A $38,000 grant was awarded to The Friends of Saratoga Battlefield in December to pay for the construction of a new plaque to mark the “Sword Surrender Site” south of Schuylerville.
The grant was awarded by the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust and will be used to commission a bronze or brass relief sculpture that replicates the “Surrender of General Burgoyne” by John Trumbull, a well-known painting that hangs in the Capitol’s rotunda in Washington, D.C. The plaque will be installed at the historic 19-acre site where British General John Burgoyne surrendered his sword to American General Horatio Gates in 1777.
“The Solomon Trust grant will jump start the magnificent cultural landscape plan by Saratoga Associates for this key historic site recently purchased and protected by the Open Space Institute,” said Friends President Tim Holmes.
According to Holmes, the site will be a key feature for heritage tourism in the area, linking Saratoga Battlefield to sites in Schuylerville and Victory where the British retreated before their surrender. It is part of a larger project begun several years ago to link the Saratoga Battlefield in Stillwater to outlying historical areas to tell the region’s story of involvement in the Revolutionary War. That story includes sites like Schuyler House and the Saratoga Monument.
In early December, the group was awarded $191,000 from the state to purchase the former town hall on Ferry Street in Schuylerville to be turned into a state-of-the-art visitor’s center that will provide information about the battle in a modern way.
Holmes said interns from local colleges are working to develop applications that can be used on smartphones or tablets. As visitors tour the battlefield and outlying historical sites, they will be able to use the app to read historical information about the sites they visit, see pictures and watch videos.
“We’re hoping to provide a seamless experience for the traveler as they visit the sites,” said Holmes. “We want to provide a lively Internet presence so visitors can experience the sights interactively as they go along.”
The Friends of Saratoga Battlefield and the consortium of more than a dozen municipalities and nonprofit groups involved in the project are hoping to film interviews with local professors and reenactors to enhance the app.
The money will also be used to update the visitor’s center, while money from the Solomon Trust grant and additional donations will be used to update the new park that contains the “Sword Surrender Site.” Future plans for the site include an interactive kiosk and memorial wall.
In total, the consortium has raised $600,000 allocated through grants for the visitor’s center project. The group paid $110,000 for the building but additional repairs may need to be made, like stabilizing the structure.
“We’re doing some studies and environmental assessments now,” said Holmes. “But eventually we want this center to become the historical gateway into Saratoga.”
The visitor’s center will be nearly a mile from where Gen. Burgoyne’s encampment of British troops laid.
Holmes said he’s hoping to have the new plaque installed by summer, but opening the visitor’s center will be a longer project.
“Two years for the work is the objective, at least we’re going to try anyway,” he said.
