As the nation prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, historian Michael P. Barrett will be discussing a key figure and local hero in the War for Independence — Continental Army officer Peter Gansevoort. Barrett’s presentation, sponsored by the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance, will be held on April 27 at the Holiday Inn, 2223 US Route 9, Lake George. The event begins at 11 a.m. Attendance is free and open to the public. Those who wish to attend may reserve a seat by emailing the Alliance at info@lakegeorgebattlefield.org.
Albany-born Gansevoort was a member of the Albany County Militia at the start of the American Revolution. His Dutch family connections propelled General Philip Schuyler to commission him in the Continental Army. Gansevoort participated in the 1775-76 invasion of Quebec before serving as Commander at Fort George. In 1777, he was the Colonel commanding Fort Stanwix and successfully defeated Burgoyne’s western flanking movement, greatly aiding the Continental forces’ ultimate success at the Battles of Saratoga. Gansevoort was promoted to General toward the end of the Revolution. He is also remembered today as the grandfather of author Herman Melville. General Gansevoort’s final resting place is in the Albany Rural Cemetery.
Michael P. Barrett earned a B.S. in Criminal Science at Russell Sage College, while working as a police officer for the City of Troy, NY. He went on to earn a Juris Doctor degree from the Western New England University School of Law in Springfield, Massachusetts. He recently retired as Executive Director of the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway and the Burden Iron Works Museum in Troy.
He is a member of many of the local historical societies and has lectured at, or led historical tours for over 160 different organizations. Among other positions, he is presently Vice President at the Albany Rural Cemetery; a Board member of the Lansingburgh Historical Society; a Past President and Editor of the Brunswick Historical Society; a Past Chairman and Editor of the Capital District Civil War Roundtable; a former member of the Board of Advisors at the N.Y.S. Military Heritage Museum; and a contributing author to The Encyclopedia of New York State and Walloomsack Review.
The presentation will be recorded and available, along with past Alliance lectures, on the Lake George Battlefield Alliance’s YouTube channel.
Featured image: “Portrait of General Peter Gansevoort,” Gilbert Stuart, 1794. From the collection of the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute of Art, Utica, New York.