Knox's "Noble Train", Fort Edward and Schuylerville, NY- Saturday, December 13, 2025

    We usually have our trips pretty planned out, but sometimes it's fun to be spontaneous.  On Friday morning, Scott was up even earlier than usual.  Abby's school was closed for parent-teacher conferences, so we were taking her to Grandpa and Grandma W. for the day and had to leave even earlier than usual.  Around a quarter after 4:00 AM, Scott was scrolling through Facebook as he was waking up and noticed a re-enactor dressed as Henry Knox with horses pulling a cannon.  He saw that they had done something "yesterday," and were doing more "tomorrow" and "over the weekend." 

    "Wait..." though Scott.  "Do they mean 'tomorrow' tomorrow?"  He glanced up at the week's plans on the black wall and saw that there were no firm plans for the weekend.  By the time Julie got up at 4:30, she knew something was up because Scott was smiling.  He explained what he wanted to do.  Julie was a bit taken aback since she was not expecting anything this weekend.  She was quite tired and had worked her 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM day yesterday for her own parent conferences.  But she also knew that Scott really liked these events, and you have to go to the anniversary events when they happen.  After school, they picked Abby up from Julie's folks and headed on the almost five hour drive to the far side of New York State.

       The events this weekend are part of the 250th Anniversary commemorations of the Revolutionary War.  Scott had been to Lexington and Concord's anniversaries back in April, but he knows he can't go to everything.  He had already missed the anniversaries of Bunker Hill, the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and is not going to make Arnold's attack on Quebec on New Year's Eve.   When he learned about this weekend's events he really wanted to try to go.  

       The Patriots had captured Fort Ticonderoga in May of 1775.  The British continued to occupy Boston.  If there was some way to move the captured cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to the heights around Boston, the Patriots could finally force the British to evacuate the city.  The audacious plan was devised and carried out by the young Henry Knox.  His "noble train of artillery" was an important early victory for the Patriots.  He brought 59 guns on 42 sleds a total of over 300 miles in the winter, to arrive in Boston 56 days later.   It was quite a feat by any measure and he was only 25 years old when Washington entrusted him with this task.

     We slept pretty soundly in our hotel in Queensbury.  Julie noticed it was next door to an amusement park that was closed for the winter, but that might be fun to come back to some summer day.   For today, the weather was cold, in the 20s, but the air was still so it didn't feel that bad.

    After breakfast, Scott took the car and headed off to the nearby town of Fort Edward where the first part of the day's events were.   The phone's GPS helped him find the town's junior-senior high school where the parade was stepping off and the re-enactors and other participants were forming up.  He found the monument in front of the school which is one of many that mark Knox's route.  He watched the wreath laying there at 9:00, but when he started talking to a family about where the parade was going, he learned that the horses weren't going to join the parade until further down the route.  According to one person there, the horses wouldn't cross the railroad tracks in town, so they had to join the parade on the other side of them.  It may also be true that they didn't want the heavy cannons behind the horses as they were going down a pretty steep hill into town from the school.  Since everyone was there to see the cannons on the sleds, we moved into town where we could see them.  Scott ended up watching from in front of the Washington County Historical Society.  The parade had veterans groups, a fire truck, cars with people from various historical societies like the Daughters of the American Revolution and some student groups, along with two busses that looked like trolleys, but the stars of the parade were the re-enactors and the two teams of draft horses pulling the cannons on sleds.  The sleds themselves were made by local BOCES students and had wheels underneath them so that they could move on modern roads.  The re-enactors fired a volley and the nearby church bells were chiming as the artillery passed.

    Scott followed the traffic behind the parade to the Old Fort House Museum where the parade ended.   This home was built in 1772 from timbers left from the old fort, Fort Edward.  Washington himself was supposed to have visited this house after the war.   The building is part of a complex of buildings used for historical displays.  Scott looked around inside the buildings.  He liked seeing the model of the old wooden Fort Edward and browsing around the gift shop.  He took some pictures of the horses and the sleds before leaving there to walk over a mile back to the car.  He started talking to a guy from Frederick, Maryland, while he was walking and was grateful when he offered him a ride up the big hill back to where the car was parked.  Scott's feet were already hurting, and he had promised Julie that he was going to be back at the hotel to pick up her and Abby by 11:00. 

