The locations on my tour in order are:
A.Birth of the American Union marker: While not part of the American Revolution, the Albany Plan of Union was a crucial precursor to the War and a good place to start a tour about Albany’s importance in the Revolution. (“Albany Plan of Union, 1754 – 1750–1775 – Milestones – Office of the Historian.” Albany Plan of Union, 1754 – 1750–1775 – Milestones – Office of the Historian. Accessed March 04, 2016. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/albany-plan.)
Colonial Hospital Marker – The location of an important hospital that tended to the wounded during the pivotal battle of Saratoga
Fort Frederick Historical Marker – Another marker that shows the location of an important Fort in Albany that was the desired target of Burgouynes infamous plan to capture New York and split the colonies in two. (“ALBANY.” Albany, NY. Accessed March 04, 2016. http://www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute4/albany/default.htm.Schuyler Mansion – Home of important American Revolution General Philip Schuyler. He took part in the doomed American Invasion of Canada and in the Saratoga campaign.
(Bielinski, Stefan. “Philip Schuyler.” Philip Schuyler. Accessed March 04, 2016. https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/s/phschuyler1750.html.)
Cherry Hill Mansion – This mansion is the home of another Revolution figure, Philip Van Rensselaer. He was the keeper of the armory for the city of Albany during the war.
(Bielinski, Stefan. “Philip Van Rensselaer.” Philip Van Rensselaer. Accessed March 04, 2016. http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/bios/vr/pvr.html.)
B. According to Google Maps, the entire tour should take about 41 minutes to walk.
C. My tour is to focus on Albany’s role in the Independence of America. Primarily that will focus on its central importance during the American Revolution, but I also want it to show Albany’s importance in influence our independence movement. That’s why decided to start my tour off on the marker for the Albany Plan of Union spot, as it was one the central and first moments of Americas movement for independence. I want this to be a tour that highlights Albanys importance in American history in a way that can intrigue visitors and make those who live here proud. This tour should appeal to more people than history buffs, as it highlights enough major events to teach novice history fans. Due to the nature of history, I feel this tour will appeal to older people more than the younger audience, especially since the first three stops are historical markers. One thing I need to do though is find a way to make the tour appeal more to younger audiences.
D. https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/3810284450/in/photolist-5ikx1d-5eYpki-5eYpnD-5f3KZw-5f3KMA-5ikxb3-5f3LcA-5ikxCG-eXyt2v-5f3LoS-5ikwU9-7a3Ncx-5ikwXf-7a7CEJ-6NGGPu-6NN941-omvQ1-6NGBMj-jiFqB-89zWrf-jiFqz-7HfTGy-7HbZfT-d6pa7-6Nu2fL-5igfvH-4HuyJm-qA2fuY-oy4mTv-d6pa6-4KwmJj-7gnY16-jiFqA-6Qmm8
An Image of the Fort Frederick Historical Marker
http://www.hudsonrivervalley.com/Images/uploaded_images/scaled/Cherry%20Hill%20Albany%20(James%20Bleeker).jpg
An image of Cherry Hill Mansion as it stands today.
E. What is the extent of the role of Albany in the American Revolution, especially after the Battle of Saratoga?
What were the full roles of Schuyler and Van Rensselaer in the American Revolution?
How can i best show the importance of Albany in the Revolution with mostly just historical markers?
One thought on “Albany’s Revolutionary War Tour”
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Good. A couple of things to keep in mind: stay focused and stay organized. You’ve got a big topic, so make sure that each location has a tightly organized story with logical breaks between paragraphs so your visitor isn’t presented with a wall of text. Remember that for the big stuff–causes of the war, individual battles, etc–you can link out to Wikipedia or similar. Don’t try to overwhelm your reader, just focus on giving them a tightly narrated and clearly organized story.
You may also want to think about adding some images of town during the period of the revolution not directly related to the revolution or your locations: https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanygroup/albums/72157637489997256 So that you can talk about the period without having to focus narrowly on the war itself.