campaigns that the British planned could have been over.

00;21;28;09 – 00;21;33;00
Speaker 2
So Saratoga, it’s not hyperbole to say save the revolution.

00;21;33;02 – 00;21;59;07
Speaker 2
By the way Burgoyne got, you know, outmaneuvered. Ultimately he got hemmed into a landscape that existed here with high ground at Bemis Heights, you know, near the Hudson River, where, you know, General Washington was dispatching resources like, you know, one of my favorite stories that we’re going to bring more out for people in our region, especially today, is Kosciuszko, a Polish immigrant who just was inspired by Liberty.

00;21;59;07 – 00;22;20;01
Speaker 2
He wasn’t from a wealthy class. He paid his way over here, found the founders, you know, was a a smart guy. He’s an engineer. Ultimately, they checked them out and they’re like, yeah, this guy’s legit. He knows what he’s talking about. He became, you know, a favorite of General Washington. They sent him up here. He spotted where to sort of position the armies, you know, to pinch off the British.

00;22;20;03 – 00;22;44;04
Speaker 2
They spent a week or so just getting redoubts built. And, you know, meanwhile, Burgoyne had gotten overextended from his logistics and supplies, had skirmishes, including the Battle of Bennington nearby for listeners and viewers, that was like a turning point of the turning point. Know, where they lost natives were like, well, this isn’t going great. Allied natives of the British.

00;22;44;04 – 00;22;53;27
Speaker 2
And they took off. So you start to lose forces, lose supplies, and still pressed on, just maybe arrogance. Right? Like where the British Army were still going to get through here.

00;22;53;27 – 00;22;55;12
Speaker 1
And the rebels are just a bunch. Yeah.

00;22;55;12 – 00;23;21;25
Speaker 2
Yeah, exactly. So our armies rallied, militia rallied, from New England. And it was the first time we really ended up with significant more numbers. As his dwindled and Americans surged, changed hands from General Schuyler to General Gates. But Schuyler really contributed a ton of knowledge, a ton of slowing down, Burgoyne’s advances. After they took fights for Ticonderoga, he slowed them down.

00;23;21;25 – 00;23;49;17
Speaker 2
So we were able to get position and then had numbers and two significant battles. That’s another thing people don’t necessarily know. It was not like a one and done day fight in the field. There were five plus weeks kind of positioning around what is currently Schuyler Village is still water and having a distinct first battle on September 19th that had a lot of casualties on both sides, but more so like almost 2 to 1 on the British side.

00;23;49;17 – 00;24;13;27
Speaker 2
And they held the fields of technical win. But really, they didn’t advance anywhere there. So everybody was dug in. Led to another battle on October 7th. The second battle called Bemis Heights, the first battles. Freeman’s farm was that literally farm grounds that’s preserved as part of the battlefield today. And then Bemis Heights, you know, called After the Heights that, you know, because just go.

00;24;13;27 – 00;24;35;19
Speaker 2
And the Army saw as a ground to seize. And Benedict Arnold actually was a huge patriot in that fight and arguably the hero of Saratoga and could have been an all time American hero if he didn’t later betray his country and his brethren. But he led a heroic charge, got shot through the riding boot, you know, trampled under his horse.

00;24;35;19 – 00;25;01;28
Speaker 2
But people all acknowledged in real time, you know, history and writings. He really rally the troops. And they, you know, Bemis Heights became a decisive victory. And that led to ten days of siege, you know, surrounding Burgoyne and his really depleted forces under rain, stuck in mud, little to eat. And they finally had to negotiate terms of a surrender, which became called the convention, not convention.

00;25;01;28 – 00;25;23;28
Speaker 2
Agreement with General Gates. On October 17th, 1777, that formal sword surrender happened. There’s grounds, you know, part of the federal park system right off route four out there and you can go see it, but also a place that we’re excited to bring to life with a physical hub that’s under development right now called the Saratoga Revolutionary Experience.

