Fort Edward, New York

“ For more than two hundred years the great deep-worn warpaths or traveling trails of the Indian Nations ran to and from its banks. And whether the fleet, moccasined warriors went westward over the Sacandaga trail to the big bend of the Hudson and so on to the Iroquois strongholds, or whether they came to the "Great Carrying Place," at what is now Fort Edward, through Lake Champlain and Wood Creek, or chose the trip through Lake St. ”

“ Lawrence and New York was considered more important from a military point of view than Fort Ticonderoga. This was so placed as to protect the portage from Lake Champlain to Lake George, and to command the passage to the southern extremity of the former lake. The fort was built by the French in 1755, and called by them Fort Carillon. It was improved by Montcalm in the following year, and in 1758 withstood the attack of an English army of fifteen thousand men, the largest body of Europeans which had yet been assembled under arms in America. ”

“ It can be seen from this that the provinces of New York and New Hampshire were in close touch in those early days, and the record made in the Civil War by the descendants of the men who fought at Fort Edward and Fort William Henry, was fully equal to that made by their ancestors, as testified to by Sir William Johnson. To the white settlers around him, he was always a kind friend as well as a wise counselor. ”

“ At the time when Washington retreated from Brooklyn, New York was defended by a permanent fort, called Fort George, at the west end of the Battery, and by temporary works thrown up at various places along the shore. On the north, or landward, side, a barrier crossed Broadway near the Bowling Green, and there was another near the site of the present Centre Market.
Beyond the fortifications lay the country, “the most beautiful,” says a Hessian officer, “that I have ever seen.” ”

“ Soldiers deserted by the hundreds. A severe action at White Plains only delayed the British advance. The fall of Fort Washington on the end of Manhattan Island destroyed all hope of holding anything near New York. Washington sent one part of his army to secure the Highlands of the Hudson. With the other part he retired across New Jersey to the southern side of the Delaware River. The end of the war seemed to be in sight. In December, 1776, Congress gave the sole direction of the war to Washington and then left Philadelphia for a place of greater safety. ”

“ Darstellung und Kritik der Beweise für das Dasein Gottes (Heidelberg, 1840) ; Beiträge zur Psych. als Wissenschaft (Leipzig, 1875) .
FORT LEE, a borough of Bergen county, New Jersey, U.S.A., in the N.E. part of the state, on the W. bank of the Hudson river, opposite the northern part of New York City. Pop. (1905) 3433; (1910) 4472. It is connected with the neighbouring towns and cities by electric railways, and by ferry with New York City, of which it is a residential suburb. The main part of the borough lies along the summit of the Palisades; north of Fort Lee is an Interstate Palisades Park. ”

“ Fort Edward, cowardice of General Webb at, i. 250; approach of Burgoyne to, ii. 480. Fort Frontenac, expedition undertaken against, by Colonel Bradstreet—description of, i. 267; surrender and demolition of—important influence of the surrender of, i. 268. Fort Galpin, capture of, by Lee, iii. 2. Fort George, at Coram, Long Island, surprised by Major Tallmadge, ii. 701. Fort George, in New York, cannon removed from, by Captain Lamb, ii. 129. Fort George, on Lake George, erected by Abercrombie in 1758, ii. 266; letter of Washington to Schuyler, in relation to the abandonment of (note) , ii. 470. ”

“ We shall soon begin a fortification on this side that will command the East River and the town. The troops in the City are fortifying in one of the Streets that will command the old fort, if the Enemy should get possession of it, (and are putting down the rear of the fort.) We have begun another Fort near "Hell Gate." The men of war have dropped down below the town and are very quiet, but supplied from the City by orders of this Congress. Our troops are very hearty and fare well as times will admit, most of the valuable articles are moved out of the City, and one third of the inhabitants. ”

“ In 1755, a third fort was built by General Phineas Lyman (1716–1774) , as preliminary to the expedition against Crown Point under General William Johnson, and was named Fort Lyman; in 1756 Johnson renamed it Fort Edward in honour of Edward, Duke of York. In the War for Independence Fort Edward was the headquarters of General Philip Schuyler while he and his troops were blocking the march of General Burgoyne’s army from Fort Ticonderoga. When a part of Burgoyne’s forces was distant only 3 or 4 m. ”

