New Windsor Cantonment Program Set For July 4th

NEW WINDSOR – On Independence Day, Sunday July 4th, the New Windsor Cantonment site is open from 1:00 – 5:00 PM. From 2:00 – 4:00 PM learn about the disbandment of the Continental army encampment at New Windsor, in 1783. Admission is free. For more information please call the site at (845) 562-7141 ext. 22. New Windsor Cantonment is located on Route 300 (374 Temple Hill Road) in the Town of New Windsor, two miles east of Stewart Airport. It is three miles from the intersection of I-87 and I-84 in Newburgh, New York. Social distancing and mask rules in effect.

Surrounded on all sides now by housing developments and in certain areas completely built over, the Continental Army winter encampment, at New Windsor, in 1782-83, was, during its short existence, the second largest city in New York State. Soldiers fashioned out of the ancient forest, approximately 600 buildings, arrayed in tidy rows, replicating battlefield formations. Though a mighty gathering, the effects upon the vicinity were fleeting. The army moved on in June 1783, leaving only a wife, with two young children, abandoned by her ne’er do well husband, a few others with nowhere to go, guards and quartermasters responsible for disposing of the encampment. Surplus army equipment, as well as nearly all of the log structures, were sold at public auction. Following the Revolutionary War, farmers cleared the land; making stonewalls out of the collapsed fieldstone chimneys of the huts. By the mid-19th century, except to the most discerning eye, all traces of the Continental Army had vanished.

Just one mile from the Cantonment, Knox’s Headquarters State Historic Site is open for Independence Day. Here the Ellison family, one of the most prosperous in the mid-Hudson Valley during the 18th century, built a country estate called “Mount Ellison.” Elegantly furnished by John and Catherine Ellison, the 1754 mansion served as headquarters for Revolutionary War generals Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox, and Horatio Gates. The home is open for tours at 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM & 4:00 PM. For more information about Knox’s Headquarters please call (845) 562-7141 ext. 22.

In addition to the special programs and activities, the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and the New Windsor Cantonment Visitor Center are open. These buildings feature the story of the Purple Heart, the history of the New Windsor Cantonment: Behind Every Great Man: The Continental Army in Winter, 1782-83, Revolutionary War artifacts and the exhibit The Last Argument of Kings, Revolutionary War Artillery. A picnic grove is available and there is plenty of free parking. Also be sure to visit Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh, a short drive from the New Windsor Cantonment.

New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site is part of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission administers 40 parks, parkways and historic sites for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in New York as well as the Palisades Interstate Park and parkway in New Jersey. For more information about New York State parks and historic sites, please visit our website at www.nysparks.com and follow the links for historic sites.