New York Forts

American Forts: East

NEW YORK

Last Update: 17/NOVEMBER/2007

Fort Montgomery (2)
(1862 - 1910), Rouses Point
Construction on "Fort Blunder" began in 1817, but halted in 1819 because it was thought to be on Canadian soil. It was resumed in 1842 after the border was moved to match the previous survey. It was never fully garrisoned. A bridge project in 1936 (US 2) cannibalized many of the original stones. Only one outer wall and three bastions remain from the pentagon-shaped fortress. Private property.

Point Au Fer Fort
(1775 - 1796), Point au Fer
A Patriot sympathizer's (William Gilliland) fortified stone dwelling, built only a few years earlier, known as the White House, stockaded with brick barracks and cannon for a Patriot garrison. It was abandoned after the failed 1775 expedition to Québec City, but the British did not actually garrison the post until 1777. The British did not relinquish the post until the 1796 Jay Treaty, but it was not thereafter used by the Americans. The stone house burned down in 1805. Some traces may still be extant on private property.

Plattsburgh Defenses
(1812 - 1815), Plattsburgh
Located here were American redoubts Fort Brown (eight guns) on the Saranac River at United States Ave. (still exists), Fort Moreau (12 guns) on the ridge, and Fort Scott (eight guns) on the bluff by Lake Champlain. They were built in 1814, about one year after the initial British attack on the town (July 1813). After the Battle of Plattsburgh (September 1814), two additional forts were built, Fort Tompkins (2) (three guns) south of Fort Brown, and Fort Gaines (four guns) south of Fort Scott, forming a pentagon with the previous three forts. Three blockhouses were also built near the river's mouth. In 1814 the British built a seige battery just north of the mouth of the Saranac River, at the Kent-DeLord House (British HQ), located on Cumberland Ave.. The house is now a museum.

Plattsburgh Barracks (1814 - 1946), was originally Cantonment Plattsburgh (1812 - 1814), the main encampment during the war along the Saranac River. By 1814 the compound was composed of 40 log structures inside the pentagon formed by the five forts. The post later moved slightly south in 1825 with three new stone structures, which still remain. Several 1890's era buildings also still remain. The "Citizen's Military Training Camp at Plattsburgh" in 1917 was the forerunner to the establishment of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). Later the post was greatly enlarged and became the Plattsburgh Air Force Base (1953 - 1993), a major SAC base which is now closed. Command Headquarters of a regional 12-missile ATLAS-F ICBM squadron from 1961 - 1965.

Nearby on Crab Island (formerly USAF property) was an American two-gun battery and an Army Hospital from 1814. Located on Cumberland Head in 1814 was a temporary four-gun heavy battery with a rear redoubt, known as Fort Izard. It was abandoned after only a few weeks as it was found to be useless for defense.

Plattsburgh Arsenal
(1810 - 1813), Plattsburgh
A state arsenal once located on the Saranac River at then Fredenburgh Falls, about two miles inland from the lake on present-day Broad Street. Also here were an armory, hospital, militia blockhouse, and cantonment area. It was destroyed by the British in July 1813.

Willborough Blockhouse
(1797 - 1798), Essex
A blockhouse supposedly built for protection from Indians. It was used as the first county courthouse from 1799 - 1807.

Fort Crown Point (State Historical Site)
(1759 - 1783), Crown Point ¤MAP¤
Located here are the ruins of French Fort St. Frédéric (1731 - 1759), a 300-foot square 62-gun stone work, which was destroyed in July 1759 to avoid capture by the British. It included a four-story stone tower and stone barracks. It had been enlarged in 1736 and 1742. The British then built their new fort adjacent to the ruins, a five-bastioned pentagon covering six and one-half acres, with over 100 guns. It was the largest singular British work in colonial America. Some later historians have referred to the British fort as Fort Amherst (2), although there is no official record of that name. Grenadier's Fort was built to the east, Light Infantry of Regiments Redoubt was built to the southeast, and Gage's Redoubt was built to the southwest. A fire partially destroyed the fort in 1773, it was never completely rebuilt. Crown Point was occupied by Patriot forces from May 1775 to October 1776. Many of the guns were transported to Boston, MA in 1775. Reoccupied by British troops through the war. Crown Point tour | Another website at Univ. of PA.

Fort Ticonderoga
(1755 - 1796), Ticonderoga
French Fort Vaudreuil (1750) was originally located here. The French later built Fort Carillon. The British unsuccessfully attacked in July 1758, but finally took it from the French in July 1759. Patriot forces captured it in May 1775 and sent most of its guns to Boston, MA. The British recaptured it in July 1777 but abandoned it in 1780. The Americans did not make much use of the fort later, and it was demolished after it was finally abandoned. Much of the fort was reconstructed privately in 1908. Admission fee. Fort Ti tour | Another website from HistoricLakes.com | Another website from Spirit of 76.com | Another website (c).

