The Battle of Saratoga

a map of saratoga 1777

There were two battles at Saratoga one was on September 19 and the other on October 7. I’m only going to focus on the battle the battle on October 7. The British plan for taking Albany was in trouble. In August of 1777, American troops led by General Benedict Arnold stopped St. Leger at Fort Stanwix, New York.

In July General Burgoyne (the general for the British) captured Fort Ticonderoga, but he needed supplies. He sent a force of troops to the American Supply base at Bennington, Vermont. When the green mountain boys (a nearby militia) defeated Burgoyne, he fled to Saratoga, New York.

Burgoyne found himself in big trouble and alone here. Patriots had stopped St. Leger at Fort Stanwix (like said above). Now American troops under General Horatio Gates blocked and surrounded Burgoyne’s army. Burgoyne made a desperate attack on October 7.

The patriots held firm. On October 17, 1777, General Burgoyne surrendered. The British plan for taking over Albany had failed and The Continental Army had won an enormous victory that had changed the course of the war.

The amount of soldiers for the U.S was 21,000. For the British there where 13,800. On the American side 90 men where killed and 240 wounded. On the British side 440 killed, 695 wounded, and over 6,000 captured. For information on the battle of Savanah check out this webpage: http://amarisvalle23.wordpress.com/

Colonial New Hampshire

Ox Cart

Ride and Tie in Colonial New Hampshire

William Swain                              Blue                              11-10-13

Ride and Tie In Colonial New Hampshire

The picture given to me was titled “ride and tie” there was no information on the topic on the internet, although I do know it had to do with colonial transportation. While researching this topic I found the following information.

• How colonial settlers traveled
• What types of animals they traded for use of transportation
• What items they traded that were used for transportation

Colonial settlers traveled by walking, riding on ox carts, by boat and horseback.  Riding by ox carts was the most common and efficient mode of transportation. This allowed for transporting materials from one location to another in larger volume then the settlers would have been able to via other methods such as horseback. 

Ox cart travel was faster than walking and allowed for the covering of the wagon to keep goods and people out of the hot sun or inclement weather as they traveled.  Ox cart had four wheels and was pulled by one or more oxen depending upon the weight of goods being moved.

Horseback riding was also common by the settlers for quick transportation without needing to move goods and for solo or two person travel only.  Horses could be hitched on posts outside most public buildings.

Boats were used primarily to goods, animals from one settlement to another. This mode of transportation was used only by towns near rivers or lakes.

The settlers traded animals for travel such as cattle, ox, and buffalo. People would also trade items like parts of wagons and boats with each other for travel.

Colonial New Hampshire

New Hampshire derives its name from Hampshire country England. It was named this in the year 1622 after captain mason, Sir Ferdinand Gorges, and others had obtained from the council of play mouth. In 1642 the settlers of New Hampsire formed a coalition with Massachusetts that they enjoyed for nearly forty years.The first house was built in Portsmouth.

In 1680 the territory was seperated from the Colony by order of the King of England. The heirs of Mason sold the land of New Hampshire to a man named Samual Allen in 1691.

Approximately 4,000 people lived in New Hampshire in 1600-1700.