Battle of Plattsburgh Celebration returns for 25th year
Sep. 6—PLATTSBURGH — At 8:40 a.m. on September 11, 1814, the USS Saratoga, the American naval flagship under Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough, shot off the main anchor of HMS Confiance, the Royal Navy flagship under the command of Captain George Downie, during the Battle of Lake Champlain or the Battle of Plattsburgh.
BACK-BACK STORY
For nearly 184 years, Confiance's anchor rested 50 feet below Plattsburgh Bay until father-and-son divers, Bill and Ken Van Stockum, located the historic relic on Aug. 28 1996, according to Jeff Myers' article, "Lake yields huge anchor likely from War of 1812," which appeared in the Aug. 31, 1996 edition of the Press-Republican.
Two years later after Shirley Koester, director of the Clinton County Historical Association, secured the blessing of the British government to keep the anchor on display in Plattsburgh, Capt. Frank Pabst of the M/V Juniper re-raised the 14-foot anchor weighing almost a ton at 8:40 a.m. on Sept. 11, 1998.
"I guess that's the year they brought up the anchor up from the Confiance, the flagship for the British Navy, the one that's in City Hall," Tom Donahue, president of the 1814 Commemoration Inc., said.
"That's when this whole thing started. We're celebrating the fact that back in 1998, Kit Booth and a few people got together. They decided we should probably have an affair to celebrate. Since that time, they put out a magazine back then that was 12 pages or 16 pages. Today's magazine, I think, is a 68-70 page magazine, and it's a four-day event. They had like one afternoon. It's expanded quite a bit. We were talking the other day, and he was just thrilled that it's still going after all these years, you know."
'LIVING HISTORY'
Today through Monday, North Country residents can engage in the 25th Anniversary of Continuous Commemorations of the Sept. 11, 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh, which includes ceremonies, old and new activities, live music and concerts, Israel Green's Place and Tavern in the park.
The event concludes on Monday with the Crab Island Ceremony.
The annual celebration is a chance for children and adults to experience and enjoy "Living History" according to Donahue.
"It's the first year since COVID that we are having a full-fledged Battle of Plattsburgh weekend with everybody showing up until today," he said.
"It's been a hard struggle, you know. We went through COVID. We went through all the problems of people coming across the border. Last year, we had to deal with that gun law that canceled out the reenactments. Now, we have everybody coming this year, and the weather is disrupting everything. Our parade and our activities go on rain or shine. I've seen people marching in the parade soaking wet from rain. But hopefully, it holds off this year. So, we're excited that we made it to 25 years, and the City of Plattsburgh doing this reenactment every year, the commemoration of what happened then."
TODAY
The commemoration (see box for full schedule) begins with museums open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. downtown, on the Old Base Campus, and in Chazy.
At 5 p.m., the Riverside Cemetery Ceremony will ne held at 30 Steltzer Rd. in the city.
During one of the first volleys of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a USS Saratoga cannon knocked a cannon on the HMS Confiance off its carriage, and Capt. Downie, who was standing behind it, was crushed and killed instantly, according to usna.edu.
That cannon with its dented muzzle stands in front of Macdonough Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
"After the Battle and surrender was all over, they took his body into Plattsburgh and buried him at Riverside Cemetery right along with American sailors and militia," Donahue said.
"They are all buried together. It's one of the few places in the country where military people from other countries are buried side by side. We have Lt. Commander Douglas Laird from the British Navy coming up to be part of that. He's actually a submarine commander assigned to the United State and is coming up for the event."
During these battle's initial volleys, as stated previously, the Confiance lost an anchor, which was ultimately preserved at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes, Vt., ironically where the USS Saratoga was built.
"As the story goes, it's one of the reasons that we won that battle," Donahue said.
"The way they moved the ships around, they had an anchor on the front end and an anchor on the back end. They shoot off all their guns, and they're too hot to reload. So they pull up one of the anchors, and the boats float around to the other side and then they shoot off those guns, which gives the other ones time to cool off. Because they shot the anchor off the boat, they couldn't turn the boat around. They had to stay in one position, which allowed the Americans to change their guns back and forth and defeat the British. It's like a unique story."
The U.S. Navy Band Northeast performs in concert from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Strand Theatre on Brinkerhoff Street.
"They haven't been here in like 10 years and, they are coming this year," Donahue said.
"They are going to be in the parade and are going to do the Beat Retreat after the parade. They are also going to play on Friday in the park before the fireworks. So that's a big deal."
FRIDAY
At 11 a.m., a memorial ceremony will take place at the Culver Hill Historical Park in the Town of Beekmantown. It is co-sponsored by the Town of Beekmantown and 1814 Commemoration, Inc.
On Sept. 6, 1814, a large British army numbering in the thousands marched through the Beekmantown countryside on their way to occupy the Village of Plattsburgh.
