The Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot received a grant of $24,600 from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program to create maps that depict archeological features of the Fishkill Supply Depot, which was George Washington’s principal supply depot during the Revolutionary War.
The maps will highlight the historical overview, archeological inventory, and topographic features. The depot was pivotal for winning the Battles of Saratoga, and is the largest burial ground for Revolutionary War soldiers in the country. The information produced by this project will be distributed to the public, and available to organizations and groups in the community for potential preservation opportunities.
“The American Battlefield Protection Program supports projects that safeguard, preserve and tell the stories of America’s battlefields,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “These places are symbols of individual sacrifice and national heritage that we must protect to help this and future generations understand the struggles that shaped and define us as a nation.”
$24,600 for maps while there’s a large For Sale sign? Why print pretty slick paper brochures depicting the Fishkill Supply Depot when this information is already online? If the funds must be used for printing a map, then create a mailer for pleas for help to save the land to our elected officials and Congress to step in or a target mailing to law firms to do pro-bono work to halt the sale of the sacred grounds where hundreds of those who gave their lives to create this country now lie! Disclaimer: I was VP of Friends of Fishkill Supply Depot in 2012.