Revolutionary History
The perfect itinerary for an overview of Revolutionary War history throughout the Hudson Valley. On our Bridge-to-Bridge Tour, you’ll see how the American Revolution took shape across the region.
Upper Hudson Valley
Albany, Rensselaer, Columbia, Greene
1. Van Schaick Mansion
Van Schaick Mansion has a rich history with connections to both the French and Indian War and American Revolution. It served as a military headquarters for both conflicts. The home was inhabited by Generals Schuyler, Gates, Poor, St. Clair and Colonels Morgan, Gansevoort, and Arnold during the Revolution. These historical figures formulated plans for the battle of Saratoga, turning point of the American Revolution, in this home.
Location: 1 Van Schaick Avenue, Cohoes
2. Albany Rural Cemetery
The Albany Rural Cemetery is an expansive, beautiful, and historic site. Of the many notable figures buried there, it is the final resting place of Revolutionary War General Philip Schuyler, his wife Catherine Van Rensselaer, and their daughter Magarita "Peggy" Schuyler.
Location: 3 Cemetery Avenue, Albany
3. Albany County Historical Association - Ten Broeck Mansion
Abraham Ten Broeck was a prominent figure in Albany during the American Revolution. He commanded the New York Militia at the Battle of Saratoga and was a member of the New York Provincial Congress. In America's early years, he served as Mayor of Albany and was a Federalist presidential elector in 1796 during which he cast his vote for John Adams.
The mansion was built for Ten Broeck and his family in 1797 and reflects Federal-style architecture that followed the Revolution. The Albany County Historical Society works to preserve, acknowledge, and educate on the stories of those enslaved at the mansion, along with servants, artisans, and artists that are all part of the mansion's and Albany's history but whose stories are often left untold.
Location: 9 Ten Broeck Place, Albany
4. Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site
The Schuyler Mansion was home to Revolutionary War General, Philip J. Schuyler and his family. It was a site for military strategizing, political hobnobbing, elegant social affairs, and an active family life. A tour of the home will educate on politics, society, the American Revolution, and slavery. It was in this home that prominent American Revolution and US Historical figure Alexander Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler.
Location: 32 Catherine Street, Albany
5. Crailo State Historic Site
Crailo stands as a museum of the Colonial Dutch in the Hudson River Valley. Found right across the Hudson River from downtown Albany, the site was known as Fort Crailo during the French and Indian War. It was at the Crailo State Historic Site that the lyrics of Yankee Doodle (as we know it today) were penned. Originally written by British Army surgeon Richard Schuckburgh to mock colonial soldiers, the song was adopted by American soldiers during the Revolution as a song of patriotic pride.
Location: 9-1/2 Riverside Avenue, Rensselaer
6. The Lookout Hill - October 16, 1777
Looming over the southern end of the Town of Catskill along the Hudson River stands the Kykuit, a hill named using an old Dutch phrase meaning “lookout” that harkens back to Catskill’s rich colonial period. In October of 1777 the site was used as a lookout by the local militia as they kept an eye on the horizon for the sails of the British expedition under General Vaughan heading north towards Albany. Tradition holds it was from this hilltop that those local minutemen saw the flames and raised an alarm when the British reached Kingston, the first capitol of New York, and burned it on October 16, 1777. A plaque placed on a rocky outcropping of the Kykuit in 1927 by the local chapter of the DAR commemorates the event for posterity.
Location: The Look Out Hill marker at Embough Road, Town of Catskill, GPS Coordinates 42.203940, -73.87544
7. The Coxsackie Declaration - May 17, 1775
Following the battles of Lexington and Concord in April of 1775, over two hundred landowning men of the Coxsackie District of Albany County assembled and signed a document in which they resolved to declare their allegiance to the Continental Congress. At that time, Congress was still working to resolve the division that had arisen concerning taxation practices by Great Britain in the colonies, and the Declaration of Independence wouldn’t be signed for another year.
Widely held to be Coxsackie’s own “Declaration of Independence,” this article of association is probably one of a number of such documents drafted in the Hudson Valley and beyond during the tumultuous first year of the Revolution. Visitors to Coxsackie can drop by the Bronck House during the summer season to experience the site where tradition states the “Coxsackie Declaration” was signed.
Location: 90 County Highway 42, Coxsackie
8. Knox Trail Historic Markers
Continental General Henry Knox and his soldiers pulled the artillery taken during the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775 down the Hudson Valley, turning east in Columbia County, and proceeding to the outskirts of Boston. The captured artillery arrived in early 1776 and was used to force the evacuation of Boston by British troops.
4 Locations: 1 Hudson Street, Kinderhook; 6 Snyder Road, Ghent 1202 Harlemville Road, Ghent; 40 Nobletown Road, Hillsdale
9. The Burning of Clermont and Belvedere
As part of the Saratoga Campaign, the British Navy under Sir Henry Clinton and British land troops led by Gen. John Vaughn burned the city of Kingston on October 16th, 1777. A small detachment of Vaughn’s troops crossed over to the east side of the Hudson River on October 19th and burned down Margaret Beekman Livingston’s mansion, Clermont, and her son Chancellor Robert R. Livingston’s mansion called “The Farm,” or Belvedere, completed just three years prior. Both the Chancellor and his mother fled just across the line into Salisbury, Connecticut during this episode. The charred ruins of Belvedere were left standing for many years by the Chancellor who remarked to friends that he kept them as a memento of Gen. Vaughn’s visit. Belvedere was located where the parking lot of Clermont State Historic Site is currently. The Chancellor later built Arryl House, which burned down in 1909.
