Battle of Minisink to be commemorated

MINISINK FORD, NY — The 229th anniversary of the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Minisink will be commemorated with a colonial encampment at Sullivan County’s Minisink Battleground Park, and public programs in New York and Pennsylvania on July 19 and July 22 respectively.

New York

At Minisink Battleground Park, members of the Navasing Long Rifles and Third Ulster Militia will enact an encampment in the park from Friday night through Sunday as they demonstrate the frontier lifestyle.

The formal observances begin on Saturday, July 19, at 3:00 p.m. at the park’s pavilion. Anthony Domingo and the Navasing Long Rifles will present a lecture program on the colonial militia’s origins, practices, effectiveness and societal impacts. At 4:00 p.m., the traditional memorial service at the park’s hilltop monument will take place. Keynote speaker Frank Salvati of the Minisink Valley Historical Society will provide an overview of the July 22, 1779 Battle of Minisink. Several direct descendants of the militiamen killed in battle will read the names of the fallen.

Following the service at approximately 4:45 p.m., guests are invited to join together for a picnic supper at the pavilion. Participants should bring their own food and beverages. Grills are available for cooking.

For more information call 845/292-6609.

Pennsylvania

On the actual battle anniversary date of July 22, Pike County Historian George J. Fluhr will host his 34th consecutive commemoration ceremony across the Upper Delaware River in Lackawaxen, PA. The program will begin at 2:00 p.m. at The Grave of the Unknown Soldier monument on River Road. The gravesite holds the remains of a militiaman killed in the 1779 Battle of Minisink, but not discovered until 1847.

The Unknown Soldier, who lies in a grave recognized by the U.S. government as that of an Unknown, was killed in the Minisink Battle on July 22, 1779. After a raid on what is now Port Jervis, the American militia mobilized from as far away as Goshen, and followed the enemy up along the Delaware River. They finally met on a hill opposite Lackawaxen, where a three-hour battle took place.

Because of the rough country and lack of roads in that era, the bodies of the dead remained on the battlefield for 40 years. Even then, not all were recovered. In 1847, the body of a soldier, identified as a militiaman by the remains of his uniform, was discovered under a rock ledge. He was brought to Lackawaxen, then a major railroad and canal center, and buried there on the bank of the Delaware. The grave, a Pike County Historic Site, is under the care of the Ecker-Haupt Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which participates each year in the memorial services.

For more information call 570/559-7444.