Rotary Moments
helping to save 1777
The Battles of Saratoga
The scene of the surrender of the British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, on October 17, 1777, was a
turning point in the American Revolutionary War that prevented the British from dividing New England
from the rest of the colonies. The central figure is the American General Horatio Gates, who refused to
take the sword offered by General Burgoyne, and, treating him as a gentleman, invites him into his tent.
All of the figures in the scene are portraits of specific officers. Follow here to Wikipedia.org for more on this portrait…
The battles of Saratoga, September 19, 1777, and October 7, 1777
Fought eighteen days apart in the fall of 1777, the two Battles of Saratoga were a turning point in the American
On September 19th, British General John Burgoyne achieved a small, but costly victory over American forces led
Gates and Benedict Arnold. General Burgoyne again attacked the Americans at Bemis Heights on October 7th,
was defeated and forced to retreat. He surrendered ten days later, and the American victory convinced the
government to formally recognize the colonist’s cause and enter the war as their ally. The word Saratoga is
for two battles that gave the coup de grace to the 1777 British invasion from Canada during the American Revolutionary War. More follows at history.com
Revolution.
by Horatio
but this time
French
shorthand
Helping save a Piece of History
Beginning back in 1924 when first chartered, the Mechanicville Rotary Club took an active leadership role to save the land and work with NYS to create an historic
preserve at the site of the Battles of Saratoga. Through the leadership of men like Mechanicville Mayor George Slingerlands, also Mechanicville Rotary Club president,
and Adolph Ochs, publisher of the New York Times and others recognizing the significance of preserving the lands of the crucial Battles of Saratoga, the site was made
part of the National Park System in 1938 when authorized by the United States Congress.
The Mechanicville Club archives include letters from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, friend of Slingerlands and Ochs, letters from other dignitaries of the time
as well as the Sesquicentennial Dedication and Historical Pageant held on October 8, 1927 – there are many stories of the thousands that visited the Battlefield that
day, bumper to bumper traffic on the highways and byways; cars parked all the way down Route 4 to Mechanicville; Governor Alfred E. Smith, Governors from NH,
VT and CT attended as well as representatives of Great Britain, France and Poland; hundreds of re-enactors and other performers, with the Club center to all the
activity. Read more…
District 6110 Outbound Exchange Students -- MADDIE IN ITALY: “It is quite a coincidence looking at that my first amazing host family has twin
girls, my second amazing family has twin girls, and I found out a few weeks ago that my third host family has twin girls!” . ALIANA IN BRAZIL:
“Experiencing the Brazilian holidays was very interesting! On New Year’s we went to a beach party to celebrate, and met the most interesting
people. There was a group of people from Argentina, and we had a wonderful time getting to know them. Though it was very confusing
speaking in a mix of three languages. (I didn't even know I spoke Spanish).” LINDSEY IN GERMANY: “We are in the city center where the Christmas
Market is and we have signs saying "Free hugs, hug an exchange student" in all different languages. We also have a sign saying that we are
exchange students and we are collecting money for the refugees here in Germany. In 2 hours in the city center we collected a lot! Way more
than we expected!” ALIANA IN BRAZIL: “Lastly my Portuguese has still been improving. Now just about all of my dreams include Portuguese, and
I'm informed I was talking in my sleep in Portuguese last weekend at my Grandmother's house.” MATTHEW IN SPAIN: “I have gotten to do some
pretty cool things here, I have been to the beach and the mountains a few times and my host father has taken me to some really fancy horse
shows and I got to meet the President of Andalucia.” MELANIE IN FRANCE: “I went to St. Tropez with my inbound group. It was a bunch of fun meeting everyone again.
So far I'm a bit disappointed that I haven't eaten a single crepe or any escargot. However, my exchange is still early.” CHASE IN BRAZIL: “My attached photo is special
to me because it represents the spirit of exchange - having adventures with people from all over the world - seeing the world from a different point of view. It was
taken at the Chapada Diamantino National Park, an area famous for its caves and cool rock formations.” Note: ASK ABOUT THE STUDENT RICK AND I HOSTED (RON)
Rotary Moments week of 2/18/2016