00;25;23;28 – 00;25;50;27
Speaker 2
It’ll be the physical hub with those additional other things I talked about online, and an app that’s at what’s known as the field of grounded arms. Currently a municipal village of Schuyler Ville for Hardy Park. And that’s where regulars, British forces marched between Americans literally laid down, grounded there, their arms largely muskets, Brown Bess muskets and, So yeah, right in our backyard places you can still go put your feet.

00;25;50;29 – 00;26;16;17
Speaker 2
Imagine you can see landscapes and hear these stories, through the incredible work of the Saratoga National Historical Park and Park Service at many of these locations. And then things were continuing to add and augment with community support, incredible support through not just the county, but throughout the towns of Saratoga, Stillwater, the village of Schuyler Ville. Excited to see more and more of us, you know, make our ways out there and reconnect with that landscape.

00;26;16;17 – 00;26;21;04
Speaker 2
And these stories, the ones you just mentioned that maybe people didn’t know enough about.

00;26;21;07 – 00;26;26;07
Speaker 1
Well. And so to kind of put it in the context.

00;26;26;09 – 00;26;33;21
Speaker 1
Because gates one, what happened if he didn’t win? Like where do things go from there? A.

00;26;33;21 – 00;26;44;04
Speaker 2
Lot of people like, smarter than Me have hypothesized about that for centuries now, writers and historians. And it’s actually kind of fun thing probably. It’s maybe an activity we.

00;26;44;07 – 00;26;45;02
Speaker 1
Thought a lot of thought.

00;26;45;03 – 00;27;11;07
Speaker 2
Is, but yeah, I mean, if they didn’t stop them there, I mean, arguably they, they just continue on down to Albany. At least it’s October. You like the Army’s famously camped out for winters and, you know, plan battles for spring and summer. There’s a distinct season to these things. So they would have occupied and connected up and down that that flowing lower Hudson, you know, to New York Harbor, which they already controlled.

00;27;11;09 – 00;27;32;23
Speaker 2
And you could imagine that. Yeah, all of New York and the lands to the West. You know, what a ripple effect across, you know, allies and settlers. You know, maybe everybody was sort of eyed now as patriots and now a lot more loyalists. I mean, you can imagine it. And, you know, it’s hard to envision success after that if there is a defeat.

00;27;32;27 – 00;27;34;00
Speaker 1
Yeah, they’ve been defeated.

00;27;34;01 – 00;27;59;13
Speaker 2
They’d already at the same time real quick point that the same time. And again communication didn’t travel necessarily quickly. Right. It’s horse speed. So at the same time, you know, Howard departed, New York Harbor and took Philadelphia. So they had already won. The British took our capital and Philadelphia. So they not only had they controlled the biggest harbor, or one of the biggest spots, and they had already left.

00;27;59;13 – 00;28;27;17
Speaker 2
But they’re in New York now. And now they had taken Philly while this campaign in the north in Saratoga was going on. So when Washington gets word and the rest of folks get word that Saratoga was a victory and a decisive one, the first ever full British field Army surrender and conflict, you know, that was heralded and like the Congress at the time and declared it a national day of Thanksgiving in December of 1777.

00;28;27;17 – 00;28;46;24
Speaker 2
Large degree and tributes in the writings of the time to victory at Saratoga, National Day of Thanksgiving. It was that big a deal locally. By the time the word got to France in February, where Benjamin Franklin and others have been trying to kid, you know, he’s a charming and intelligent and well known guy throughout the world at the time.

00;28;46;24 – 00;28;52;19
Speaker 2
Couldn’t get them on board fully. But when that news got in a whole new game and a lot of leverage.

00;28;52;21 – 00;29;06;22
Speaker 1
And that’s how was going to ask Alec, wasn’t there relationships with allies that ended up coming to our aid that because of that victory? Yeah. Upset it. It will had a huge impact on it. And had it not been a victory, would they have joined?

00;29;06;26 – 00;29;31;10
Speaker 2
I don’t know, I mean it hadn’t to date. Would they have imagined they would have taken a leap if we lost another army up here? They’ve lost the capital city. They controlled New York Harbor. I don’t know, I doubt it, but, now to your point. Very good point. Like succinctly, what was significant about this? Well, the first decisive victory over a British Shield army really creates a lot of morale boost, right?