Location: 1 Clermont Avenue, Germantown
10. King's District Declaration of Independence
Voters in the King's District voted to declare independence from Great Britain on June 24th, 1776, a week and a half before the national Declaration of Independence was presented for signatures. Canaan Historical Society has operated out of the old Canaan Church, a Presbyterian edifice, since 1963. Check their website for upcoming events, including an annual Declaration Day celebration.
Location: 13 Warners Crossing Road, Canaan
Mid-Hudson Valley
Dutchess, Orange, Ulster
11. Senate House State Historic Site
Built in 1676, the building served as a home, store, and, in 1777, as the Senate chamber.
During the month the Senate met here, it concentrated on establishing rules for the body, raising money and supplies for the militia, and responding to a message sent by Governor Clinton regarding the war and the newly formed government.
Location: 296 Fair Street, Kingston
12. Hurley Heritage Society and Historic Stone Houses of Hurley
Old Hurley's Main Street is part of the National Register of Historic Sites due to its well-preserved stone houses which have served as residences for more than 300 years. The Hurley Heritage Society's museum exhibit notes that in 1777 Hurley was briefly New York State's capital after the residents of Kingston, the capital at the time, fled when the British burned it during the Revolutionary War.
The Hamlet of Old Hurley remained an agricultural community of close-knit families. Farming the Esopus Valley they supplied grain to the growing colony, New England, and the American Revolutionary forces. In October, November, and December of 1777, Hurley was the military headquarters for General George Clinton's Continental forces and the temporary capital of New York State.
Location: Colonel Jonathan Elmendorf House, 52 Main Street, Hurley
13. General Richard and Janet Montgomery House
This oldest residence in Rhinebeck was the home of General Richard Montgomery and his wife, Janet Livingston. Richard was the first Continental Army general to be killed during the Revolutionary War; he perished in 1775 at the Battle of Quebec. The Chancellor Livingston Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution now owns and maintains the home as its chapter house and a museum. The chapter uses the house, with its artifacts and archived materials, to educate the public about General Montgomery's life and his pivotal role in the American Revolution. The home is open to the public on Saturdays, 1 – 4 p.m., from late June through late August (closed the week of the Dutchess County Fair), and by appointment.
Location: 77 Livingston Street, Rhinebeck
14. Mesier Homestead and Museum
Built in 1741 by Dutch miller Adolphus Brouwer and his son Nicholas, the Mesier Homestead was reportedly the site of a particularly fascinating event during the Revolutionary War: The Wappingers Tea Party of 1777. When the war broke out, Nicholas and his sons were ardent Patriots and contributed wheat, corn and supplies to the Continental Army free of charge. They even built a shipyard along Wappinger Creek from which supplies were sent to the army at West Point, and their home was used as a spy headquarters. The homestead was sold in 1777 to Peter Mesier, a Tory loyalist merchant from New York City who fled the city to escape anti-British sentiment. Mesier operated a store from his home and charged a particularly high price for tea. So high, in fact, that his infuriated neighbors broke into the store one day in May of 1777, beat and tied up Mesier, his wife and his slaves and then locked them in the basement. The intruders proceeded to drink all their wine and made off with all their tea.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Mesier family kept its political views secret and eventually became well-respected members of the community. These days, the Wappingers Historical Society is the custodian of the historic homestead. The museum features an extensive collection of artifacts and ephemera from throughout history, including details on the life of Daniel Nimham, the last Sachem of the indigenous Wappinger people and Revolutionary War hero who fought alongside the Continental Army and was killed at the Battle of Kingsbridge (the present site of Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx) in 1778.
Weekday visitors to the Mesier Homestead can reserve a private “Signature Experience” Tour. One Sunday each month, the homestead is open for public tours. Advance tickets are recommended and can be purchased online.
Location: 2 Spring Street, Wappingers Falls
15. Van Wyck Homestead Museum
The Continental Army used Van Wyck Homestead, a colonial-era house built in 1732 by Cornelius and Hanna Van Wyck, as the officers' headquarters for the Fishkill Supply Depot, a key strategic center visited repeatedly by General Washington. The depot, created by Washington in 1776, stored and distributed essential supplies throughout the Revolutionary War. More than 2,000 Continental Army soldiers were trained in Fishkill and housed in barracks at the depot. The homestead is now a museum where visitors can learn about Fishkill's important role in the Revolution and see Colonial-era artifacts. Guided tours of the Van Wyck Homestead Museum are held Saturdays and Sundays from 1 – 4 p.m. from June through October. Self-guided tours of the grounds are available every day from dawn until dusk.
