The Battle Of Ogdensburg, War Of 1812 - A Reenactment

I noticed online that there was a reenactment of the Battle of Ogdensburg, a town which I'd never seen, so I decided to go take a look. When I arrived, it was cold and windy, giving me the happy thought that there is at least one place colder and windier than my farm. But nothing was happening yet, so I walked down the road to see what I could see:

The Battle of Ogdensburg occurred during the War of 1812, and these folks were reenacting it on the banks of the confluence of the Oswegatchie River and the St. Lawrence Seaway. That's the town of Ogdensburg which you see across the Oswegatchie:

This was the site of the original battle and was called "Lighthouse Point." I could see the lighthouse just ahead and thought perhaps that was where the reenactment would take place. Besides, I wanted to see the lighthouse, so that's where I headed:

I passed this regiment of soldiers as I walked. They were friendly and smiled, saying hello:

I arrived at the lighthouse on the banks of the St. Lawrence, but it was a private residence and marked "No Trespassing." The lighthouse looked as if it might still be used, but I couldn't tell for sure:

Then the action began and loud explosions and smoke were coming from up by where I'd parked my car. Clearly, I'd guessed wrong about where the reenactment would happen. So I began making my way back toward the parking area. These men were loading and firing their canon. They advised me to ask for "Permission to pass" before I walked in front of any active canon:

With the noise and smoke, it really did seem like a battle:

When I neared the group of soldiers which I'd passed at the beginning of my walk, they urged me to hurry up and get behind them because they were waiting for me so they could begin their activities. Who knew I could personally hold up a battle? But they were friendly and I hustled as best I could on the ice:

I got back to the parking area which, it turned out, was where we were supposed to be in order to watch the battle. I climbed up onto a snowbank for a better view:

There were skirmishes on the fields beside the St. Lawrence River:

I had to use the zoom lens to get any photos at all, but it was indeed interesting to watch the action:

In case you are wondering, the British won the Battle of Ogdensburg, capturing the town and using it as a headquarters to supply their army. But there was nothing more to see, so I quietly got back in my car, turned up the heater and began my journey back home:

Gouverneur Museum - The Military Room, Bedroom And Women's Room

Having toured the music room and children's room, I proceeded into the military room, unsure of what I'd find:

There were old uniforms, honor rolls of veterans, American flags and weapons of many kinds:

Lots of old uniforms from various wars and branches of service as well as rifles:

This display case was especially interesting with its powder horns and ancient vest:

On the right was a Civil War powder pouch, and on the left was a traditional cow horn with wooden plug:

A British Light Dragoon Mounted Infantry uniform jacket from the battle of Sacket's Harbor (War of 1812). It was hand-sewn and made of linen with braid of wool twist and pewter bullet buttons. The original color was scarlet, though it has faded over the last 202 years. It was brought home by Dr. John Spencer, a veteran of the conflict. I would suppose it was taken from a fallen British soldier. This area was active during the War of 1812:

I then ambled over to the bedroom. Indeed, it looked much like my grandmother's bedroom:

I began to notice an abundance of homemade quilts:

Another view of the bedroom - with more quilts:

And, as I left the bedroom, I noticed even more quilts along the railing. Surely these home sewn treasures had been passed down from family members over the years before they were donated to the museum:

The pink women's room featured a number of mannequins in Victorian Era attire, lots of clothing accessories and the oldest, most primitive sewing machine I've ever seen:

This surely was someone's best outfit and reserved for formal occasions. I was on the second floor and my next stop would be the cellar, where there were lots more displays, including a two-headed calf. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Route 458, The High Northern Plain

We were almost to the farm and had reached Route 458, which runs between Route 30 (north of Paul Smiths) and the town of Hopkinton. Route 458 is on a high northern plain, still part of the Adirondacks and with mountains visible all around, but rather flat compared to most of the area. It is surrounded by boreal forests and wetlands. There was no snow on the ground that December day but the surrounding mountains all looked sugar coated:

Madeline and Clover figured that if I'd stopped the car and rolled down the window, there must be something interesting out there. Notice little Madeline's reflection in the car's side-view mirror:

Broad wetlands stretched alongside the road in many places, interspersed with northern forests, and some of the wetlands had nearly completed the sphagnum caused return to solid ground:

I've passed by this sign many times without so much as slowing down, but on that day I stopped for a look. Jennings Road. Did that refer to Route 458 or that little dirt lane into the forest? I can find no answer on Google. The next photo is enlarged and easier to read:

Here is a closeup of the sign. This area was important in the war of 1812. I found references to the "Jennings Clearing" or "Jenning's Place," both referring to an encampment of U.S. troops during the war. Perhaps I'll just have to walk that road. There's a gate there, but I can still walk it if there's no "No Trespassing" signs:

A look at what may or may not be the old Jennings Road. If that's it, there should be a clearing back there with grave sites. But on that day I was in a hurry to get the farm and we'd already done enough exploring along the way. So I continued on Route 458 and left this mystery for another day: