On national “Celebrate Trails Day” this Saturday, April 26th, between 1 pm and 3 pm Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site will be hosting a “Pike Hike,” honoring the life and legacy of Brigadier General Zebulon Montgomery Pike.
The self-guided route weaves its way through the village, starting at the historic site’s Union Hotel building, continuing to Pike’s Monument at the Military Cemetery, Fort Pike Park in Madison Barracks, and the historic site’s navy yard. At each stop meet soldiers of the Ft. Drum 10th Mountain Division Mountain Sappers 41st Engineer Battalion, Sackets Harbor’s Snap-Link partner.
The 2.5 mile Sackets Harbor Pike Hike is nothing compared to Pike’s recorded 4,123 miles. Add cargo trips and surveying, his total rises to 9,000 miles. As an Army captain commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, Pike explored much of the American West. His leadership at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe resulted in promotion to Brigadier General. Pike is known all over the world, with many locations named for him.
During the War of 1812, Pike served at Sackets Harbor. On April 27, 1813 he led the raid on York, Upper Canada (Toronto) where he was killed; buried first at the navy yard (today the state historic site), then by 1820 reburied in the new Madison Barracks cemetery with a monument added in 1885, again reburied in 1909 in the relocated Military Cemetery.
This event is open to the public. Email sacketsharborbattlefieldSHS@parks.ny.gov to arrange for a hike map, or call (315) 646-3634 for more information.
Illustration: Zebulon Pike by Charles Willson Peale (detail).
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