    Meanwhile, Julie and Abby had been playing at the hotel.  Abby had brought a suitcase full of stuffed animals with her.  Of course, she was also looking forward to swimming in the pool.  The water was apparently VERY cold.  Several families with young kids were swimming that morning.  Julie said it was funny to watch the kids jump right in, but the adults' eyes would bug out when they tried to go in.  Abby liked being able to walk across the 3 foot section.  They got out and dried off and were ready when Scott came back from the parade.  Abby was making friends with the hotel staff by drawing pictures as gifts for them.

    Julie had seen a cute place she wanted to try for lunch called, "The Silo."  It was probably too cute for its own good though, because when we got there the parking lot was jammed full.  We decided to try a nearby diner called the Ambrosia Diner.  We weren't disappointed there, and Abby was able to get a plate of her favorite-- spaghetti.  

    The next stop for the artillery train was to go to Schuylerville in nearby Saratoga County, so we headed there.  On the way, we stopped at another historical marker for the Knox Trail at a "Pocket Park," and it looked like we had missed a wreath laying ceremony there earlier that day.  It was very close to the Dix Bridge at Hudson Crossing Park, where the next event was to be.  We pulled into the park and since the regular lots were already full, Julie was told to park as close to the snow banks as possible so that the horses could get through.  By that point, Abby was fast asleep, since her swim in the cold water that morning had worn her out.  Scott walked ahead to the bridge.  The horses, sleds and re-enactors crossed there at about 1:00 and there was a short ceremony where the "linstock" was ceremonially passed from the Washington County officials to the Saratoga County officials.  Scott got a good look at the re-enactor playing Henry Knox-- he was an appropriately large man.  Julie got her first look at the horses, cannons and sleds as they went by the car, but Abby was still asleep.

    The next stop was a little over a mile away at "Knox Fest."  It was at Fort Hardy Park in Saratoga.  After we found a place to park on a nearby street, the three of us headed to the festivities.  Abby got to see the horses and sleds arrive this time.  Snow was falling, but we followed the crowds, past the food trucks and a place where people were starting a bonfire, down to a big heated tent.  The merch table that Scott had been hoping for was there, but he was disappointed that they didn't have any t-shirts in his size and no pins at all.  He liked the design that commemorated "Knox's Heavy Metal Tour" and he and Abby did get it on stickers.  There were many historical displays from the National Parks and other historical groups.   Julie was standing near a table that put out free Saratoga 250 bags and grabbed one for Scott.   We looked around quickly and then went back outside to the gunboat and artillery out by the horses.  Scott managed to get a picture with "General Knox" himself, though a reporter was talking to the general as we did it.  

    We knew we probably weren't going to stay at "Knox Fest" long.  We had more than four and a half hours to drive to get home, and it gets dark at 4:30 or so now.  Abby was looking forward to seeing if the Elf on the Shelf had moved and checking to see what was in the doors of the advent calendar tree today.  We started the trek back home and were quite tired, but we feel like Scott's spontaneous trip idea was a good one.  

 

Excelsior Mess Reunion, Gettysburg- Saturday, September 20, 2025

      Scott didn't have a great time last night, but this morning started much better.  After breakfast, we took a leisurely drive to Little Round Top.  The last time we were here, Julie didn't want to even get out of the car there because her knee hurt so.  This time, she was movin' and groovin'.  We even went up in the "castle" of the 44th New York Monument and enjoyed the view with Abby.  We needed a restroom break, so we had a brief stop at the National Park Service Visitor Center.

    We then went to Ayres Avenue at the "top" of the Wheatfield where the first event of today's reunion was to take place.  We drove around the area a little and didn't see anyone that looked like who we were looking for, and Scott had jokingly said he wondered if this was even the right weekend.   Shortly after 10:00, people started to arrive and we got to see a bunch of old friends that we hadn't seen in a while.  Everyone looked so much older, but of course, we do too   There were some who were easy to recognize and some who were harder to place, but then, it seems like a few people were having a problem placing us as well.   Just a partial list of those in attendance would include Capt. Jim F., Sgt. George S., Don B., Mike V., Brian O., Bob J. and others.