In an attempt to slow that advance, a small American force consisting of regular army and militia, made a stand behind stonewalls on the rise of land known as Culver Hill. The result was a short but very intense skirmish that left several dead and wounded, including the leading British officer, Lt. Col. James Willington.
"Although casualties were sustained on both sides, Sept. 6 was the bloodiest day for the British army," Town Historian Gary VanCour said.
"This year we will take a look back at how the sacrifices at the Battles of Beekmantown have been remembered and preserved throughout the generations."
Culver Hill Historic Park is located at 6453 State Rt. 22, Plattsburgh, which is two miles north of intersection of Rte. 374. The ceremony is open to the public and parking is available.
MUSIC IN THE PARK
Starting at 2:45 p.m., there will be Bagpipes in Trinity Park followed by musical entertainment by Stan Ransom "The Connecticut Peddler" and Peter Cadieux.
"The Glengarry Bhoys are going to be playing live in front of the steps (City Hall)," Donahue said.
"Friday night, we honor the veterans in the area. The Honor Flight will be there to recognize them. We invite all veterans from the area to attend a free performance and stay afterwords for the fireworks on Friday night. I think the Disabled American Veterans will be there with their van. It's part of a tribute all the way back in 1814 all the way to today thanking them for their service. There are a couple of guest speakers that evening."
SATURDAY
Commemoration attendees can get fuel at the Farmers Market at Bridge and Green Streets for a full slate of Saturday offerings that includes Police Pipes & Drums of Plattsburgh, Children's Old Time Village Fair, and Monument Challenge.
"All daylong, the Children's Fair is on going with all kinds of children's activities," Donahue said.
"This year we are having Thera-Pets Donkeys. Macdonough Monument is open for the Monument Challenge. We call it the 156 Club. There are 156 steps up, and 156 steps down. Anybody that makes the climb, we are giving them a button that says 'I survived the climb.' We are putting it into a drawing for a prize at the end of the event. I think we had over 400 people do that last year."
At 10:30 a.m., Lt. Commander Douglas Laird will present "From Bitter Rivals to Close Allies: Evolution of American-British relations after the War of 1812" during History Talks at Trinity Church.
"On Saturday night, Studio Two, a Beatles tribute, will be at the Strand," Donahue said.
SUNDAY
On Sunday morning, commemoration attendees will have another day filled with diverse choices such as the the Shape Note Singers at the Kent-Delord House Museum Grounds or "Tour Chazy New York in 1812" at the Alice T. Miner Museum.
"The Adirondack Raptors, the guy that does the eagles, hawks and owls, those will be there on on Sunday," Donahue said.
"This year we decided that since it was the 25th anniversary, we designed two different buttons, a blue one and a white one. Both of them saying 25th anniversary. On top of that, we also have the button that the kids designed with the Poster Contest. So there's three different buttons this year, but they all give you access to all of our events.
"We have 23 different restaurants and businesses in Plattsburgh this year that if you're wearing the button on the weekend from the 8th through the 10th, if you go to their restaurant or their store, they will give you a 10 percent discount."
Donahue said he has no idea how many people will attend the event.
"It could be anywhere from a 1,000 to 10,000," he said.
"The only tricky part is the weather. I just got a phone call, breaking news I guess, because of the impending possible thunderstorms, we usually have a military encampment out at the Kent-Delord House with re-enactors, they are not going to do that this year because it's too dangerous to be out in the thunder and lightning in the canvas tents."
A handful of re-enactors may roll the dice.
"I guess what has happened all summer, these guys have been going to different reenactments across the state, almost everyone of them has been rained out by some kind of crazy storm," he said.
"The guys end up sleeping in their cars and packing up and going home. So, they just don't want to do it anymore I guess, and I can't blame them. It's kind of discouraging though, because it's really a crowd pleaser to see the reenactments."
HISTORY TALKS
At 12:30 p.m., "A Few Words about Zebulon Pike" will be presented by Richard Frost and "Historic and Archaeological Perspectives on Pike's Cantonment" will be presented by Keith Herkalo at the War of 1812 Museum on the Old Base Campus.
"We are trying to (embed) history in everything that we are doing — the old-time costumes, the old time events, so kids can learn what it was like," Donahue said.
"They don't teach American history anymore. Unless someone tells them what's going on and what happened in Plattsburgh, they have no way of knowing. They're living in a very historical area and not even learning anything about it in school."
'TOUGH SELL'
The mission of 1814 Commemoration Inc. is to enhance the knowledge and awareness of the British invasion of the Champlain Valley in 1814 and the ensuing American victory.
"The reason to me that's most important is it's really about the history of Plattsburgh that many people don't know," Donahue said.
"If it wasn't for what happened in the Battle of Plattsburgh, our country may not exist. They stopped the British invasion that would have probably taken over the rest of the other colonies. Trying to make that known to the public has always been a tough sell because everybody remembers the Battle of New Orleans (Jan. 8, 1815), which actually happened after the treaty (Treaty of Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814) was already signed."
Email: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com
Twitter@RobinCaudell
