Who Cooked for George Washington? Gen. John Burgoyne’s Elopement,& more: Saratoga National Historical Park Hosts Fall Lecture Series

STILLWATER — Saratoga National Historical Park and the Friends of Saratoga Battlefield welcomes a series of distinguished scholars and historians for its annual Fall Lecture Series. These speakers will discuss a variety of topics to help us examine and better understand our shared histories as we approach the 250th anniversaries of the Revolutionary War and the founding of the United States. Reservations are required and may be made by emailing: SARA_reservations@nps.gov. The schedule is as follows:

 Washington’s War Time Cooks – Thursday, Nov. 7, 6:30 pm, Visitor Center. Although there is only one “Washington’s Headquarters” in New York, there are numerous signs around the region stating, “Washington slept here.” Which means he also ate there. Typically, however, not food prepared by the household’s cook, but by his own staff, led by Hannah Till, an enslaved woman, and her husband Isaac. Who were they? What skills may they have had? Join us as we look at current research on Hannah & Isaac and ponder what it may have been like to travel and cook around the region for Washington.

Speaker Lavada Nahon is a culinary historian with 30 years public history experience. She focuses on New Netherland and New York, 17th through 19th centuries, specifically, the lives and cultures of Africans and their descendants, enslaved and free and is the first Interpreter of African American History for New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites.

From the Battlefield to the Stage: The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne – Thursday, Nov. 14, 6:30 pm, Visitor Center. 

The Compleat Victory: Leadership and Strategy in the Saratoga Campaign of 1777 – Tuesday, Nov. 19, 6:30 pm, Visitor Center. 

Saratoga National Historical Park encompasses five sites including the Saratoga Battlefield, General Philip Schuyler’s House, Victory Woods, the Saratoga Monument and Sword Surrender Site totaling 3,579 acres. For more information about Saratoga National Historical Park, call the Visitor Center at 518- 670-2985, visit www.nps.gov/sara or find the park on Facebook or Twitter @SaratogaNHP.