Celebrate New York and Special 250th Commemorations

Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the first offensive battle of the American Revolution, Celebrate New York took place at historic Fort Ticonderoga, New York, on May 10th, just weeks after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19th. Conceived as a tribute to the contributions of New York, Celebrate New York honored the men and women who achieved American independence and specifically focused on the conflict on the Hudson River.  

The group of nearly 100 Daughters and guests were met by rain and cool weather but warm greetings from our hosts at Fort Ticonderoga. Daughters started the activities with a joint flag raising with volunteers from Fort Ticonderoga. It was my privilege to help raise our nation’s flag on such a historic day and on the site of some of the earliest of historic preservation efforts in our nation’s history.  

Throughout the day, New York State Registrar Sarah O’Connor graciously served as our chaplain for the events of the day. At lunch we received a warm welcome from Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga Association President and CEO followed by the association curator, Dr. Matthew Keagle providing his presentation titled “Crowns Might Crumble and Kingdoms Pass Away.” Empire State SAR President Timothy Middlebrook brought greetings as did Blake Hanna, State Librarian-Curator of the New York State Society Children of the American Revolution. Immediately following lunch, we were treated to the United States Army Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps performance on the parade ground.   

Celebrate New York would not have been complete without witnessing the reenactment of Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold and the Green Mountain boys capture of the fort. The reenactors marched the path over the previous three days and slept under the skies and torrential rain. With a starless night as the backdrop, attendees came away with a much greater understanding of the events leading up to the capture of the fort and the relationship of Ethan Allen and his co-commander for the event, Benedict Arnold.