“ Greene had urged the retention of the [Pg 282] fort as necessary, both to command the passage of the river, and because it would be a threatening obstacle to the enemy's future operations. For them to advance into the country with such a fortification in their rear would be a hazardous move. These reasons were sound, and, as already stated, when the main army evacuated Harlem Heights, Washington's council voted to retain Fort Washington. ”

“ By the fortunate recovery of the daily orders issued by General Greene on Long Island, and also of original sketches of the site, it has become possible to fix the location of this line and the names of the works with almost entire accuracy.
To defend the approach between the bay and marsh, the engineers laid out three principal forts and two redoubts, with breastworks connecting them. The site occupied was a favorable one. On the left rose the high ground, now known as Fort Greene Place or Washington Park, one hundred feet above the sea-level ”

“ For the protection of the settlement, the government erected, in 1710, what was known as Fort Hunter, by which name the place is still known. The settlement was ruled over for a number of years by "Little Abraham," brother of the Great King Hendrick of the "Upper Mohawk Castle," at Canajohare. Its occupants were especially classed as "Praying Maquas," and had a chapel and a bell and a priest of the Church of England. In the war of the Revolution they professed to be neutral but came to be regarded by the settlers as being composed of spies and informers. ”

“ France's frontier line is guarded by forts that stand like sentinels at the gateways of all waters leading to the interior,—Ogdensburg, Kingston, Toronto, Niagara, Detroit, Michilimackinac, and La Vérendrye's string of forts far west as the Rockies. New York's frontier line is guarded by one fort only,—Oswego. Here too, as in Acadia, the peace is a farce. ”

“ On landing at Whitehall Slip they were saluted by a discharge of cannon from Fort George, and welcomed ashore by Lieutenant Governor De Lancey, members of his majesty’s council and many of the principal gentlemen of the city. The city militia had been ordered to muster and were drawn up so as to line the street as the gentlemen passed on to the fort, where they drank his majesty’s and all the loyal healths with success to the English-American enterprises. They then proceeded through the lines still formed by the militia to the New York Arms, on Broadway. ”

“ As to the fortifications, I said that the American troops would take charge of New York, and that the fort of Brooklyn (upon which you might operate in concert with a division of our troops) is merely an earthen work of four bastions, with a ditch and a shed, containing from a thousand to fifteen hundred men, and having in front another smaller work, which cannot contain more than a hundred men. ”

“ There were, however, two strong fortresses on the Hudson which Congress was anxious to retain at any cost, a few miles above New York,--Fort Washington, on Manhattan Island, and Fort Lee, on the New Jersey side of the river. These forts Howe resolved to capture. The commander-in-chief was in favor of evacuating them, but Greene, who commanded at Fort Washington, thought he was strong enough to defend it. He made a noble defence, but was overwhelmed by vastly superior forces and was compelled to surrender it, with more than two thousand men. ”

“ The Americans killed included 39 soldiers, 2 women and 12 children. The survivors were captured by the Indians and though some were tortured and put to death, the majority finally escaped to civilization A tablet now marks the site of the old fort and a monument has been erected near Grant Park commemorating the massacre. In 1816 the fort was rebuilt and a settlement rapidly grew up around it. By 1837 the Federal government had begun the improvement of the harbor and had started the Illinois and Michigan Canal. ”

“ Several hundred Men have been daily employed there for upwards of four Weeks. The Parapet of the old Battery is raised to a proper Height, with a sufficient number of Ambersures—As also the Parapet on the Fort Wall. There are two fortifications on Long Island opposite this City to command the shipping, one on Gours Island, one at red Hook, and the City itself and Suburbs filled with them. Sundays we have none of, all Days come alike when [ ] is in question. We have Genls Putnam, Sullivan, Heath, Thompson, & Ld Sterling among us, with I believe about 14 Thousand Troops ”