Fortifications on Mount Defiance, located nearby, were linked to this fort, as were those on Mount Independence in Vermont. Mount Hope Blockhouse was located one-half mile from the town guarding the portage from Lake George. It was originally built in 1756 by the French, and then used by the British, and later the Patriots after it was rebuilt in 1776. It was restored in 1947. Lothbiniére Battery was built by the French on the point on the lake below Fort Carillon.

Fort Skenesborough
(1759 - 1783, 1814 - 1815), near Whitehall
Originally named Fort Wilkens until 1775, it consisted of a stockaded blockhouse and barracks located on a hill to the west of Wood Creek (between present-day Presbyterian Church and Masonic Temple). It was dilapidated when the Patriots took control. The Patriots then built a new fort on the site, and also a shipyard at the harbor for Benedict Arnold's Lake Champlain fleet. The British briefly captured the fort in July 1777, also fortifying a nearby livestock barn. After the Patriot victory at Saratoga in 1777, the fort and shipyard were back in Patriot hands. The fort and shipyard were again raided by the British in 1780.

During the War of 1812, a new blockhouse and barracks (aka Philipsburg Blockhouse) were built on the old fort's site by the Americans to protect the shipyard that was again being used. The town was originally named Skenesborough, and may have been named Philipsburg before it was renamed Whitehall. Whitehall tour
Also of interest: Skenesborough Museum, which has the remains of the schooner U.S.S. Ticonderoga (1814) on exhibit.

¤ Forts of the Great Portage
(The Battle of Lake George/Bloody Pond August 1755)

¤ Fort William Henry (2) (museum)
(1755 - 1757), Lake George
A square palisade with four bastions, and log barracks. The British surrendered it to the French in August 1757. After the surrender Indians massacred the troops and their dependents, and the French troops burned all the bodies with the fort in a huge bonfire. The charred ruins were buried in 1758 upon the building of Fort George (3). The fort was reconstructed beginning in 1953. Admission fee. The Battle of Fort William Henry.

¤ Fort George (3)
(1759 - 1787), Lake George
Located one-half mile southeast of Fort William Henry at Lake George Battlefield Park. The site was a British fortified camp in 1755, and a British barracks and hospital complex in 1758. Only the southwest bastion of the fort was ever completed. Patriots captured this fort in May 1775, but the British held it in July-September 1777 and October 1780. The New York militia occupied the fort after the war until 1787. The eastern wall was partially reconstructed in the 1930's.

¤ Fort Gage
(1759 - 1760), Lake George
An earthwork fort located one-half mile south of Fort George. No remains.

¤ Fort Williams (2)
(1759 - 1760), near Lake George
Located three miles south of Fort George. A post may have been built here as early as 1755.

¤ Fort Amherst (1)
(1759 - 1760, 1775 - 1780), Queensbury
Located at the halfway point between Fort Edward and Fort George, on the south bank of Halfway Brook. It was first called Fort Miller (2). Rebuilt in 1775 by Patriot forces, occupied in 1777 by Hessian troops, burned by the British in October 1780.

Nearby was British Halfway Brook Post (1755 - 1760), aka Seven Mile Post, a stockaded blockhouse on the south bank.

¤ Fort Edward
(Old Fort House Museum)
(Rogers Island Visitor Center)
(1755 - 1766, 1777 - 1780), Fort Edward
Originally named Fort Lyman in 1755. It was rebuilt and renamed in 1757 after a fire. A small battery was located on nearby Rodgers Island. The Royal Blockhouse (1) (1758) was located on the west-side of the river. Another small blockhouse was located on a hill to the north (or possibly the same one). The fort was partially demolished in 1766. The present-day house on the site was built in 1772 by Patrick Smyth from the remaining timbers (Old Fort House Museum). Patriot forces used the site as a camp from 1776 to 1777. Became the Patriot base of operations after the recapture of Fort Ticonderoga by the British in July 1777. Abandoned and then occupied by the British on their advance to Saratoga. After the Battle of Saratoga (October 1777), Patriot forces under Gen. John Stark took over the house and erected a stockade around it, naming it Fort Stark (1). Due to course changes in the Hudson River over the years, the site of Fort Edward is now completely on an enlarged Rogers Island. Traces remain. The Rogers Island Visitor Center opened in 2001. Admission fee to Fort House.Fort Edward tour

British Fort Nicholson, a simple stockade, was first located here in 1709, followed by Fort Lydius from 1731 - 1745 to protect a trading post built by John Henry Lydius, the first white settler of the area. It was destroyed by the French. British Four Mile Post (1755 - 1760) was located four miles to the north.

¤ Fort Misery
(1755 - 1764, 1777), Fort Edward
A palisaded blockhouse just south of Fort Edward on Moses Kill. It was abandoned, but briefly used by Patriots in 1777 to guard the approach to Fort Edward.

