From the Saratogian: Saratoga commemorates 235th anniversary of the turning point of the American Revolution
SCHUYLERVILLE — A lot has changed in the past 235 years.
In
October 1777, the United States was 15 months old, had no constitution
or president and a population — at most — of 3 million people, a number
that’s grown more than a hundredfold since then.
But countless
patriots felt freedom was an idea worth fighting for, and the turning
point of America’s struggle for independence took place right here
during the Battles of Saratoga.
“The events that happened here
changed the history of the world and ensured the rights of Americans to
be free and determine their own destiny,” Saratoga Supervisor Thomas
Wood said.
Wednesday, he led a ceremony marking the 235th anniversary of the
British army’s surrender on the same grounds, present-day Fort Hardy
Park, where soldiers laid down their arms.
“The fate of war has put me into your hands,” British Gen. John Burgoyne told Horatio Gates, his American counterpart.
Both military leaders were portrayed by re-enactors as scores of Schuylerville Elementary School students looked on.
“It’s good to see the children learning and participating,” said Kitty Fitzpatrick of Schoharie. “It’s part of history.”
She
and her husband, Joseph, who belongs to Sons of the American
Revolution, got up early and drove for more than an hour to attend the
ceremony.
“This is a beautiful park,” she said. “When we first got here the mist was still rising on the Hudson River.”
Oct.
17, 1777, was a quiet day, too. The only sound was the drum cadence
British soldiers marched to while laying down their arms in one of the
most humiliating military defeats the world has ever seen.
There
were few, if any, spectators other than the American victors. Most local
residents knew the British army was working its way southward and had
fled long before.
But Saratoga is where American soldiers made their stand.
Six
more years would pass before the Revolution was finally over. However,
the fight for freedom has never stopped, as wars more costly and bloody
than the Founding Fathers could have envisioned have played out over the
years.
During the ceremonies, dozens of big trucks and other
vehicles sped across the bridge over the Hudson River next to Fort Hardy
Park. The whine of their tires on pavement drowned out some of what was
being said.
One thing they couldn’t mute was the song school kids sang, “When I First Came to this Land.”
The
lyrics told of a young man’s efforts to make a better life for himself
in America. Over and over, kids sang the refrain, “I did what I could.”
Those listening were inspired to do the same, as they were reminded what America’s heroic patriots did 235 years ago.
