New exhibits at New York State Military Museum employ augmented reality to tell the story of the 1777 Battle of Saratoga.
Saratoga Springs, New York (08/06/2026) — An addition to the exhibits at the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, which uses visitors' cell phones to tell a story, has been installed to help mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Saratoga in 2027.
Four life-sized banners featuring figures involved in the decisive series of battles which began on Sept. 19, 1777, and ended with surrender of the British Army on October 17, 1777, are featured in the exhibit.
Each poster features a QR code. When scanned the code opens a video on which a 3-D animated character representing that historic figure tells their story.
The four people featured are:
--Major General Benedict Arnold who George Washington considered one of his best officers and played a key role in producing an American victory at Saratoga. But three years later Arnold would offer to sell-out Washington and the American fort at West Point to the British.
--British Lt. General John Burgoyne, who came up with the plan to invade the northern states from Canada and who was forced to surrender to the Continental Army at Saratoga.
--Colonel Daniel Morgan, a Virginian whose regiment of riflemen were sent by George Washington to reinforce the northern Army at Saratoga and who played a key role in the victory.
--Baroness Frederika Charlotte Louise von Riedesel, who accompanied her German office husband on the expedition south from Canda, along with her three daughters, and who kept a diary of her experiences.
During the battles fought at Saratoga in the fall of 1777, the Continental Army forced the surrender of just under 6,000 British and German mercenary troops which were sent to capture Albany, New York and cut New England off from the rest of the colonies.
The victory convinced France to openly side with the United States during the war, which forced the British to dilute their support for the war in America.
The museum, which tells the story of New Yorkers at war, includes a Revolutionary War exhibit, but this addition no the exhibit lends "a little excitement with the technology used," said Richard Goldenberg, the director of history for the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs
"We are so pleased here at the Military Museum to add these augmented reality banners that can give a voice to the history here in Saratoga," Goldenberg added.
The Division of Military and Naval Affairs is the state executive agency which administers the New York Army and Air National Guard at the direction of the governor. The Agency is responsible for the museum which holds thousands of artifacts including the largest Civil War flag collections in the world.
The posters were donated to the museum by the Friends of the New York State Military Museum, a not-for profit which supports the museum and the Rotary Club of Saratoga Springs.
The New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center is located at 61 Lake Avenue in Saratoga Springs.
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This banner of Benedict Arnold, the hero of the 1777 Battale of Saratoga, who later turned traitor to the American cause, lets visitors to the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, New York, learn about his story when they use their phone to scan a QR code. Four of these banners are now part of the exhibit at the museum which is run by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.
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