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STONY POINT, N.Y. (August 15) - As part of the year-long commemoration of the 220th anniversary of the Battle of Stony Point, Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site announces the opening of a new exhibit on Sunday, August 29, at 2:30 PM. Featured is Sketch of The Works at Stony Point on the Hudson" by Captain William Marshall, 63rd Regiment of Foot, and Assistant Engineer in charge of British defenses. This document is the only surviving map of the fortifications at Stony Point drawn by a participant in the battle, fought on July 15-16, 1779, and has never been exhibited at the battlefield before. It will be on display until the site closes for the winter on October 31, and is on loan from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
A copy of the Marshall map at the United States Military Academy Library at West Point was brought to the attention of battlefield staff in 1992; the original, in Philadelphia, was examined and its authenticity corroborated by other 18th century sources. Lt. Marshall (later Captain) was appointed Acting Engineer at Stony Point on June 26, 1779; less than a month later, on July 16, he was captured by the American Light Infantry during the Battle of Stony Point. For more than a year and a half, he was held prisoner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and during that time he may have produced the sketch that bears his name.
Among other details, "A Sketch of The Works at Stony Point on the Hudson"shows, for the first time, the location of the powder magazine, the officers' tents, the engineers' station, and the Royal Artillery encampment. Also indicated is the new battery, begun on July 7, 1779, a gun emplacement for a 12-pounder cannon, one of 15 artillery pieces captured by the Americans. Marshall also depicts exactly where all of these weapons - 9 guns, 5 mortars, and 1 howitzer - were deployed. The Marshall map is clear evidence that Haverstraw Bay by the shoreline on the south was shallow, and that the British main fort was unfinished, being open in many areas - facts learned by the Americans and contributing to the success of their midnight assault around the sides of the Stony Point peninsula.
In addition to the exhibit, a detachment from the Loyal American Regiment, a reenactment unit, will be encamped on the grounds to present continuous demonstrations of 18th century military life. The battlefield museum, with exhibits and original weapons, will also highlight a new audiovisual presentation, which relates the story of Brigadier General Anthony Wayne's daring midnight assault against a British garrison at Stony Point. There is no admission charge for this special event; the battlefield opens at 1 PM on Sundays. Refreshments will be served following the exhibit opening.
Stony Point Battlefield State Historic Site, the only Revolutionary War Battlefield in Rockland County, is part of a statewide system of parks, recreation areas, and historic sites operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and is one of 24 facilities administered by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. For more information about the battlefield, the 1826 lighthouse, or the Marshall Map Exhibit, contact our website at http://ww2.lhric.org/spbattle/spbattle.htm.