    A tour was given by David G., a guy Scott doesn't think he has met before from the 140th NY.  His tour was a professional grade look at the way the 64th New York was engaged in the Wheatfield.  The 64th New York was a sister regiment of the 154th New York historically because they both drew heavily from Cattaraugus County.  It was the regiment that was re-enacted by Capt. F and many others in the Excelsior Mess originally.  The Wheatfield is a portion of the Gettysburg battlefield that is notorious confusing action to follow and has been nicknamed the "whirlpool of death" as a result.  David did a great job of walking us through the fight, starting at the ridge at the top of the Wheatfield and walking us towards the stone wall at the bottom, refering all the time to quotes from George Whipple, Martin Sigman, and Co;. Daniel Bingham, with references to Capt. Henry Fuller as well-- all names that Scott knew.  Some of the less able-bodied members took cars up to the 64th New York Monument on the crest Brooke Avenue, but Scott was among those who walked that distance.  Once there, we heard about the climax of the fight for the 64th, and of course, the mortal wounding of Captain Fuller.  One thing that Scott had never seen before was Brooke's rock, a tall narrow stone that stands a short distance away in the trees, downhill from his brigade's line.  Brooke later said that he stood on the rock during the battle in order to see over the crest of the hill to the fight, and he came back and marked the stone with an "X" that is still visible today.  A few people tried it out by climbing on top of it.  Scott took a detour away from the rest of the group in order to see the memorial that was placed to show the spot where Capt. Henry Fuller was left to die after his mortal wound.  But while we were still at the 64th's monument, all of the guys present gathered in front of it for a picture together.

    Julie had started with the tour at the top of the Wheatfield, but she had been planning on taking Abby away from the group.  After taking some pictures, Julie and Abby went out to the Gettysburg outlets to do some shopping.   Julie bought some things for Anna's upcoming baby shower.  Abby used her own money to buy a new baby doll which she named Lillian.  (She is Elinora's sister, according to Abby.)  Eventually Scott called them on a borrowed cellphone to let them know that the tour was done and that he was ready to meet them at the Irish Brigade monument.  Julie said that she had just promised Abby that she could play on the playground at Burger King and that after picking Scott up, they should go back to BK to let Abby play.  Scott was fine with that since it was well past his usual lunchtime and he was getting hungry.

    The Burger King that we were at was on York Street, near our hotel, but neither is in a very convenient place to get to the battlefield.  We continually commented on the crowds of people that have taken over the town, and the traffic around the town square was crazy today.  We stopped and did a little shopping near the square, but gave up after a couple of stores mainly because the three of us were tired and there were just too many people.  We went back to the hotel to rest in the air conditioning.  

      The next part of the Excelsior Reunion was dinner at the restaurant known as The Mansion House 1757 in Fairfield, about a 20 minute drive from Gettysburg.  Just before the meal, a waitress accidentally dumped an entire iced tea almost directly on top of Scott.  The waitresses were very apologetic, but Scott's shirt and shorts were damp for the rest of the night and his camera temporarily stopped working.   Before dinner, we went around the room and each unit read a list of their members who had passed away.  So many of us have passed.  Dick R., Gene D., Orton B., Ben M., just to name a few.  Scott not only mentioned the 154th names, but he had asked Dave B. for a list of the 155th members who should be mentioned, since he noticed that there probably wasn't going to be 155th representation there today.   George S. read from the original flyer that was used to announce the meeting that formed the Excelsior Mess back in 1985.   By the time that the food came out, the stories and reminiscences were flying.  Julie didn't think that Abby would sit for the entire meal, so she took her to a nearby pizzeria and playground to let her have some fun.   She had originally planned on picking Scott up at 7:00, but Scott talked her into coming in and joining the party.  Many people were happy to see her and Abby was sweet and behaved.  The party started breaking up, about an hour later, and we ended up being the last to leave the room.  

    We headed back to our hotel.  Abby had been hoping for some ice cream and we were able to get her some at the Dairy Queen by our hotel before we came up and settled in for the evening.