McBrides at Saratoga During American Revolution

Spurred by some excellent sleuthing by Gerald Lowell Christiansen, published on the Belnap Family site, I have been sniffing around for an old map of the Battle of Saratoga. Christiansen located a reference to a 97.15-acre farm owned by Samuel McBride in the late 18th century near Stillwater, Saratoga County, New York, in a farm survey book in the Albany Count Courthouse. The book calls it the "McBride farm so called," presumably because it had recently changed hands and now belonged a Mrs. Mary Livingston, but was still referred to as the "McBride farm." The Saratoga County Deed Book U, 336, gives all the gory details about the size, shape, and location of the lot. I refer you to Christiansen's research notes for more on this.

This farm would have been located smack in the middle of the series of conflicts known collectively as the Battle of Saratoga. This battle, a fateful and history-laden moment of the American Revolution, culminated with the surrender of 9,000 British troops under the command of Gen. Burgoyne late in 1777, and was a critical victory for the colonists. It has been credited with materially aiding Benjamin Franklin in his negotiations with France to obtain financial and military aid for the war.

One of the skirmishes of this battle took place on October 7, 1777. Known as the Second Battle of Bemis Heights, it witnessed the heroic (albeit insubordinate) charge of Benedict Arnold through British and Hessian lines, compromising the enemy rearguard and forcing their retreat. At the climax of his reckless assault, Arnold was shot in the leg near a British redoubt, a wound not so deep as the wound his reputation would later sustain when he was turned by the British.

A little sniffing around revealed this map, originally created by 19th-century historian Benson J. Lossing and published in his 1850 book, A Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution. A diligent researcher, Lossing toured the width and breadth of the United States interviewing the children of war veterans, surveying battlegrounds, and collecting documentary evidence, all in an attempt to portray the battles of the Revolution as accurately as possible. The result is a priceless treasury that features not only his written history but dozens of illustrations including this map depicting the Battle of Bemis Heights:

The exciting part for me was to see the name "S. MC.BRIDE" at the top left corner of the map (click to enlarge some - I am working on getting a much higher res scan of this map). This appears to be Samuel McBride's Stillwater farm, a clearing nestled between two hills, just north of the Wilber Basin Road and east of the Quaker's Springs Road. Interestingly, it is situated immediately west of Breyman's Redoubt where Benedict Arnold received his wound. Here is the current location on Google Maps:

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State Rd. 32 is the Quaker's Springs Road. If you click on the terrain view on Google Maps you can easily make out the finger-shaped hill to the west of the farm (assuming the cabin on the Lossing Map represents the location of the farm) as well as the hills to the east. There is a stone monument to Arnold's charge on the former location of Breyman's Redoubt on those hills. From what I understand, the traitor's name is omitted. Anybody want to plan a trip to the area?

According to Christiansen's notes, Samuel McBride was listed as a member of the Saratoga Regiment as early as 1780, three years after this battle. Some questions:

What was Samuel and Margaret's experience during this battle? Their farm was situated squarely in the middle of the British camp, behind enemy lines. How were they treated? Did they participate in any way? Did they engage in sabotage or mind their own business? Was their farm damaged in any way? Did they help treat the wounded after the battle? Did the family evacuate the property before, during or after the battle?

Their son Daniel, my fifth-great-grandfather was Samuel's son. He was born (according to his son Reuben) in Stillwater in 1766, making him an eleven-year-old boy at the time of the battle and a mere 14-yeard-old when his father joined the Saratoga Regiment. These are important facts in Daniel's life.