(click on pictures below for larger versions)

We decided to spend Memorial Day seeing a little of the country our heroes fight for. That consisted of piling the dogs and ourselves into the van, and heading off. We headed for upstate New York, and then came home via Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

One of the highlights of the trip - we ate at Brooks' Bar-B-Q. If you are in the Oneonta, NY area - or even if it takes you four hours to get there - it's well worth the trip. Best barbeque I've ever had. No joke.

Heading towards Vermont, we made a stop in Saratoga, to pause at something we could see from the road.

From far away, it looks like a mini-Washington monument.

It's the Saratoga Monument.

When you get closer, it looks like this:


This is the sign that greets you - click to read the battle description (for a more detailed description, go here):



Closer views of the monument:











Saratoga, which ended in the surrender of British General Burgoyne's troops, was one of the most decisive victories American troops have ever seen, and indeed may have been one of the most decisive military victories ever. In the few weeks (September 19 - October 17, 1777) of action in the area, the British suffered approximately 1,000 casualties. The American losses numbered less than 500.

All the Americans who fought at Saratoga were heroes. But at the monument site also has a marker for one who stood out:



The inscription reads:

TO COMMEMORATE THE SERVICES OF
MAJOR NATHAN GOODALE
OCTOBER 11, 1777
HE BRAVELY CUT LOOSE BURGOYNE ['S]
STOREBOATS IN THE FACE OF THE ENEMY
AT THE MOUTH OF THE FISHKILL
----------------
UNDER ORDERS OF GENERAL GATES.
WITH THE SCOUTS HE CAPTURED 121
PRISONERS BEFORE OCTOBER 7TH
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DISTINGUISHED SERVICES ALSO IN 1778
----------------
ERECTED BY EMMA JONES
HIS GREAT-GRAND-DAUGHTER
----------------

The cemetery adjacent to the monument is the resting place of some more modern heroes, too - I paused to pay my respects before we headed out.

If you're ever in the area, make sure you stop by the Saratoga National Historical Park - even 200+ years later, it's important that we never forget.