Loading
SC![]()
author
Schuyler Van de Carr
I am the descendent of an old Dutch family who fled New Amsterdam in the mid-1600s before the British invasion. They, of course, captured the city and renamed it New York. As farmers and tradesmen ...view moreI am the descendent of an old Dutch family who fled New Amsterdam in the mid-1600s before the British invasion. They, of course, captured the city and renamed it New York. As farmers and tradesmen my family settled in areas as diverse as Rensselaerville west of Albany, to Gansevoort north of Saratoga. Gansevoort was named after Peter Gansevoort, a hero in the siege of Fort Stanwix, which contributed to the defeat of General Burgoyne’s army at the Battle of Saratoga—a pivotal moment in the American Revolution. I have often lamented that our beautiful Copake region was never involved in the heroic achievements of our forefathers and thought it appropriate—nay necessary—to conjure such a moment in history for ourselves. Please indulge me in this fantasy that with but a few changes in the direction and timing of great events could have actually happened.
SVdCview less