The Boot Monument

The Boot Monument can be found in the Saratoga National Historical Park in New York. It is an American Revolutionary War memorial, which celebrates and honors Major General Benedict Arnold who fought at the Battles of Saratoga in the Continental Army.

The dedication on the memorial reads, “Erected 1887 By JOHN WATTS de PEYSTER Brev: Maj: Gen: S.N.Y.2nd V. Pres't Saratoga Mon't Ass't'n: In memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army who was desperately wounded on this spot the sally port of BORGOYNES GREAT WESTERN REDOUBT 7th October, 1777 winning for his countrymen the decisive battle of the American Revolution and for himself the rank of Major General.”

The Boot Monument is the only war memorial in America that does not carry the name of its honoree.

It was donated by John Watts de Peyster who, during the American Civil War, was a Major General for the New York State Militia. He wrote numerous military stories about the Battle of Saratoga.

The Saratoga National Park was authorized as a New York State historic preserve in 1927.

It preserves the site where the Battles of Saratoga, the first significant American military victory

over the British during the Revolutionary war, were fought. In 1938, when the United States Congress authorized the Saratoga National Park, the battlefield was made part of the National Park System.