“ On the morning of the 8th the fleet moved up the bay, exchanged shots with the fort, and landed six hundred men on the shore of the Hudson just above the city, where they were joined by a body of the Dutch burghers. A storming party was advanced, under command of Captain Anthony Colve, to whom Captain Manning, who commanded in the Governor’s absence, surrendered the fort, the garrison being permitted to march out with the honors of war. Thus New York was again surrendered without the shedding of a drop of blood. ”

“ The building was in two parts—the newer, two-story structure of staring pine boards, and, adjoining this, a long, low shed without windows, built of logs. There was a wide wooden sidewalk or platform in front of the whole edifice, and there were two doors, one leading to the new part, one to the old. It was by far the most imposing structure in Fort Edward.
Everybody piled through the door into the old part of the building, leaving Ann at a loss on the sidewalk. ”

“ Other forts defend the inner portions of the harbor. Many fine buildings stand upon the left shore at the foot of the hills, and form almost a continuous street for several miles to the city. Far in the distance, and but dimly descried, are the Brazilian Mountains. Though greatly superior in height to the hills on the coast, the same peculiarities of cones and pinnacles characterize them.
We passed the fort, and dropped anchor at a distance of two miles from the city. Near us lay the North America, a large ship from New York bound for California with nearly five hundred passengers. ”

“ This disaster at Fort Washington, the heaviest suffered by the Americans during the entire war, closed the campaign in the vicinity of New York. All the western part of Long Island, New York City, and all Manhattan Island, had fallen into the possession of the British, and their fleet came into undisturbed control of the Hudson, the East River, and the waters of the Sound. Every thing that Washington and his soldiers had sought to secure and defend was wrested from their hands. Their losses [Pg 286] too, in men and material, were almost irreparable. ”

“ Washington Heights is a crowning wilderness looking down upon the city from Fort George, while the Sound and a glimpse of the village beyond seen through the faint blue haze of distance lend a touch of fairylike enchantment. The Jersey shore and the Palisades are one long drawn out joy, so that, turn where you will, you find New York beautiful. ”

“ Prior to 1852, Fort Columbus was for several different [48] short periods of time empty of troops, but since that year it has always contained a garrison. In addition to being the head-quarters of the Department of the East, the old post is now used as a military prison and as a landing-place for the aërial branch of the army.
A visit to Governor’s Island to-day is a pleasant excursion for a stranger in new New York and the port would be a new sight for most New Yorkers, so unfamiliar are familiar places to those who are closest to them. ”

“ This was to provide a rallying point for the frightened settlers. It was completed in 1677 and garrisoned by soldiers from New York. The fort was known as Fort Charles and the town around it, which was built up on the site of the old settlements, was known as Jamestown. Under the new régime a military government was established, of which the commandant of the post was the head. The free living inhabitants of the post were irked at being under strict martial rule. ”

“ The fort was capable of containing about one thousand men; but the lines and out-works, which were chiefly on the southern side, towards New York, were drawn quite across the island. The ground was naturally strong, the approaches difficult, and the fortifications, though not sufficient to resist heavy artillery, were believed to be in a condition to resist any attempt to carry them by storm. The garrison consisted of troops, some of whom were among the best in the American army ”

“ The fortifications in the monument were built on the most strategic defensive positions on the island. Fort Jay, constructed between 1806 and 1809, is on the highest point of the island from which its glacis originally sloped down to the waterfront on all sides. Castle William, constructed between 1807 and 1811, occupies a rocky promontory as close as possible to the harbor channels and served as the most important strategic defensive point in the entrance to the New York Harbor. ”

“ Already the complexion of the Brooklyn civic sidewalk crowds was everywhere brightened by military uniforms; cavalrymen of the troop of dragoons attached to the 8th New York, jaunty lancers from the troop of lancers attached to the 69th New York, riflemen in green epaulettes and facings, zouaves in red, blue, and brown uniforms came hurrying down the stony street to Fulton Ferry on their return from witnessing a parade of the 14th Brooklyn at Fort Greene. ”