It may seem obvious to some, and heresy to others, but sometimes history can feel “old,” repeating over and over the same plots, heroes, and facts. Then there are times, such as the wide-ranging collection of articles in this issue, when fresh material, techniques, or questions lead to new insights from even the most oft-told stories.

Laurence Hauptman challenges the popular myth that Indigenous people “disappeared” from the lower Hudson Valley in the face of expanding colonialism, and he reminds us that they also were subject to enslavement. Historians have written much about the two major Revolutionary War campaigns of 1777, Saratoga and Philadelphia, but no one has considered how they were managed by just one Commander-in-Chief. Mark Edward Lender appraises General Washington’s strategy, influence, and effectiveness across multiple warfronts throughout that pivotal year. Authors Amanda Malmstrom and Kate Menconeri present the social, political, and other cultural aspects of “landscape” before introducing thirteen contemporary women artists and their work that challenges and expands this term. Philip DuBois Bevier was a Huguenot and veteran of the American Revolution. He also was the father of eight young children when he died, leaving his widow, Ann DeWitt Bevier, to manage the family’s affairs. Natalie Serkowski DeStrange shares the details of Ann’s life as revealed in the account book she kept from 1802 to 1813. Finally, the Hudson River Valley has been called “the landscape that defined America,” but when is the last time you considered its “soundscape”? Whether it is the timing, diversity, and volume of birdsong in spring, or the ambient sounds of people, pets, music, and commerce at a farmer’s market, the sounds around us reflect a dynamic and ever-evolving phenomenon that informs and often enriches our lives. Joshua Groffman urges us to engage with our soundscape and provides examples for doing so.

With its collection of diverse topics and voices from the prehistoric to the present, we hope that you, too, will feel refreshed by the articles, book reviews, and New & Noteworthy titles presented in this issue.

THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY REVIEW
Vol. 40, No.2, Spring 2024

Native American History Through a Different Lens: Indigenous-African Connections in Colonial Westchester County and Environs
Laurence M. Hauptman

Commander-in-Chief: Washington, the 1777 Campaign, and Generalship Reconsidered
Mark Edward Lender

Women Reframe American Landscape: Contemporary Practices at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site
Amanda Malmstrom and Kate Menconeri

Notes and Documents

The Account Book of Ann Bevier: A Window into the Life of a Woman of the Early Republic
Natalie J. Serkowski DeStrange

Listening to the Hudson River Valley
Joshua Groffman

Book Reviews

Unfriendly to Liberty: Loyalist Networks and the Coming of the American Revolution in New York City
Christopher F. Minty, reviewed by Kieran O’Keefe

The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution
Kevin J. Weddle, reviewed by Michael Boden

The Eight: The Lemmon Slave Case and the Fight for Freedom
Albert M. Rosenblatt, reviewed by Richard Kreitner

New & Noteworthy Books