Location: 504 Route 9, Fishkill
16. John Kane House
For three months in 1778, General George Washington based his military movements in Pawling and slept in the home of John and Sybil Kane. Today, the John Kane House is the Pawling Historical Society's main museum. Visitors can learn about the area's Indigenous cultures and European settlers; Washington's use of Pawling during the Revolutionary War; and the effect of the war upon the Pawling community. Visitors can also learn about the Anti-Rent Rebellion of 1765, which was an armed insurrection led by farmer William Prendergast against feudal property leases. The home is open Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., from April through October, or by appointment year-round.
Location: 126 East Main Street, Pawling
17. Mount Gulian Historic Site
Built around 1730, the Verplank family homestead sits on 44 acres with a 1740's Dutch barn and restored garden. The site served as the Revolutionary War Headquarters of Major General Friedrich Von Steuben whose European training methods were vital to George Washington's inexperienced soldiers. In 1783, both men helped form America's first fraternal veteran's organization, the Society of the Cincinnati. Roughly 8,000 years of history is documented here dating back to the indigenous people who inhabited the land.
Location: 145 Sterling Street, Beacon
Lower Hudson Valley
Putnam, Rockland, Westchester
18. Enoch Crosby (Historical Marker and Burial Site)
Enoch Crosby (1750–1835) was a modest shoemaker turned American spy and soldier during the American Revolution. Crosby was recruited by John Jay (a stateman and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States) to be a full-time spy, where he gained entry and the trust of those intwined in Loyalist and British circles. Crosby was repeatedly captured by Americans who believed him to be a Loyalist but always escaped to continue his work.
Location of Historical Marker: In front of the Historic Putnam County Court House (40 Gleneida Avenue, Carmel).
Location of Burial Site: Gilead Cemetery, 29 Mechanic Street, Carmel
19. Benedict Arnold Flight
General Benedict Arnold served the cause of the American Revolution until 1779, when he shifted his allegiance to the British. His plan to surrender American-controlled West Point to the British during the Revolutionary War was thwarted labeling him forever more as a traitor. Here you can hike the same escape route that Benedict Arnold took. The path is a moderate level trail (one mile in length) containing several steep hills and sections of rocky, uneven terrain lasting approximately 1.5 hours. You will be able to enjoy the beautiful scenic views of the majestic Hudson River and West Point, our Nation’s first military academy founded in 1802.
Location: Historical marker is on Route 9D, about 1.4 miles south of Garrison post office.
20. United States Military Academy at West Point
The United States Military Academy was established in 1802, but West Point had a major role in our nation’s history during the American Revolution. Both the American patriots and the British realized the strategic importance of the prominent plateau on the west bank of the Hudson River. General George Washington considered West Point to be the most important strategic location in America and in 1778 selected Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish engineer, to design the fortifications for West Point. Washington later transferred his headquarters near West Point in 1779. American Continental Line soldiers constructed forts, gun batteries, redoubts and installed a 65-ton iron chain across the Hudson River to block British invasions along the main transportation waterway. Fortress West Point was never captured by the British, despite Major General Benedict Arnold’s treasonous attempt to turn over the garrison to the British in 1780. Today, West Point is the oldest continuously occupied regular army post in the United States.
Location: 606 Thayer Road, West Point
21. New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site
New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site is where the Continental Army under General George Washington spent the last winter and spring of the Revolutionary War. In October 1782, General Washington moved his northern army to New Windsor to establish winter quarters. Some 7,500 soldiers and 500 women and children civilian refugees encamped here. By late December 1782, they had erected nearly 600 log huts into a "cantonment," a military enclave. It was at the New Windsor Cantonment that the cease fire orders were issued by Washington ending the eight-year War of Independence on April 19, 1783.
Location: 374 Temple Hill Road, 374 Temple Hill Road, New Windsor
22. Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site
The Stony Point Battlefield was the site of a key American victory during the war. On July 16, 1779. American forces led by Brigadier General “Mad” Anthony Wayne launched a daring nighttime assault on British fortifications, recapturing the strategic position. This victory disrupted British operation along the Hudson River. The site features a museum, which offers exhibits on the battle and the Stony Point Lighthouse, as well as interpretive programs, such as reenactments highlighting 18th century military life, cannon and musket firings, cooking and blacksmith demonstrations, and children's activities.
Location: 44 Battlefield Road, Stony Point
23. Andre Monument
The Andre Monument holds significant historical importance as it marks the site connected to the capture and execution of Major John Andre, a British officer involved in one of the most infamous plots to surrender West Point with General Benedict Arnold. This site signifies the place of the military tribunal convicting Andre and his execution on October 2nd, 1780.
Location: 42 Andre Hill, Tappan
24. Jay Heritage Center
The 23-acre Jay Estate in Rye is one of two family homes of American founding father John Jay (1745-1829) located in Westchester. Jay was a noted jurist, peacemaker, governor and anti-slavery advocate. The site, which overlooks Long Island Sound is part of the Boston Post Road Historic District, a National Historic Landmark and a stop on Westchester County's African American Heritage Trail. It is also one of 100 top attractions in the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.
Location: 210 Boston Post Road, Rye
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