Events

News Release NWC 25-2 Contact: Chad Johnson For Immediate Release Phone: (845) 562-7141 ext. 22 FAX: (845) 561-6577 E-mail:chad.johnson@parks.ny.gov "Honor our Nation's Fallen Military at the New Windsor Cantonment May 26, 2025" New Windsor, NY -- In honor of America's military and their families on Monday Memorial Day, at 2:00 PM, an 18th century funeral service, President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, one of the most poignant eulogies of the “honored dead”, followed by a military demonstration. Admission is free. For more information, please call the site at (845) 562-7141 ext. 22. New Windsor Cantonment is located on Route 300 (374 Temple Hill Road) in the Town of New Windsor, two miles east of Stewart Airport. It is three miles from the intersection of I-87 and I-84 in Newburgh, New York. New Windsor Cantonment was an encampment of more than 7,000 Continental Army soldiers and some of their families over the winter of 1782-83. The Temple of Virtue overlooks the "Grand Parade", the very field where soldiers gathered to hear George Washington's proclamation announcing the end to the fighting. In 1883, Civil War veterans of the 124th New York, “the Orange Blossoms” gathered on the old Revolutionary campground to honor the Continental army. Over 90 years ago, one of the first public ceremonies to award the Purple Heart military decoration was held here on Memorial Day, in 1932. More than 100 veterans of the First World War received the Medal. Just one mile from the Cantonment, Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site will open for the 2025 season on Saturday May 24, 2025. Here the Ellison family, one of the most prosperous in the mid-Hudson Valley during the 18th century, built a country estate called "Mount Ellison." Elegantly furnished by John and Catherine Ellison, the 1754 mansion served as headquarters for Revolutionary War generals Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox, and Horatio Gates. The home is open for tours Wednesday through Saturday 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM & 4:00 PM and Sunday at 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM & 4:00 PM through the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. For more information about Knox's Headquarters please call (845) 562-7141 ext. 22. In addition to the special programs and activities, the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor and the New Windsor Cantonment Visitor Center are open. These buildings feature the story of the Purple Heart, the history of the New Windsor Cantonment: Behind Every Great Man: The Continental Army in Winter, 1782-83, Revolutionary War artifacts and the exhibit The Last Argument of Kings, Revolutionary War Artillery. A picnic grove is available and there is plenty of free parking. Also be sure to visit Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh, a short drive from the New Windsor Cantonment. New Windsor Cantonment State Historic Site is part of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission administers 40 parks, parkways and historic sites for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in New York as well as the Palisades Interstate Park and parkway in New Jersey. For more information about New York State parks and historic sites, please visit our website at www.parks.ny.gov and follow the links for historic sites.