Saratoga Battle Monument
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The Saratoga Battle Monument is a
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
located in the village of
Victory, Saratoga County, New York : ''Another Victory is a town in Cayuga County, New York. '' ---- Victory is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 605 at the 2010 census. The village is located in the northeastern part of the town of Sarato ...
. The monument commemorates what is called the "Turning Point" of the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
—the surrender of British forces led by General
John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...
to the Americans under General
Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battl ...
.


Description

The Saratoga Battle Monument contains four niches intended for life size bronze statues of the American commanders associated with the Battle of Saratoga.


Saratoga Monument Association

On 17 October 1856, a group met at the General Schuyler House in
Schuylerville, New York Schuylerville () is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The village is located in the northeastern part of the Town of Saratoga, east of Saratoga Springs. The Village of Victory is adjacent to Schuylerville to the southwest ...
to discuss creation of a monument to celebrate the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga. In 1859, the Saratoga Monument Association was organized, with a board of fourteen permanent directors: George Strover, William Wilcox, Henry Holmes, James M. Marvin, John A. Corey, James M. Cook, Leroy Mowry, Asa C. Tefft,
Peter Gansevoort Peter Gansevoort (July 17, 1749 – July 2, 1812) was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also ...
,
Hamilton Fish Hamilton Fish (August 3, 1808September 7, 1893) was an American politician who served as the 16th Governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States Senator from New York from 1851 to 1857 and the 26th United States Secretary of State ...
, Phillip Schuyler, George W. Blecker, and
Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...
. Hamilton Fish was elected first president. The association was incorporated by New York State in 1859. The trustees got as far as choosing the location for the monument before the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
intervened. The effort to build the monument was resumed in 1872. In 1874, the
New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...
approved an appropriation of $50,000 for construction of the monument. The association asked each of the thirteen original states to pledge $5,000 each, but only Rhode Island replied with a conditional offer.


Cornerstone

On 17 October 1877, 100 years to the day after Burgoyne's surrender, the
cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...
of the monument was laid with great pageantry, including a parade two miles long to the site, music, speeches and the reading of
Fitz-Greene Halleck Fitz-Greene Halleck (July 8, 1790 – November 19, 1867) was an American poet and member of the Knickerbocker Group. Born and raised in Guilford, Connecticut, he went to New York City at the age of 20, and lived and worked there for nearly fo ...
's "The Field of Grounded Arms":
... And such were Saratoga’s victors—such The Yeomen-Brave, whose deeds and death have given A glory to her skies, A music to her name. In honorable life her fields they trod, In honorable death they sleep below; Their sons’ proud feelings here Their noblest monuments.


Construction

The monument was designed by John C. Markham of New Jersey. The capstone was placed on 3 November 1882, and the bronze statues were completed in August 1887. The statues were designed by George Bissell (Gates),
Alexander Doyle Alexander Doyle (1857–1922) was an American sculptor. Doyle was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and spent his youth in Louisville (Kentucky) and St. Louis (Missouri) before going to Italy to study sculpture in Bergamo, Rome, and Florence, studying ...
(Schuyler), and William O'Donovan (Morgan). Markham designed the sixteen bronze
bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
plaques that line the interior of the first floor. The monument was formally dedicated and turned over to the State of New York on 18 October 1912. In 1980, the state transferred the monument to the US National Park Service.


Funding

Final funding for the Saratoga Battle Monument consisted of $2,300 from private donations, $95,000 from the federal government, and $10,000 from New York State. Much of the labor and material was donated. In 1895, when the monument was transferred to New York State, a debt of $4,500 remained.


Renovations

By 1987, the monument had deteriorated such that it had to be closed due to safety concerns. A renovation was undertaken at a cost of $3 million, and the monument was reopened on
Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. ...
, 2005. Funding was provided by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
thanks to the efforts of Congressman
Gerald Solomon Gerald Brooks Hunt Solomon (August 14, 1930 – October 26, 2001) was an American businessman and politician most notable for his long service as a member of the United States House of Representatives in New York. A veteran of the United St ...
.


See also

*
Bennington Battle Monument The Bennington Battle Monument is a stone obelisk located at 15 Monument Circle, in Bennington, Vermont, United States. The monument commemorates the Battle of Bennington during the American Revolutionary War. In that battle, on 16 August 1777, ...


References

{{coord, 43.09853, -73.59327, format=dms, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title American Revolutionary War monuments and memorials Buildings and structures in Saratoga County, New York National Park Service National Monuments in New York (state)