GUILDERLAND — On Friday evening, Sept. 12, eleven scouts and three adults from Guilderland’s Troop 50 left Guilderland to attend the annual Twin Rivers Council Fall Camporee.  This year, the camporee was held in Plattsburgh in conjunction with the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Plattsburgh, which was part of the War of 1812.

Troop 50 Scouts joined approximately 800 other Scouts who are also members of the Twin Rivers Council.  We were able to camp on the grounds of the United States Oval which had been the longest serving military base, starting in 1776 until its closing in 1995.

The Battle of Plattsburgh was one of the last battles of the War of 1812.  The majority of the fighting was on Lake Champlain.

The American Navy had anchored at Plattsburgh Bay and the ships were equipped with "springs" on the anchors that would allow them to spin completely around.  As the British Navy approached, the wind died down, which hampered the British ships.

The Americans were able to severely damage the British ships and, when their own were heavily damaged, they were able to release these anchor springs, turn the ships around, and continue firing upon the British with undamaged guns.

Once the commander of the British Army saw the damage done to the navy ships, he determined that he could not advance without proper naval support even though he had 10,000 men in comparison to the 1,500 troops on the American side.  The British retreated to Canada and, by December, the peace treaty at Trent was signed, ending the war.

The Scouts were able to walk the historic trail to read about the different aspects of the battle.  We climbed 156 steps to the top of the Plattsburgh Monument to enjoy the views of the area.  Some of the troop participated in the city parade in the afternoon.

A few of the older scouts had spent the previous week building a bed on wheels to be used in a bed race in downtown Plattsburgh.  A four-man team would push the bed while a rider would hang on for dear life.  The Troop came in third pace and also won the "Golden Bedpan" for best-decorated bed.

That evening, we enjoyed a hot meal of lasagna cooked in a Dutch oven along with garlic bread and corn on the cob.  Dessert consisted of an apple crisp also cooked in a Dutch oven.  After another good night’s sleep, we packed our belongings.

Some of the Scouts are members of the Guilderland and Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons cross-country team so they were able to run the Plattsburgh Connonball 5K on Sunday morning.  All in all, we had a very packed weekend and lots of fun.

Editor’s note: Sam Dikeman is the scoutmaster of Troop 50, which serves youths from 11 to 17 years of age. The troop meets Wednesdays when school is in session from 6:45 until 8 p.m. at the St. Madeleine Sophie Parish Center on Carman Road. For information, contact Dikeman at 356-3901 or Assistant Scoutmaster Larry Vincent at 859-9633.