The Pulitzer Prize finalist H.W. Brands, for example, wrote “Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution” in 2022, changing the way readers viewed the struggle for independence, and highlight the choices most had to make as the Revolution unfolded.

In the book, Brands examines the impact that the war had on the average American citizen, and in the process reminds us, as the Washington Post noted in their review, “that division, as much as unity, is central to the founding of our nation."

This is a story told regularly at Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History in Narrowsburg, where visitors are typically greeted early on by an introduction to the interactive exhibit, “A Settlement Divided”, which demonstrates the impact the war had on the settlers in Cushetunk, the first permanent European settlement in the Upper Delaware River Valley. The settlers’ divided loyalties culminated in the Battle of Minisink, in which they were represented on both sides, and ultimately led to the demise of the settlement.

But the Cushetunk settlers were not the only people living on the frontier who found their lives altered by the Revolutionary War. All throughout upstate New York, for example, citizens’ lives during the conflict were marked by constant military threat, economic strain, and deep cultural conflict. Settlers faced raids from British forces, Loyalists, and Native Americans allied with the British. And Loyalist families, on the other hand, were often subjected to raids by Scouts representing Committees of Safety and were no more secure.

That’s the story told in a new immersive exhibit called “The Great Fear: Frontier Lie in the American Revolution” now on display at Time & The Valleys Museum in Grahamsville as part of the American Semiquincentennial commemoration.

Donna Steffens, the very capable Director of the Museum, and her staff have created a unique look at many different aspects of the Revolutionary War’s impact on the New York settlements. “This new exhibition tells the story of frontier life during the Revolution in the Ulster-Orange County area of 1700s New York,” Steffens says. “Border wars between British Loyalists and their native allies and Patriot settlers (including the attack on Pinebush and the Battle of Chestnut Woods), Native Americans pushed off their lands, harshness of settler life, frontier forts that protected settlers along today’s Rt 209, the native trails that turned into roads we use today, and so much more.”

The Battle of Chestnut Woods, of course, is one of only two significant Revolutionary War actions to take place in the area that would become Sullivan County. On September 5, 1778, a small group of militia from Fort Honk were ambushed by a contingent of Loyalists and Native Americans near where the Chestnut Brook flows into the Pepacton Creek. The location of the ensuing battle is just a stone’s throw from the Museum, and Grahamsville is named for John Graham, one of the Patriot militia killed that day. The story of the battle is an integral part of the exhibit.

In addition to offering an insightful look at New York’s frontier during the Rev War era, the exhibit is visually pleasing and includes “a recreated Lenape wigwam and settler cabin, and the sounds of animals and fighting at the Battle of Chestnut Woods, along with games, activities and hands-on reproduction items.”
It is not just informative, but entertaining for visitors of all ages.

Time and the Valleys Museum is located at 332 Main Street (St. Rt. 55) in Grahamsville. It is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. through September or by appointment. Adult admission is $10, Children under 16 $5, and children under six are free. Museum members are always admitted for free.

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com. Tomorrow, Saturday, August 8, he will be one of the speakers at the dedication of the Borscht Belt Historical Marker in Rock Hill at 12 noon.