[at-l] War but not THAT ONE!

[RoksnRoots@xxxxxxx (RoksnRoots@xxxxxxx)]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
In a message dated 3/11/2003 8:42:45 AM Eastern Standard Time,
orangebug74@yahoo.com writes:


> I don't rightfully know of any Revolutionary war sites on the
> AT.


          The 1777 Trail (or is it 1776?) crosses the AT about 1/3 of a mile
south of the Palisades Parkway crossing. This was the actual path/carriage
road on which revolutionary soldiers marched to go to battles in the area.

        Just underneath Bear Mt and on the eastern lap of West Mountain is
the abandoned ruins of Doodletown. The name is a British slight against the
"yankee doodles" who lived there. There's a RW connection you could research.

        In sight of West Mountain Shelter, about 4 miles away, Stony Point
sticks out into the Hudson River. It was the site of a pivotal RW battle. The
Point was a British fort and controlling point for the Hudson River. The tro
ops who marched across the AT on the 1777 Trail were on the way to this
battle.

      The Anthony Wayne swimming pool and parking lot underneath the AT on
the West Mt portion of the Trail, as well as the mountain across the river
from Bear Mt, are named after the general who launched the assault on Stony
Point. It was a night attack where Wayne timed the tides to wade through the
tidal muck to skirt the fort's palisade. White cards were worn in their
tri-corner hats to help tell soldiers apart.

       The AT is dripping in Revolutionary War history in the Harriman area.
The Greenwood Mine, about a mile south of Fingerboard shelter, was one of
many mines used to make iron for cannonballs and iron chains stretched across
the Hudson to stop British ships from attacking West Point. If you have a
sharp eye you'll notice the ancient tailings piles the Trail winds through
and the flooded mine opening 50 feet from the footpath. Most of the sites
have become forgotten with time.

     Another large, classic iron smelter ruin is located a few miles south of
the AT crossing on Orange Turnpike. These iron making devices changed the
landscape in the area 200 years ago when forests were denuded for charcoal
intended for smelting. Iron production moved way out west to Pittsburgh just
after the war.


         I agree with Weary that this isn't a great time to celebrate war
sites as if they were something to be aimed for...