STILLWATER — Amoumou Amekudji may have been born in Togo, but Friday he became a Yankee Doodle Dandy.

“Today is my 35th birthday,” he said on the 4th of July, moments after taking the oath of allegiance making him an American citizen.

Amekudji was one of 20 foreign-born adults to become U.S. citizens during the Independence Day ceremonies at the Saratoga National Historical Park.

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a narrow country in West Africa bordering Ghana. The official language is French and Amekudji this year completed his doctorate in French Studies at the University at Albany

He has done some part-time teaching at UAlbany and the College of Saint Rose and said he will pursue a full-time university teaching position.

“I’ve been in the United States for five years and today means a great deal to me,” he said. “To become a citizen on my birthday is very special to me.”

The annual ceremony at the national park was conducted under sunny skies. Many of the speakers during the ceremony commented on the significance of the park lands where the Battles of Saratoga took place and the British surrendered to the Americans.

celebratory shot

A replica cannon put into service last year was given one of its first public demonstrations Friday.

Nicknamed “The Baroness,” the cannon arrived at the park last year from the manufacturer in Ohio, according to Park Ranger Joe Craig.

“It’s a light six-pounder,” Craig said. “That’s not the weight of the gun, but the weight of the projectile it could fire.”

He said blank cartridges are used for the demonstrations, though “It could fire a real shot.”

The cannon is named for Baroness von Riedesel, wife of Baron von Riedesel, who commanded the German forces under British Gen. John Burgoyne. The baroness and her children witnessed the sights and sounds of the battles from a house in what is now Schuylerville.

Bryan Whalen of Waterford was one of the seven volunteers dressed in Revolutionary War costumes who tended to the cannon Friday.

He said it’s a lot different from the M-1 cannons he manned in Iraq during his service in the U.S. Army.

“I retired in 2006,” he said. “I’m used to shooting M-1s and 105mm artillery. This is a lot more fun because nobody’s shooting back at me.”

Whalen’s father, Robert Whalen of Hoosick Falls, is also a member of the National Park volunteer artillery group. The elder Whalen is a Vietnam War veteran.

The men joked that although they had been practicing to fire the cannon for several weeks, the first public shot was delayed when a quill, the fuse on the gun, was too large and failed to light the charge.

When it finally did light, the fuse set a off blast that echoed through the valley and drew applause from the crowd.

mother & son citizens

Among the people who jumped from the sound of the cannon were aunt and nephew Valentina and Oleg Sandul, formerly of Moldova in eastern Europe, which declared its independence from the then-Soviet Union in 1991.

Valentina Sandul relied on her nephew to translate her answers to questions about becoming an American citizen.

She said she has been in the country for about eight years and has been raising her children, ages 7 months to 15 years old, in Cohoes.

Oleg, 19, said his mother became a citizen last year and his younger siblings were automatically included as Americans when she was sworn in.

“But I was 18 and had to study myself to become a citizen,” he said, adding that he is employed in a Cohoes scrap yard.

Among the speakers to the new citizens was Assemblyman Roy McDonald, who is a candidate for the state Senate and hopes to replace the retiring Sen. Joseph Bruno.

McDonald urged the Americans to vote and participate in government.

“Go easy on the politicians, will you?,” McDonald said. “You have the freedom to tell politicians where to go, but please use it sparingly.”