¤ Fort Anne (3)
(1692 - 1780, intermittent), Fort Ann
The site of a fortified British camp in 1690 during King William's War, on the original portage to Lake Champlain from the Hudson River. In 1692 the site was again used by the British on their way to Canada, building the first fort here, Old Stone Fort (1), which was really a rough earthwork. In 1709 Fort Schuyler (1) was built at the site. It was a 140-square foot palisaded stockade with two log barracks, with 20-square foot blockhouses at each corner. It was burned down that same year. In 1711 the fort was rebuilt and named Queen's Fort (3), renamed Fort Anne upon completion. It was abandoned in 1712 when reinforcements failed to arrive to drive back the French. In 1755 it was rebuilt again with a stone arsenal and powder magazine. The site of the arsenal is on West Fort Ann Road near the Mud Brook Bridge, west of the Union Cemetery. The bridge was built using stone from the arsenal. In 1766 Cheshire's Blockhouse was built at Kane's Falls, one mile away, to protect a newly built sawmill. In 1769 Mud Fort, a simple earthwork, was built at Needhamville, but was abandoned shortly thereafter. In 1777 Fort Anne served as a fortified base for Patriot forces. It was burned as they fell back to regroup before the Battle of Saratoga. The Patriots rebuilt the fort after the battle. The British captured the fort in October 1780. Excavations were done in 1954, and a restoration project was undertaken. That project was eventually dissolved. No remains.
Fort Anne tour

Fort Miller (1)
(1755 - unknown, 1777), Northumberland Township
A British palisaded blockhouse built by Col. Samuel Miller that was actually on the west side of the river, across from the town of Fort Miller. It was used by the British and later Patriots during the American Revolution.

A British fort may have been built here as early as 1709.

Flatts Stockade
(1715 - 1745), Schuylerville
A fortified and palisaded brick house (Peter Schuyler Manor) which was burned by the French in November 1745. Located on the bluff on the south-side of the mouth of Fish Creek.

Fort Hardy (park)
(1755 - unknown), Schuylerville
A British supply post on the north-side of the mouth of Fish Creek. Located on Ferry Street (NY 29). The actual site of the fort is not within the present park boundary.

Fort Clinton (1) ?
(1746 - 1747), near Schuylerville
Located just south of town. It was the replacement for Fort Saratoga (1702 - 1744, rebuilt 1721 and 1739), which had been destroyed by the French. Attacked by the French in June 1747. The fort was finally abandoned and burned in the fall of 1747. This site may have been used by Patriots during the American Revolution.

Located here originally (or closer to Coveville ?) was British blockhouse Fort Vrooman (1689 - 1695), built by Col. Peter Schuyler on the land of Dutch settler Bartel Vrooman. It was destroyed by the French.

Located nearby to the west in Kings Station, Wilton Township is the site of the "Battle of Wilton" (February 1693) between the British and French. Marker on NY 36.

Fort Saraghtoga
(1704 - 1713), Easton Township
A British 12-gun fort 150-by-140 feet for 450 troops. Located directly across the Hudson River from Fort Saratoga (see above). It was demolished.

Fort Williams (3)
(1775 - 1777), Salem
Originally built in 1774 as a church, converted to barracks by the Patriots in 1775, and then fortified and named Salem Fort. It was renamed in 1776, and destroyed (burned) by the British in August 1777. The church was not rebuilt until after 1820. The current structure (1880's) on the site is now the Fort Salem Theater.

Camp Washington
(1861 - 1862), Salem
A Civil War training camp.

Fort St. Croix
(1620's, 1750's), North Hoosick
A Dutch stockaded fort once located on the east bank of the Hoosick River, west of town. It was destroyed after several years. The village was stockaded again by the settlers during the French and Indian War.

Lt. Col. Friedrich Baum's Redoubt
(Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site)
(1777), Walloomsac
A British hill-top breastwork that protected the headquarters camp of Dragoons during the Battle of Bennington (August 1777). The rest of the British column dug in near the river.

Saratoga Battlefield
(Saratoga National Historical Park)
(1777), Bemis Heights
The main Patriot work here during the Battle of Saratoga (October 1777) was Fort (John) Neilson, a palisaded barn with additional batteries. Several other Patriot batteries were located by the river, which forced the British to advance on Bemis Heights.

British redoubts include Balcarres Redoubt (eight guns) at Freeman Farm, Breymann Redoubt opposite the farm, and the Great Redoubt near the river.

Fort Winslow
(1756 - 1758), Stillwater
Built on the site of Fort Ingoldsby (1709). Col. James Montresor's Blockhouse and a barracks were built here 1758 - 1759 or 1760. All of these were stockaded blockhouses, and were gone by the time of the American Revolution.

The Patriots constructed a fortified supply depot here in 1777, which may have been called Fort Stillwater, or General Philip Schuyler's Supply Depot.

Stillwater Blockhouse
(1927), Stillwater
A reproduction blockhouse made out of period timbers from structures at Bemis Heights in Saratoga Battlefield. It was built by the NPS to be the first visitor center at Saratoga National Park, but was not historically accurate for the battlefield. The structure was deeded to the town in 1975, and was finally moved to Stillwater Park on Hudson Ave. in 1999.

Of interest in Saratoga Springs is the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, opened in 2002.

Special thanks to Col. Michael Stenzel, NY NG, for information from the New York's Forts website.

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