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Celebrating America's Revolutionary War victory with beacons in the Hudson Highlands - 24 November, 2009
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The Journal News
LAURA INCALCATERRA
November 24, 2009
FORT MONTGOMERY — It took eight long years of war, but on Nov. 25, 1783, the defeated British finally pulled out of the United States.
To mark the 226th anniversary of that day, known as Evacuation Day, five modern-day beacons will be lit in the Hudson Highlands.
The lighting will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Fort Montgomery State Historic Site, Cornwall-on-Hudson Landing, Boscobel Restoration, Constitution Island and Mount Beacon.
James Johnson, who is military historian of the Hudson River Valley and executive director of the Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, said the commemoration was being held "to remind people of[0xa0]how critical the two states (of New York and New Jersey) were[0xa0]to America's success in its war for independence."
The Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and New Jersey's Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area are also among the participants.
Johnson said lighting the beacons in the Hudson Highlands was also fitting because it would serve as a "fitting finale" to the state's Quadricentennial celebration, which marks Henry Hudson's 400th anniversary of sailing up the river.
According to a news release, Gen. George Washington used visual signals to communicate during the Revolution.
Back then, the beacons were typically wood towers filled with hay and dried grass rising' to 20 feet high.
If British troops were seen approaching at night, American soldiers would ignite the beacons, located on hilltops, and fire a cannon.
During the day, the beacons were lit and a red and white flag was waved.
On Wednesday, the beacons will be represented by Xenon TrackSpots, four-bulb searchlights programmed to light up the skies from 6 to 9 p.m.
Twelve searchlights will stretch for 108 miles between Beacon, N.Y., and Princeton, N.J., with five located in New York and seven in New Jersey.
The beacon projects in both 2008 and this year relied on the expertise and coordination of Emmy Award-winning lighting designer Deke Hazirjian, Josh Wachsman, Kris Seiz and Deke's company, New York City Lites, according to the news release.
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