Newtown Battlefield
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Location | 451 Oneida Road, Elmira, New York |
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Coordinates | 42°2′43″N 76°44′0″W / 42.04528°N 76.73333°WCoordinates: 42°2′43″N 76°44′0″W / 42.04528°N 76.73333°W |
Built | 1779 |
NRHP Reference # | 72000826 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 28 November 1972 |
Designated NHL | 28 November 28, 1972 |
Newtown Battlefield State Park, formerly known as Newtown Battlefield Reservation, was the site of the Battle of Newtown fought in August 1779, during the American Revolutionary War. It was the only major battle of the Sullivan Expedition, an armed offensive led by General John Sullivan that was ordered by the Continental Congress to end the threat of the Iroquois who had sided with the British in the American Revolutionary War. In the battle, the Iroquois were defeated decisively. The site is today managed as a 372-acre (1.51 km2) state park.
Because the present day battlefield is quite heavily wooded and obscured to the casual passerby on the highway below, a narrow column of white granite known as the Newton Battlefield Monument sits atop the hill where this historic battle once took place in Elmira, in Chemung County. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
On January 19, 2010, New York State Governor David Paterson proposed closing the park to reduce the state's growing budget deficit. However, the park was allowed to remain open after budget adjustments were made throughout the state's park system.