England, The People Of Kingston, NY Thank You: If British troops hadn't burned over two hundred buildings in Kingston, NY, over two hundred years ago, this would be a pretty dull...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

If British troops hadn't burned over two hundred buildings in Kingston, NY, over two hundred years ago, this would be a pretty dull weekend in town.

For some reason, commemorating this mass destruction has become a popular annual event.

I like this headline. We have some really old people around here.

"New Yorkers remember 1777 Burning of Kingston by British"

debbie wrazen Loc: Western New York

Funny , Jerry. Alot of irony in your words. Going to a fort brings out the worse memories. This time of year, if you go to Fort Niagara, you'll be chased around by people who are dressed as plague victims, war casualties and Native Americans who were caught up in the war between the British and French. Flocks of the living line up each night for the goulish escapades. Go figure. This all being said, it is a feeling of pride and respect for the people who perform a duty others do not want to do and died for it . Really nice photos.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

debbie wrazen wrote:

Funny , Jerry. Alot of irony in your words. Going... (show quote)

I didn't attend, and I don't plan to go today, but those were the only two decent photos I could find.

Doddy Loc: Barnard Castle-England

It was a misunderstanding jerry. What happened was that a cold and wet redcoat, struck a match to light some rags to keep warm ..he burnt his fingers and in a reflex movement he flung the flaming rags into an open window of another building and things got out hand. By the time the horse drawn fire brigade got there it had spread to another 199 buildings...that's the unofficial excuse anyway!!!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Doddy wrote:

It was a misunderstanding jerry. What happened was that a cold and wet redcoat, struck a match to light some rags to keep warm ..he burnt his fingers and in a reflex movement he flung the flaming rags into an open window of another building and things got out hand. By the time the horse drawn fire brigade got there it had spread to another 199 buildings...that's the unofficial excuse anyway!!!

Sounds good to me, and coming from the nation that started the fire, it must be true. I'll pass that along.

Cynorman

was that O'Leary who struck the match?

sye Loc: The Old Dominion Near DC

jerryc41 wrote:

Sounds good to me, and coming from the nation that started the fire, it must be true. I'll pass that along.

Reminds me of the historical event during the War of 1812 when the British soldiers stuck flaming torches inside the "President's House" and other buildings in Wash DC to admire the interiors. Some torches accidentally fell inside those buildings, burning them down

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

sye wrote:

Reminds me of the historical event during the War of 1812 when the British soldiers stuck flaming torches inside the "President's House" and other buildings in Wash DC to admire the interiors. Some torches accidentally fell inside those buildings, burning them down

I've never heard that excuse; I was always told the the burning of Washington was a revenge act after their attempt to take Baltimore failed. I think I also read recently that what saved the part of DC that didn't burn was a torrential rain storm.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Cynorman wrote:

was that O'Leary who struck the match?

Yes, the great, great grandfather of Mrs. :D

William J Renard

An Irish friend ones told me, "I LOVE THE ENGLISH, THEY WILL ALLWAYS FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT THEY DID TO YOU."

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

Cynorman wrote:

was that O'Leary who struck the match?

Wrong coast- you're thinking of a cow in S.F., yes?

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

romanticf16 wrote:

Wrong coast- you're thinking of a cow in S.F., yes?

I thought that was in Chicago the cow that deed.

Frank D'Alessandro Loc: Kerhonkson, NY

It seems odd but the British did not burn houses in Kingston, NY. As was told to me by a Historian lecturer, the British burned down the barns of the Dutch farmers (Kingston was mostly Dutch at that time). The American rebel army in New York depended on a large amount of wheat that the Dutch farmers grew to make bread. The Dutch farmers learned that if you harvest the wheat early in the summer before it ripens and store the unripened wheat in their barns, the wheat will ripen in their warm barns.
The Dutch farmers planted another crop of wheat and harvested it in the fall. This way the Dutch farmers were able to get two crops of wheat in one year supplying the American troops with a good amount of wheat for breadmaking. The British were smart; leave the houses alone but burn the farmers barns.

fantom Loc: Colorado

Doddy wrote:

It was a misunderstanding jerry. What happened was that a cold and wet redcoat, struck a match to light some rags to keep warm ..he burnt his fingers and in a reflex movement he flung the flaming rags into an open window of another building and things got out hand. By the time the horse drawn fire brigade got there it had spread to another 199 buildings...that's the unofficial excuse anyway!!!

I had never heard that story and am not disputing it but you might want to get ahold of Pete Seeger's album "Fifty Sails on Newport Bay". A song on that album tells a very different story but it is a very humorous song and could be complete fiction. Worth a listening to anyway.

fantom Loc: Colorado

Hal81 wrote:

I thought that was in Chicago the cow that deed.

It was Chicago, in fact the Chgo Fire Academy now stands on the spot where Mrs. O'leary's stable was. Or at least it did when I lived there.