1812: New York’s War, New York’s Impetus
A lecture by Robert W. Arnold III
While the Battles of Sackets Harbor or Plattsburg do not carry the cachet of a Gettysburg or Saratoga, the War of 1812, now approaching its bicentennial, was very much New York’s War. Much of the war was fought on our soil or on our waters. New Yorkers responded to the conflict militarily and otherwise and the war exposed serious inadequacies in the state’s infrastructure and the nation’s military capacity. This presentation with slides and period quotes examines the impact of the war and its aftermath on the people of New York and the public improvements roads and canals made partly in response to the war.
Robert W. Arnold III is a career public historian at the New York State Archives. He was Albany County Historian, a historical archaeologist and is a Commissioner of Historic Resources for the City of Albany. Arnold teaches American, New York State and regional history at the College of Saint Rose and other colleges.