Revolutionary War-related programming is ramping up nationwide in advance of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026, and local historical societies here in Dutchess County are leading the charge — battlefield pun intended — with their exciting Rev250 events.
Updating for 2026. Stay tuned!
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New York's Hudson Valley played a pivotal part in the Revolutionary War, and while no battles took place here in Dutchess County, the county's strategic location made it vital to the Patriot cause. The Village of Fishkill was home to one of the largest supply depots for the Continental Army during the war. And after the burning of Kingston by the British in 1777 — in retaliation for the Patriot victory at Saratoga — Poughkeepsie served as the state capital until the end of the war. General Friedrich Von Steuben of Germany, who introduced the basic training methods, marching drills and battlefield tactics he had learned in Europe to the soldiers in George Washington's Continental Army, set up his headquarters at Mount Gulian in Beacon following the Patriots' decisive victory in Yorktown, Va., in 1781 to protect the Hudson Valley from renewed attacks by the British. This location put him close to the Fishkill Supply Depot and right across the Hudson River from Washington’s headquarters in Newburgh. At the end of the war, the Society of the Cincinnati — America’s first veterans’ fraternal organization — was formed at Mount Gulian with Von Steuben presiding.
To read more about Dutchess County sites you can visit with ties to the American Revolution, click here.
