Saratoga National Historical Park
648 Route 32 • Stillwater, New York 12170
518-664-9821 • www.nps.gov/sara
sara_info@nps. gov
Directions:
Saratoga National Historical Park is located 40 miles north of Albany, the state capital, and some 15 miles southeast of Saratoga Springs. The principal exit (#12) off the Northway (I-87) is clearly signed for the Park.
To the Parent/Adult: This Junior Ranger program is designed for students grade 3-6, but may be used by other ages as well. It is hoped that the activities here will help our younger visitors better enjoy, understand and appreciate our park and its resources. Our Junior Ranger program was designed with our Tour Road in mind, but it can be enjoyed without driving through the Battlefield.
To the Junior Ranger: When you receive this booklet, choose and complete three (grades 3-4) or four (grades 5-6) activities in the booklet. Yes, you can get help from someone in your group, or one of our Rangers, and yes, you could do more activities. Once you have completed your activities, have an adult with your group check your work. Once you’ve done that, CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve qualified as a Saratoga National Historical Park Junior Ranger. You will have received a Junior Ranger badge with this booklet.
What? No checking in with a Park Ranger afterward? That’s right. You see, our program works on the honor system. That means we’re trusting that you, in receiving this booklet, will do your best to meet the requirements for becoming a Junior Ranger. The public is trusting us to take care of this park. We’re trusting you to help us by learning more about what’s here.
Have fun, and good luck!
The War for American Independence, or American Revolution (1775-1783), was probably one of our country’s most difficult conflicts. Great Britain was a very powerful nation. It had many advantages over its rebelling colonies.
This new American independence suffered many problems during all eight years of the war. In 1777, however, a British Army invading from Canada heading south into New York was defeated by American troops in Stillwater and forced to surrender at Saratoga—now Schuylerville, NY. This surrender was important both in strengthening the American Spirit and in getting other countries to recognize and help the new American nation.
Saratoga National Historical Park commemorates the campaign and battles in which this American army was victorious over British forces. We also preserve and protect the areas where these events happened. This Junior Ranger Book has puzzles and activities to help you understand all of this: the historic grounds we protect and the people, events and time of the Saratoga Campaign.
Enjoy your Visit!
Go on a scavenger hunt through the Park. Look for the items listed below and draw a picture of each as you find it. See how many you can find.
Remember: leave everything where you find it!
Armies in the 1700’s were not always welcomed by people in the areas they marched through, as these armies often took food and other items from civilians. Sometimes they paid for these supplies, sometimes they did not. Sometimes, they might only promise to pay. Here in America, even if the soldiers paid for supplies, it might be with Continental money, which wasn’t often accepted by everyone.
When soldiers were officially ordered by their army to collect what was needed, it was called requisitioning [“reh-kwi-zi-shen-ing”] When soldiers took items without permission, it was called theft (stealing). Civilians usually felt it was theft, whether the soldiers had the army’s permission or not.
Soldiers’ wives and even families sometimes followed the armies. These “camp followers” were often forced to forage—look around for whatever supplies they could find—without permission, as the armies did not give them everything they might need. For them, it was a matter of survival.
Polly Sloat is a soldier’s wife who has helped herself to goods at Farmer Edgar’s home. Farmer Edgar has complained to an officer. Polly is crafty, though, and has hidden the items she took. Can you find them in the picture on the next page? As a hint, here is a list of the items she took. You may want to cross off each item as you find it in the picture.
Armies in the 18th Century built fortifications to make it more difficult for their enemies to attack them. At the Saratoga Battlefield, the Americans and British constructed fortifications to protect their camps.
Obstacles would be placed outside the fortifications. Sometimes they would be made by boring (drilling) holes through logs and putting pointed poles through the holes. These were called chevaux de fris (pronounced “shuh-vo-duh-free”). A quicker obstacle could be made by cutting down trees and sharpening a tangle of branches. This was called abatis (pronounced “ah-bah-tee”); it was used a great deal at our battlefield. When placed properly, these obstacles could force an enemy to attack in directions where they could not sneak up on the defender—and where the defenders were waiting for them.
Caleb, a member of a local militia regiment, has been outside the American fortifications on Bemis Heights, cutting brush for firewood. It’s getting dark and he needs help finding his way back without encountering obstacles or guards who might shoot him by accident.
Draw a line through the maze from where Caleb is now (lower left corner of the maze: he’s got the bundle of sticks on his shoulder) to the safety of the redoubt (pronounced “re-dowt”), the zig-zag wooden wall.
abatis
redoubt
chevaux de fris
Scouts were very important throughout the War for American Independence. They provided valuable information about the enemy army and what it was doing. Knowing the enemy’s position, its strengths and its weaknesses, helped commanders decide what the actions of their own troops should be.
At the time of the Battles of Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights, General Burgoyne’s army had lost most of the troops who could be effective scouts. Most of the Canadian and American Indians with his army had returned home to Canada and elsewhere, and many Americans loyal to England had been killed or captured at Walloomscoic (pronounced “wall-oom-sick”, also known as the Battle of Bennington). The American Army, with a battalion of rifle troops drawn from Virginia and Pennsylvania rifle regiments, enjoyed a slight advantage. Also, warriors from the Oneida [“Own-eye-da”] and Tuscarora [“Tusk-a-ror-a”] nations (two of the six making up the Iroquois [“Ear-o-coy”] Confederacy) assisted the American Army.
Now, you have been selected as a scout for the American Army. You have crept near a British patrol. Study the picture on the next page for one minute, then answer as many of the following questions as you can.
One of the ways visitors learn about important or interesting parts of a National Park is by reading signs. What a sign says, where it is placed, and what it looks like are important to consider. Based on what you’ve seen during your visit to Saratoga National Historical Park, think up a sign to describe something here you think is important, and create your sign below. It will help you to remember your trip here! Don’t forget to put the National Park Service “arrowhead” on the sign.
Blank signpost
Every National Park is special and unique. Each has natural resources (like plants, trees, birds, insects, fish, land) and cultural resources (such as very old homes, factories, battlefields, forts, roads, or even ancient dwellings). The National Park Service works to preserve these resources, and to help visitors learn about and appreciate them.
To help us in our mission, the National Park Service uses a system of abbreviations, sort of like codes, for park names. The “code name” generally uses the first four letters of the park name. For Saratoga National Historical Park, the abbreviation is SARA. Morristown National Historical Park, in New Jersey, is MORR. Parks with more than one name generally use the first two letters of the first two words in the park name. Fort Stanwix National Monument, in Rome, NY, becomes FOST. There are exceptions: Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico is CAVE.
How many can you figure out? For added fun, see if you can find each of these on a map of the United States. You can learn more about each park on the National Park Service web site, www.nps.gov, at home, at school, or in your local library!
(answers are at the bottom of the page)
Special thanks to the Friends of Saratoga Battlefield, whose enthusiasm and support made our Junior Ranger program possible!
design/layout: William Valosin, Park Ranger
activities and artwork: Joe Craig, Eric Schnitzer, William Valosin, Park Rangers
updated July 2007