This article is about a war veteran who
got a marker on his grave site Sunday afternoon. The veteran is
General Horatio Gates he was the commander of the American forces who
defeated the British force while General John Burgoyne was leading
them in October 1777. On Sunday afternoon, more than 150 people
gathered at the cemetery just off Wall Street to celebrate the
installation of a marker that will serve as his gravestone and to
highlight his long-neglected role in American history (Turkewitz).
Gates was born in England and became a soldier. After getting very
frustrated with the British he sailed across the sea over to the
United States where he lived in Virginia as a farmer. When the
Revolutionary War broke out he volunteered to join the American side.
By August 1777, the British and American forces were at a standoff in
New York. Gates was placed at the head of the Northern Army. Within a
month of taking control, his force grew to be equal in size to that
of the British. Eventually he amassed an army of 17,000 men. “People
kept coming in,” Mr. Kaplan said. “It was like Woodstock”
(Turkewitz). I think its a great thing that a war hero and veteran is
finally getting the respect and honor that he deserves.
Zachary Lewallen
10/26/2012
3:15pm
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