Join me for a tale of two forts at Crown Point State Historic Site in New York. As mentioned in my earlier post about Lake George, control of the waterways was vital in the early history of this region. At Crown Point, Lake Champlain is at its narrowest, at just a quarter mile in width, making it the ideal location to establish a fort to control traffic. Therefore both the French and the British each wanted to take command in the eighteenth century.
The first to do so was the French, who built Fort St. Frederic, named for Jean-Frederic Maurepas, the Minister of Maritime Affairs on the court of Louis XV. Between 1734 and 1737 they built a massive stone fortress unlike any ever seen in this wilderness before. The walls towered above the landscape at four stories high, with cannons on each level, protruding from the 12 foot thick limestone walls. Within the walls surrounding this fortress also stood a chapel, hospital, bakery, housing, and everything else this growing community of solider-settlers needed. It even had a dry moat with a drawbridge!
Alright, so today there’s only crumbling remains of Fort St. Frederic at Crown Point, New York. But there’s a good reason for that! During the French and Indian War, in 1759 after taking control of nearby Fort Ticonderoga, the British forces had their sights set on this one. Knowing they were no match, the French destroyed Fort St. Frederic by blowing it up before evacuating from the area.
Thus began the establishment of a second fort at Crown Point. However, rather than reuse the same site, the British constructed their massive earthen fort in a different area on the peninsula. The British Fort at Crown Point was the biggest one they would ever construct in North America. This pentagon shaped fortress had walls over 20 feet high, that could withstand artillery. Just take a look at the descriptions of it from the time period, on this historic marker.
Within its walls it could house up to 4,000 soldiers, with barracks for soldiers which sleep 12 to 18 per room, with 2 to 3 men per bunk; and more spacious quarters for the officers.
Remember Robert Rogers that I mentioned at Lake George? Well he was among the British forces that the French were trying to keep at bay here. Through the winter of 1755 – 1756, Robert Rogers and his Rangers performed scouting and reconnaissance missions providing critical intelligence for the British of French soldiers’ activities at Fort St. Frederic. He and his Rogers’ Rangers were also part of that British expedition to capture Fort St. Frederic in 1759. Following the British control of Crown Point, Robert Rogers used it as his base of operations to conduct reconnaissance missions, further adding to his prominence during the French and Indian War. Alright, I admit this is a very broad summary of Rogers’ connection to Crown Point. You can read a better timeline at Robert Rogers and the French and Indian War. My point here though, is Robert Rogers probably walked in these rooms, and warmed himself by the fire, as he planned his next mission.
However, this impressive fort met with a very unimpressive end in 1773. There was a chimney fire in the soldiers’ barracks that spread to the log walls of the powder magazine, causing an enormous explosion that destroyed the bastion wall. By then the fort was mostly obsolete, because the French threat of invasion was over. The skeleton crew of soldiers that remained, were little match for the American Militia, who on May 12, 1775, captured 111 cannons, to be later used to defend Boston, Massachusetts from the British invasion.
However, its strategic vantage point remained, as it was used as a staging area by Benedict Arnold for the navy on Lake Champlain. However, after the destruction of that navy in 1776 in the Battle of Valcour Island, what remained of the fort was burned, before it was abandoned to the British. It was abandoned for good in 1780, until 1910 when the land was acquired by New York State to preserve this historic site, so sought after by the French, British, and American colonists.
Today Crown Point State Historic Site in New York is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the ruins of two fortifications from the colonial wars between the British and French. Grounds are open from sunrise to sunset, year round, free of charge, and museum is open from May through October for a nominal fee. Please visit their website at Crown Point State Historic Site, for more details on museum hours, events, and directions. A free map for the self-guided walking tour is available at the visitor’s center, as well as guided tours of the grounds. Dogs are allowed on the grounds on-leash, and always clean up after your pets.
