SUNY Potsdam students document Revolutionary War history through fellowship

Six SUNY Potsdam students took part in a fellowship program examining Revolutionary War history through archival records, handwritten letters, pension files and selected mid-18th-century artifacts. The work is part of a larger effort tied to the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026.

The students were Sharonmarie Bartz, Nicholas Cardenas, Ryan Costin, Teresa Dickson, Logan Lavallee and Noah Schwartz. Each received $4,800 for 150 hours of work with town or county historical societies or local historians. The program was supported by a $300,000 grant and $150,000 in matching funds.

The work included research into veterans and historical records rather than a physical Revolutionary War excavation. Bartz worked with the Clarkson town historian and located a handwritten 1938 town history by William Wilkinson.

Michael Oberg, a distinguished history professor at SUNY Geneseo, directs the Gardiner Semiquincentennial Summer Fellowship program. SUNY Potsdam history professor Tom Baker oversees the students.

The project has included presentations at the Potsdam Public Library, where the students shared their fellowship work. The program is expected to continue through summer 2027, with an online exhibition and a book planned as future results.

The research gives North Country communities a way to examine local connections to the Revolutionary War through historical societies, town records and family documents. SUNY Potsdam has also been involved in other archaeological projects, including work connected to Civil War Camp Union in Potsdam, prehistoric finds along the Raquette River and a planned 2026 dig at the Adirondack Experience in Blue Mountain Lake. Those projects are separate from the Revolutionary War fellowship work.

More information is available through SUNY Potsdam's fellowship announcement and its Remembering 1776 project page.