New Windsor Cantonment and National Purple Heart Hall of Honor

New Windsor Cantonment and

National Purple Heart Hall of Honor

374 Temple Hill Road

New Windsor, NY  12584

845-561-1765

www.nysparks.com

www.thepurpleheart.com

What’s there?  Historic site featuring Revolutionary War era original and reproduction camp buildings, craft and military demonstrations by period-costumed staff, museum exhibits featuring camp life, military artifacts and impressive cannon collection; Purple Heart Hall of Honor includes interactive exhibits on the lives of recipients and documentary about the medal.

Who is it for?  American and military history buffs of all ages, though probably best appreciated by kids over the age of 8. The museums are handicapped accessible, and the grounds paths are wide enough for wheelchairs and strollers, but there are some steep inclines that might present a challenge.

Where is it?  Located in Orange County on Route 300 (Temple Hill Road) just north of the 5 corners in Vails Gate.    

When is it open?  The museums and the grounds are open year round, Monday through Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5.  The Cantonment buildings are open and demonstrations available Wednesday though Sunday from mid-April through October.  Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.  Check the website or call for special programs throughout the year including Independence Day. 

How much will it cost you?   Admission and parking are free.  There is a small gift shop, and BYO picnicking is allowed on the grounds.   

While you are there…Knox’s Headquarters State Historic Site (the Ellison Mansion) is just off of Route 94, about a mile away from the Cantonment.  This fascinating site, headquarters at different times for Henry Knox and Horatio Gates, commander of the Cantonment, is also free with free parking.  Its hours are more limited, however—open seasonally from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, Friday and Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5, with tours led by costumed interpreters on the hour (no tour at 12 noon, last tour at 4).  Check the website or call ahead for details on special programming, such as the birthday celebration for Henry Knox this year to be held on Saturday, July 27 from 7-9 pm.

Why should you go?

It’s always fun to see people dressed up in period garb demonstrating life the way it was back in the day.  It’s especially meaningful to get a glimpse of how our soldiers lived and worked so long ago when anything they wanted or needed had to be manufactured by hand.  Gun cartridges, musket balls, medicines, even the nails to build the huts they lived in were all produced on site at the New Windsor Cantonment.

The Cantonment’s significance, however, is not limited to the craftsmanship practiced there.  This was the last permanent encampment of Washington’s troops prior to the end of the Revolutionary War.  The camp housed not only soldiers, but many of their families, as well as families of refugees. 

About 500 women and children lived here; many of the women earned their keep as laundresses, seamstresses, cooks and nurses.

The exhibits inside the museum predominantly feature firsthand accounts, including those of the women, and genuine artifacts of life in an 18^th century military outpost.

In addition to the camp life exhibits, the museum also houses a nifty little cannon and period weaponry collection on the lower floor. There’s even a “Hunt and Discover” activity designed to engage the interest of those with small children.

Inside the Temple of Virtue

A clearly marked self-guided path with interpretive signs leads visitors throughout the grounds. The most notable feature of the site is the area known as Temple Hill.  It was at the top of this rise that Washington ordered built the “Temple of Virtue,” a structure large enough to serve as a meeting place, a place of worship, a court martial, or any other purpose which required a large indoor space.  This was also the location where Washington famously faced down the “Newburgh Conspiracy,” a less than stellar moment in American military history.  Today, a historically accurate replica, based on original plans and descriptions from the era, occupies the site.  Inside, a visitor can view the meeting space as it likely looked when the soldiers used it.  This is also the site where guides dressed as soldier’s wives offer the field medicine demonstration.

Also of note on Temple Hill is the Temple Hill Monument, built in 1891.  The imposing fieldstone obelisk commemorates the significance of the site and also references Washington’s alleged connection to the Order of the Masons.

Original barracks hut

All of the camp structures on the grounds are replicas except for one.  At the end of the Revolutionary War, in order to pay its debts, the army disassembled and auctioned off all of the buildings at the Cantonment.  One original barracks hut, however, survived intact through private ownership and was eventually donated back when the Cantonment became a state historic site.  At this time, however, it can only be viewed from the outside. 

During our visit tourist traffic was light, enabling our pleasant and accommodating guide to give us his undivided attention as he demonstrated both blacksmithing and musketry. 

It certainly added to our enjoyment that we could ask as many questions as we wanted.  At the forge my 15 year old son engaged him in a lengthy discussion about the science of smithing, and we came away with a newly crafted iron nail as a souvenir.

The musketry demo was similarly impressive, as our guide donned his uniform coat and hat and, despite the humidity, successfully fired off his reproduction Charleville flintlock.

The Purple Heart Hall of Honor occupies a separate wing of the museum building. The Cantonment site is the location where 138 World War I recipients were honored in 1932.  The Hall is dedicated to honoring Purple Heart recipients throughout U.S. history and to educating the public about the significance of this award.  It is the goal of the Hall to eventually include the name of every one of the 1.7 million recipients in its electronic Roll of Honor.  So far they have found a little less than 200,000.  Visitors can hear recipients tell the stories of their sacrifices in their own words through the audio kiosks.  They can also view the documentary film “For Military Merit,” which chronicles the origin and meaning of the Purple Heart.   

Additional displays include an original 1782 heart-shaped “Badge of Merit,” the predecessor of today’s Purple Heart, as well as exhibits that feature life-saving equipment and the stories of famous and even lesser-known battles.

There is a small gift shop which, in addition to the usual mugs and books, features some more amusing souvenirs.  Kids might enjoy the “pieces of eight” collection, and my favorite, the candy “Ammo Pak”—a collection of candy gunpowder, musket balls and gun cartridges.  The items are reasonably priced and won’t break your pocketbook.

Picnicking is allowed on the lovely grounds; bring your own food, and carry out all of your trash.

 

The Cantonment and the Hall both offer special programming throughout the season.  Call ahead or check the website or Facebook page for particulars.  There's always something special to discover while exploring this slice of American history!