American Revolutionary War Veteran Nicholas G. Veeder outside his home in 1862. Nicholas was born in Schenectady County, New York on December 25, 1761.
In 1855, Nicholas stated that he enrolled in 1777 at the age of 16, serving in the 2nd Albany County Militia Regiment commanded by Abraham Wemple.
This regiment participated with the Continental Army at the Battle of Saratoga (1777), if Nicholas had join by that time is not known since he lacked documentation for his service and testified that “all witnesses to his service are now deceased”.
According to his tales, he had various assignments during the war, such as escorting prisoners to Ballston prison, garrison duty at Fort Paris (established in 1777 near Stone Arabia and abandoned in 1781), New York, and routing Tories. He also served as a scout with a band of Oneida Natives, seeking the arrest of a well known British spy named Joseph Bettis.
After the war he became a boat builder and a collector of war memorbilia which gave him a well known reputation. He opened a museum for his collection in his home that would be known as “The Old Fort”. This, along with him being the last local survivor of the war was a popular tourist attraction in his later years. He offered guided tours to local landmarks, entertaining the audience with war stories along the way.
In this picture he’s posed in front of his museum in full military regalia-complete with an old tricorn hat- surrounded by muskets and a Liberty flag.
