Join us for a Road Rally August 29-30!

Turn the crank on your Model T, or gas up your 65 Ford Mustang  and hit the road! From Walloomsac to Rensselaer, you will use clues provided to locate different sites associated with  Rensselaer County’s role in the Revolutionary War. Find every location in the county to be entered into a special prize drawing!

• The Revolutionary Road Trip takes place all weekend, from Saturday August 29 to Sunday August 30.

  CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE FOR A PDF VERSION OF THE INSTRUCTIONS AND CLUES OR READ BELOW.

Welcome to the Rensselaer County Revolutionary Road Rally, highlighting areas relating to the 250thAnniversary of our nation’s independence!

This road rally is meant to be a discovery of the 14 towns and two cities that make up Rensselaer County with emphasis on the American Revolution.   While Rensselaer County was not officially formed until 1791, (it was part of Albany County until 1791) the residents of the many towns you will drive through played a critical role in the fight for independence. There were however some residents that wished to stay loyal to the crown and you will discover their names as well as you take this journey.  

Instructions:

·      There are 19 locations for you to discover on this road rally. When you find one, note the GPS points or take a photo of the location and email your results to me at  ksheehan@hartcluett.org 

o   In the subject heading write: Revolutionary Road Rally.  Please be sure to include your full name, address, and phone number in the body of your text.  

o   Those entries with at least 10 locations will be entered in a drawing for a Rensselaer County gift basket!  The gift basket includes products made in Rensselaer County!  

·      Send Kathy Sheehan your email with the locations no later than Noon Monday, August 31, 2026

·      Have fun discovering Rensselaer County! Visit our booth at the Schaghticoke Fair in the New York Products Building where you can see additional information about these clues in our exhibit titled: Rensselaer County during the American Revolution!  The fair starts Wednesday September 2- Monday September 7th!  Come and chat about Rensselaer County history with me! 

Sincerely,

Kathy Sheehan, Rensselaer County & Troy City Historian 

Clues:

Clue #1.  

The Marquis deLafayette was greeted by thousands at this site, including Emma Willard from the Troy Female Seminary as our nation paid homage to the major-general who served in the Continental Army, and secured French troops and naval fleets in support of our war for independence from the British Crown. 

Clue #2

The Lansingburgh Declaration of Independence was signed at this spot on May 22, 1775 by 49 landowners and businessmen.  

Clue #3 

The Bridge of boats enabled the 14th Albany County militia to cross the Hudson at this location. Look for a rooftop house labeled 1732, that was the ferry operator’s house. 

Clue #4

One of the earliest extant houses (c 1770) is now a museum in Rensselaer County  was home to the first colonel of the 14th Albany County Militia, John Knickerbocker Sr. 

Clue #5  

Site of the Tory Ambush of 1777 against the local 14th Albany Militia.  Hint: vist the Potter Hill Barn.

Clue #6

While our neighbors to the east have the wonderful monument to this battle that was fought on August 16, 1777, the battle was fought almost entirely in Rensselaer County and was a pivotal win for the patriots leading up to the battle of Saratoga. 

Clue #7

Many Dutch settlers in the area of the Little Hoosic River were loyal to the crown. An early Dutch family named Defoes left to serve the King, never to return.  Their story exists in  Dayfoot road where they had established their farm.

Clue# 8

Rumors abound of revolutionary soldiers hiding in this deep dark site owned by Revolutionary War Col. Caleb Bentley, now a recreation site.

Clue #9

Four revolutionary war veterans and early founders of this town named after Stephen Van Rensselaer are buried in this picturesque cemetery. Abel Tanner, Daniel Brown, Asa and William Douglas. 

Clue #. 10

On June 13,1825, the Marquis de Lafayette was welcomed here by the delegation from Nassau and New Lebanon, on his way to Boston.

Clue #11  

The Mahican tribes allied with the Continental Army near this Island on the Hudson River. An important conduit in the movement of troops and supplies.

Clues #12 &13 (two different sites)

These two clues note the monumental task of moving the “noble train of artillery” under the command of Henry Knox when he brought 59 cannons and artillery from Lake Champlain to Dorchester Heights in the winter of 1775-76.

Clue # 14. 

American Continental forces gathered at this site that included local militia. It was also the location where it was thought the tune “Yankee Doodle” was penned here, a rallying tune during the American Revolution

Clue #15.

Though this house was built after the revolution, the historic marker notes the site of one of our earliest congressmen serving from Rensselaer County.

Clue #16

This 1791 home known as “the White House” and its accompanying 200 acre farm tells a loyalist story:  John Melchoir File a German Immigrant and British loyalist who fought with the British at the Battle of Saratoga and harbored loyalists on their way to Canada.

Clue #17

A quintessential New England Village Green, on the Taconic Mountain Range, housed the Scriven Family home on the north end of the green, James, Zebulon and John Scriven all who served for the patriot cause.

Clue #18

Settled in an area where a number of Palatine Germans were located Bernard Uhlein, a revolutionary war soldier purchased 325 acres in the area come to be known as Ulinesville.

Clue #19

Extending from Route 43 to Route 2, passes through this town square. Notable resident and revolutionary war soldier Benjamin Cotterel was said to have carried the first wheelbarrow of earth to Bunker Hill, famous for the battle during the Seige of Boston in June of 1775