Maddox Skigen '27 has fought (and died) for his country in battle more times than he can recall. It's fun, plus it's inspiring and even patriotic. Next year, Maddox will once again stand in defense of his country. Only next time, the weapons won't be props.
Jennifer Dorsey, Ph.D., professor of history, used her contacts to get Maddox an interview with the Schenectady County Historical Society. Maddox is a history major with a certificate in Revolutionary Era Studies and a cadet in the Mohawk Army ROTC Battalion. That resume, plus Professor Dorsey's endorsement, likely would have been enough to secure Maddox the internship. But then he played his trump card.
"I told them about my four years involved with the 3rd New Jersey Regiment. We're one of the largest and most progressive Revolutionary War reenactment groups in the country. We've worked with Ken Burns, and I was interviewed for a PBS documentary. So yeah, I think that sealed the internship for me."
This fall, Maddox has been assigned the historical society's research projects that are focused on the American Revolution. It's a lot of research, and it all aligns perfectly with his passion. After all, Maddox and George Washington lived across the street from each other... approximately 250 years apart.
Maddox is from New Windsor, a small town in Orange County, NY. At the start of 1783, Washington and the Continental Army used the New Windsor Cantonment State Historical Site as their final major winter encampment at the tail end of the Revolutionary War. Almost 250 years later, their legacy is part of the New Windsor community.
"It surrounded me growing up. Living in close proximity to where, for example, Washington put an end to the Newburgh Conspiracy, it consumed my everyday."
Maddox felt so moved by General Washington, he enlisted. Maddox proudly reenacts battles of 1776 with the Jersey Grays as a means of connecting with past. He knew for a while that his future would go through Siena.
"It was either going to be West Point or Siena. Those were the only schools I looked at. I knew I wanted ROTC and I found out that Siena has one of the top Revolutionary Studies programs in the country."
Later this month, Maddox will participate in a revolutionary era reenactment at Mabee Farms, site of the oldest still standing house in the Mohawk Valley. The event, hosted by the Schenectady County Historical Society, is an annual immersive educational experience for the audience, and for Maddox, the build-up has been a valuable lesson in event planning and logistics. Someday, he may want to teach or host reenactment events, and those skills will be invaluable. But first, he's ready to serve.
Maddox will commission to Army active duty in May, likely as an infantry officer. The Jersey Grays, under the command of General Washington, marched through New York City and into New Jersey and then onto Pennsylvania, in their gray wool coats. But beginning next spring...
"I'll go wherever the Army needs me."