00;29;31;10 – 00;29;56;07
Speaker 2
At a time when we were losing Philadelphia, now already lost New York. It and yes, it absolutely ignited a belief not only in the colonies and among, you know, patriot Americans, but it extended across to a French and Netherlands who were a big lender, you know, to our cause. And even, you know, they they became straight up allies, you know, after that, after Saratoga.

00;29;56;09 – 00;29;56;18
Speaker 1
Yeah.

00;29;56;18 – 00;30;30;29
Speaker 2
So yeah, it’s definitive and it’s global impact. You know, it took, what was largely a rebellion in a given Coughlin set of colonies and made it a global conflict among powers. Dwyer. Yeah. So that’s the zero good. You know, that’s the great thanks for asking that. And and bringing me back around. I like just sum it up succinctly because that is so important that people really do appreciate and especially who are anywhere in our region or anywhere that support, and want to learn more about what it took to really secure a victory in our independence.

00;30;31;01 – 00;30;48;03
Speaker 2
You know, there is possibility because of, you know, the the thoughtfulness of the declares, and founders that, you know, represented people in those Congresses. But it was proven when people were out winning decisive battles like at Saratoga.

00;30;48;03 – 00;30;51;16
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah. And how different the world was because of all that.

00;30;51;18 – 00;31;11;26
Speaker 2
Yes. Yeah. I mean, this leads to, again, we all kind of treat it like cliche and I think it’s just taken for granted. Yeah, it’s, you know, fair, completely far from it. It’s not really ever been the course of human nature that there hadn’t been some other sort of form of government that was revolving around human control of others.

00;31;11;29 – 00;31;24;20
Speaker 2
This was on its head, you know, inherent liberties of the individual and consent of the government, you know, and limitations on powers. I mean, that was is revolutionary.

00;31;24;26 – 00;31;25;27
Speaker 1
Yes and.

00;31;25;27 – 00;31;50;15
Speaker 2
Yes. To your point, after victory at Saratoga, in large degree inspires, you know, that fight to continue it and become more supported after we secure a nation, after we have a constitution and, you know, all the flourishing, prosperity that’s resulted from people pursuing their own systems. Yeah, within the confines of consent of the governed. That’s how we have what we have today.

00;31;50;15 – 00;31;58;09
Speaker 2
And that’s how so many, many other people in the nation and other nations were lifted up when those forms of government changed.

00;31;58;11 – 00;32;00;19
Speaker 2
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Well, it’s cool.

00;32;00;19 – 00;32;13;04
Speaker 1
It’s so great. Yeah. And we should. Yeah. I know we’re getting short on time, Bill, but I, you know, what else are you guys have for initiatives right now that we want to talk about? Because I know that we had quite a few. Yeah.

00;32;13;04 – 00;32;32;24
Speaker 2
No. Like great. Thank you for that. So Saratoga revolutionary experience I covered. It’s so current web domain. If you’re thinking, man I want to take my kids I want to I’m a young adult and I’d like to go hike or bike. It’s beautiful to do that at the at the battlefield in Saratoga National Historical Park. So, empty nesters, early retirees.

00;32;32;24 – 00;32;59;11
Speaker 2
You want to get your walks in this wonderful season to do that. Those are things you can find and plan at Saratoga revolutionary experience.com live events. So check out Saratoga two 50.com for all kinds of facts like the history we just talked about. Events page. Our events have become more and more popular. We have a series of things in and around the Declaration of Independence commemoration in various communities throughout the county.

00;32;59;13 – 00;33;20;02
Speaker 2
We are going to be we are the main like promotional partner of Saratoga Race Course. This July 3rd and fourth. There’ll be a giveaway co-branded, you know, for a fun little, tumbler with our, you know, brand right here on it with the, ubiquitous Saratoga Race Course brand. So that’s just fun. Exactly. That’s just a fun thing to do.

00;33;20;05 – 00;33;42;26
Speaker 2
There’s readings of the declaration on dates in July, because obviously speed of course, people only started hearing about it days and weeks and months arguably later. So we have a couple of those into July. Lauren Roberts again, chair and her team and clothier and the historians will be active at the Saratoga County Fair, which is July 21st through 26.

