Saratoga National Historical Park

Using a variety of archival sources and research techniques, Saratoga National Historical Park Curator Christine Valosin will talk about six different women with ties to the Schuyler family or estate, illuminating little known stories of their lives during the turbulent years of the American War for Independence. The scope includes Barbara Gray Schuyler, Hannah Pettit, Bet and Britt (whose stories are closely intertwined and therefore presented together), Mary McAlpin, and Catherine Schuyler. Many of these women left little written evidence of their own, so their stories are reconstructed from indirect sources and contextual clues, allowing us to better understand their contributions and perspectives.

The focus is on the years 1776–1783, with the Schuyler Estate serving as the central anchor. The goal is to dig deep and tell a story about each woman so that we can say “we know them a little better now.”

A practiced genealogist, Valosin integrates information gleaned from a variety of sources. For this talk, she used material from Philip Schuyler’s Store Ledger, letters, 18th century prints, wartime ledger accounts, land records from the Philip Schuyler Papers, local and town histories, pension records, published and unpublished family histories, newspaper accounts, Loyalist Papers, and church records. Each source provides a different perspective, collectively illuminating the lives of six women whose contributions to the Schuyler Estate and the Revolutionary era illuminates our historical memory.

Support for the Fall Lecture Series is provided by Friends of Saratoga Battlefield. Reservations are required due to limited space. Email SARA_Reservations@nps.gov to reserve your seat!

Published for the 250th anniversary of the United States, When the Declaration of Independence Was News focuses on the nation’s founding document at the moment of its creation in 1776, before anyone knew what the legacy of the Declaration would be or if the United States would win the war against Great Britain. It explores how the Declaration was communicated to people in the new nation and around the Atlantic world and reveals the stories of the many people involved in the process of declaring independence, from printers to soldiers to diplomats to translators.

Dr. Emily Sneff is an early American historian and leading expert on the Declaration of Independence. She earned her Ph.D. in History from William & Mary. She was a consulting curator for exhibitions marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration at the Museum of the American Revolution and Historic Trappe.

Support for the Fall Lecture Series is provided by Friends of Saratoga Battlefield. Reservations are required due to limited space. Email SARA_Reservations@nps.gov to reserve your seat!

Americans generally assume that the surrender of Sir John Burgoyne to General Horatio Gates at Saratoga on 17 October 1777 caused France to openly enter the American War of Independence. The American leadership interpreted the defeat at Saratoga within their military and political needs. Saratoga was of great military importance, an immense morale booster and extensively used for propaganda purposes. But France's decision to join the American rebels came after years of preparation and was by no means monocausal. For King Louis XVI and his Foreign minister, the comte de Vergennes, the American exploitation of the victory for domestic purposes was of little relevance. Their decision to join the Americans was based on where France placed Saratoga within the global political and military context and how it promoted, or hurt, French interests. The American war was waged on the fringes of European civilization, and France was primarily concerned with the impact an American victory, or defeat, would have on the balance of powers in Europe in general and on France in particular. This illustrated talk highlights the French interpretation of the Hessian debacle in the trenches around Fort Redbank and how that interpretation shaped Louis XVI’s decision to openly enter the war.

Robert A. Selig is a historical consultant who received his Ph.D. in history from the Universität Würzburg in Germany in 1988. He is a specialist on the role of French forces under the comte de Rochambeau during the American War of Independence and serves as project historian for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Project.

Support for the Fall Lecture Series is provided by Friends of Saratoga Battlefield. Reservations are required due to limited space. Email SARA_Reservations@nps.gov to reserve your seat!

The role of African Americans, free and enslaved, in the regiments of the Continental Army is not well-known; neither is the fact that relatively large numbers served in southern regiments and that the greatest number served alongside their white comrades in integrated units. John Rees will discuss black soldiers’ acceptance, service, and experiences during and after the War for American Independence, focusing on those who served in Continental regiments. African American women with the army will also be featured.  

John U. Rees has been writing for almost 40 years on the experiences of common soldiers and women in the armies of the American Revolution. He has authored over 200 articles, most available online at https://tinyurl.com/JohnURees-articles. His first book, They Were Good Soldiers: African Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775-1783 was published in 2019; his second, titled Don Troiani’s Black Soldiers in America’s Wars, 1754-1865, came out in January 2025.

Support for the Fall Lecture Series is provided by Friends of Saratoga Battlefield. Reservations are required due to limited space. Email SARA_Reservations@nps.gov to reserve your seat!