The River Overlook Fortifications on Bemus Heights at Saratoga NHP

Summary

The fortification of Bemus Heights at Saratoga by the Americans during the Revolutionary War was engineered by Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish military engineer who had taken up the American cause at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Kosciusko designed the fortifications on Bemus Heights at the River Overlook to oppose the British plan to advance to Albany along the River Road.  In 2009, a geophysical study was conducted on one of the River Fortification elements in Kosciusko’s defense system. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Resistivity were used at the site of the South Redoubt in an attempt to discern what may be left of the fortification element. The results of the geophysical assessment in conjunction with the archeological excavations done on the other river overlook defenses indicate the soundness of Kosciusko’s design.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• From Great Meadows to Petersburg: Battlefield Archaeology in National Parks   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 71