News

June 15, 2017

L.T. Tantillo Unveils “Saratoga, 1745” at CSSC’s Legacy Circle of Service Luncheon

Len Tantillo unveiled his most recent painting, “Saratoga, 1745”, at Colonie Senior Service Center’s (CSSC) Legacy Circle of Service Luncheon on Wednesday, June 14 at the Beltrone Living Center. His presentation not only included this painting, but also his rich family history, where he gets most of his inspiration.

He has produced over 300 paintings and drawings of New York State history and in 2016 was elected a Fellow of the New York Academy of History. “Saratoga, 1745” was a project that Tantillo was commissioned for by CSSC Board Member, J. Eric King.

Tantillo went into detail about his Italian roots, and how his grandparents immigrated to New York City, eventually making their way up the Hudson River- heading into Kingston and Newburgh.  In the end, it was New Paltz, New York, just over an hour south of the Capital Region, where his parents decided they would settle, and where the future artist would grow up and learn his love for the New York landscape and history.

There is very little documentation about the Battle of Saratoga, but what research implies is that

in the mid-1700s, Saratoga was a flourishing settlement on the Hudson River south of Schuylerville. The major landowner was Philip Schuyler, the uncle of General Philip Schuyler of Albany. There were farmsteads, cultivated fields, mills, a harbor area, a blacksmith shop, and a fort, all in close proximity to the manor house of Philip Schuyler. The principal source of revenue was milled lumber bound for Albany and New York.  About two hundred people lived there.

In late November of 1745, a force of six hundred French soldiers and Indians set out from Montreal to destroy the settlement. They attacked Saratoga with a vengeance leaving total devastation in their wake. When it was over, thirty inhabitants had been killed. One hundred and nine survivors were taken prisoner and transported to Montreal. Fortunately, the remaining residents were wintering in Albany at the time. The ruins of Saratoga smoldered into dust and the settlement was never rebuilt.

CSSC honored Jean C. Albert, the newest member of the Legacy Circle of Service Society, a gift giving society to honor and acknowledge donors who remember CSSC in their estate plans.