00;33;42;29 – 00;34;06;03
Speaker 2
And then most of all, I want to say there’s a really cool opportunity. June 30th at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs, National Travel Show host Charlie Newman had shot an episode called Revolutionary Road Trip Saratoga, a couple of years ago, and it’s aired all over 95% of PBS is all over the country, 90 some odd times in the top ten markets of America.

00;34;06;03 – 00;34;26;26
Speaker 2
That’s the show that aired. And it’s a great explanation of this history and the hospitality that you can enjoy here. So she’s back because she wrote a book now that’s releasing June 30th nationwide, and she wanted to do her release launch year with us. So June 30th, very affordable way to kick off your leading into your 4th of July.

00;34;26;29 – 00;34;49;10
Speaker 2
20 bucks under $20 at a beautiful venue. Lauren Roberts from our Saratoga 250 leadership will be there. Sneak peek in our big 2027 commemorative plans. So come there be among the first the now for straight from our Saratoga to 50 chair Lauren Roberts, who had a great, rapport with Dali. So they’re going to hold their own panel.

00;34;49;14 – 00;35;17;00
Speaker 2
We’ll have some special music there from, Cassandra Kubicki, who’s a Billboard charting singer songwriter. And really neat event actually leading into the 4th of July. So I just wanted to preview that. And I will say Lauren will do it more justice at June 30th event, and you’ll hear a ton more about it leading into this victory season, which is September and October when the battles occurred, you’ll hear a lot more about what we’re going to do this fall.

00;35;17;02 – 00;35;43;16
Speaker 2
We always have Columbus Day weekend living historians out around Fort Hardy Park, Schuyler ville. So plan for that. Mark your calendars and then mark them for 2027, because that’s the weekend we’re going to have two full scale battle reenactments out near the battlefield. You’ll hear a lot more about it. But we’re intending those to be very large scale and, you know, hopefully draw people from all over, not just our region, but the nation and beyond.

00;35;43;20 – 00;36;02;07
Speaker 2
Yeah. And then we’ll do, surrender day, October 17th, 250th of October 17th. Surrender next year, in 2027 will aim to have a large scale event. And again, I’ll let, Lauren, you know, sneak that and sneak a peek at that, over the days and months to come.

00;36;02;07 – 00;36;02;16
Speaker 1
Yeah.

00;36;02;19 – 00;36;16;20
Speaker 2
So that’s our big show next year. But we’re building this awareness in these assets, so hopefully, like I said, it’s another generation that appreciates them. Yeah, another generation drawn to them. And, that legacy continues.

00;36;16;23 – 00;36;40;09
Speaker 1
Amazing. Yeah, I appreciate it, man. I appreciate what you’re doing. I you know, we’ve talked about it, obviously. I’ve had many conversations about this on and off the air, but, I think it’s amazing what you guys are doing and the thank you. You know, the campaign is it’s needed. I think, you know, as far as that refresher for people and, you know, kind of that for all of us to recommit to the values that make this country great and give us the ability to do all these things that we do.

00;36;40;16 – 00;36;44;06
Speaker 2
Absolutely. So here you pause. That’s right. Thank you.

00;36;44;06 – 00;36;52;01
Speaker 1
Michael, thanks a lot of you. And thanks for coming out to the farm, man. It’s like we have the I love it recorded out here since last August I think.

00;36;52;01 – 00;36;56;21
Speaker 2
So I’m glad I’m a repeat visitor. Last time I got read on today.

00;36;56;24 – 00;36;57;18
Speaker 1
That’s a few.

00;36;57;18 – 00;36;58;00
Speaker 2
Degrees.

00;36;58;00 – 00;37;17;00
Speaker 1
Cooler. It’s a free me. Maybe. Maybe. Thank you, thank you. Thanks, everybody, for listening. Of course you can find us at buying local.us is our website and we have our monthly publication coming out at the end of each month. Of course, podcasts are at Spotify, Apple, crumble and YouTube. Thanks for listening everybody, and you’ll hear from us next week.