A 70-year-old Benjamin Franklin passed through upstate New York in the spring of 1776 on a mission to Canada that failed in the moment but helped shape the American Revolution.
Traveling north in poor health, Franklin traveled up the Hudson River, passing through Albany, Saratoga, and up Lake Champlain, reaching Montreal in April 1776.
The delegation, which notably stayed at the homes of Philip Schuyler in Albany and Saratoga, faced harsh conditions, limited support, and political resistance, ultimately returning without achieving their objectives to convince Canada to become the 14th colony.
The Second Continental Congress sent Franklin on the mission, along with Marylanders Samuel Chase (later an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States), Charles Carroll (1737–1832, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence), and his cousin John Carroll (1735–1815, a Jesuit, the first Catholic bishop in the U.S., and a founder of Georgetown University).
Saratoga 250 will commemorate the 250th anniversary of that journey on Tuesday, April 14 at 7 pm at the Champlain Canal Region Gateway Visitors Center in Schuylerville, NY.
The presentation, “Benjamin Franklin Slept Here,” will be delivered by Town of Saratoga Historian and regular New York Almanack contributor Sean Kelleher. It explores Franklin’s attempt to persuade Canada to join the revolutionary cause and examines why the effort failed.
Kelleher emphasizes Franklin’s age and experience at the time. At 70, he was one of the oldest figures in the revolutionary leadership, bringing decades of diplomatic skill but also confronting the physical limits of travel in wartime.
Historians note that the failure of the Canadian mission influenced Franklin’s later success in France, where he secured the alliance that proved critical to American independence.
The talk also connects Franklin’s journey to the Saratoga region’s later significance during the Battles of Saratoga, which helped convince France to support the American cause.
The program is part of Saratoga 250’s broader effort to prepare for the Semiquincentennial through heritage tourism and public history programming.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required via this website.
Read more about Benjamin Franklin.
Illustration: “Charles Carroll’s Mission to the Canadians, 1776,” the Wheeler Leaflets on Maryland History, by New York City artist J. Carroll Mansfield, 1945.
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