Minisink, New York: Minisink Battleground Park

Sullivan County (NY) is located near the point where New York comes together with Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It might surprise you to know that it only had one battle during the entire Revolutionary War.

It didn't go so well for the good guys.

Captain Joseph Brant thought he had a chance to demoralize some of the people of the colonies, so he, some British forces, and some Natives pushed up the Delaware River Valley. The people of the colonies urged a response, even though the odds weren't exactly on their side.

Lt. Col. Benjamin Tustin led a relative handful of American troops into the region. As advertised, it didn't go so well. The Colonials were routed, and the British suffered relatively minor losses. We are talking less than 200 soldiers in all, so this was not exactly a major battle. But since it is the only battlefield of that era, Sullivan County turned it into a park. You can see a monument to perished on the hiking trail, as well as some key landmarks in the immediate area. It's a nice place to collect a little history and have a pleasant walk.

Brant, by the way, kept going. But he ran into bigger forces just east of Elmira, and was defeated.

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