Fort de La Présentation
Fort de La Présentation | |
---|---|
Ogdensburg, New York | |
Type | Fort |
Site information | |
Controlled by | New France |
Site history | |
Built | 1749 |
In use | 1749–1760 |
Battles/wars | |
Fort de La Présentation Site | |
Location | Lighthouse Point, near Ogdensburg, New York |
Coordinates | 44°41′44″N 75°30′03″W / 44.69556°N 75.50083°W |
Area | 23.75 acres (9.61 ha) |
NRHP reference No. | 10000944[1] |
Added to NRHP | November 26, 2010 |
The Fort de La Présentation (French pronunciation:
In 1758, with the Seven Years' War intensifying, a French-Canadian military commander took charge of a garrison at the fort. In 1759, French military forces abandoned the fort to move to Fort Lévis. Ultimately the British besieged that fort and Montréal.
After the British victories of 1760, the French ceded their Canadian territory to Great Britain. The British renamed it Fort Oswegatchie. It remained under their control until 1796, after
Background
As the colony of
Establishment of the fort
As the Anglo-Americans continued to expand westward, the French chose a site at the meeting of the
Aside from impeding the Anglo-Americans, the purpose of the fort was to
In 1749, the population aside from the garrison comprised six Iroquois families. By 1751, there were 396 families distributed among three villages. The villages were composed of 49 bark cabins, 60–80 feet (18–24 m) long, which lodged three to four families each. There were also approximately 20 cabins near the fort. By 1756, trenches were constructed around the villages.[7]
French and Indian War
Beginning in 1755, Picquet began taking part in military expeditions as part of the
In February 1758, after Picquet had withdrawn to his abbey in Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes, the Indians petitioned for his return. The fall of Fort Frontenac in August 1758 increased the threat to the fort and Lorimier was recalled, replaced by Captain Antoine-Gabriel-François Benoist.[8] With Lorimier's dismissal, Picquet returned to Fort de La Présentation.[10] Furthermore, on 30 August, 1,500 soldiers were stationed at Fort de La Présentation to block any British push down the St. Lawrence, making the fort the center of the French defences.[9] Benoist was replaced by Captain Pierre Pouchot in March 1759.[6]
Pointe-au-Baril
With the fall of Fort Frontenac in August 1758, New France lacked a shipbuilding facility between the upper Great Lakes and Montréal. A site was chosen on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River 5.6 miles (9 km) west of Fort de La Présentation. Pointe-au-Baril, located in present-day Maitland, Ontario, was established in 1759. Pointe-au-Baril was a fortified shipbuilding site with inner earthworks and an outer palisade 10–12 feet (3–4 m) high.[11] On 4 April 1759, Captain Pierre Pouchot was given temporary command of both Pointe-au-Baril and Fort de La Présentation until the two corvettes under construction there were completed.[12]
Battle of the Thousand Islands
By August 1760, only Pointe-au-Baril, Fort de La Présentation, and Montréal were left in French control along the upper St. Lawrence River. Pouchot, who had been captured at Fort Niagara and returned in a prisoner exchange, was sent to establish a new fort, Fort Lévis on an island in the St. Lawrence River, downstream from Fort de La Présentation. Due to Fort de La Présentation's location on low ground, the fort was susceptible to bombardment by British guns and Pouchot ordered its evacuation.[13] Picquet moved his mission to Île Picquet, but lacked the support of the French and his Indian allies began to starve and depart. In March 1760, Picquet abandoned the mission and departed for Montréal.[6] In July, the French sent a party to Fort de La Présentation to begin the fort's demolition, removing the roofs of the buildings. However, some Iroquois remained in the villages, sending war parties on occasion to scout.[14]
On 16 August 1760, the British under General Jeffery Amherst captured the abandoned Pointe-au-Baril and established an artillery battery. From 19 to 24 August in the Battle of the Thousand Islands, Fort Lévis was assaulted by the British before surrendering. French control over the area was broken.[15] During the battle, Fort de La Présentation was occupied by the British, with a garrison composed of three provincial regiments from Connecticut under the command of Colonel Nathan Whiting. They established a supply base at the fort during the siege of Fort Lévis.[16]
Fort de La Présentation site
The Fort de La Présentation Site is an archaeological site located on Lighthouse Point, near Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, New York. It encompasses the remains of at least eight different and discrete potential components, as identified in 1987–88. These include four contributing components: remains from French and Native American occupation during the period 1749 to 1760; remains from English and Native American occupation during the period 1760 to 1796; remains from American settlers in Ogdensburg during the period 1796 to 1812; and remains from American military occupation during the War of 1812.[17]
The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.[1]
References
- ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places". WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 5/31/11 THROUGH 6/03/11. National Park Service. 2011-06-10.
- ^ a b "History" Archived 2009-11-30 at the Wayback Machine, Friends of Fort de La Présentation Website, accessed 2 Feb 2010
- ^ a b Chartrand 2008, pp. 40–41.
- ^ O'Callaghan 1853, p. 195.
- ^ a b c Chartrand 2008, p. 41.
- ^ a b c d e f Lahaise 1979.
- ^ Chartrand 2008, p. 42.
- ^ a b c MacLeod 1974.
- ^ a b Cubbison 2014, p. 16.
- ^ Taillemite 1979.
- ^ Chartrand 2008, pp. 42–43.
- ^ Moogk 1974.
- ^ Fryer 1986, p. 87.
- ^ Cubbison 2014, p. 17.
- ^ Fryer 1986, pp. 91–96, 99.
- ^ Cubbison 2014, pp. 170, 174.
- ^ Travis Bowman (May 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Fort de La Présentation Site". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2012-08-05. See also: "Accompanying six photos".
Sources
- Chartrand, René (2008). The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600–1763. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-846-03255-4.
- Cubbison, Douglas R. (2014). All Canada in the Hands of the British: General Jeffrey Amherst and the 1760 Campaign to Conquer New France. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-4427-6.
- Fryer, Mary Beacock (1986). Battlefields of Canada. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-007-2.
- Lahaise, Robert (1979). "Picquet, François". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- MacLeod, Michael (1974). "Lorimier de la Rivère, Claude-Nicolas de". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- Moogk, Peter N. (1974). "Pouchot, Pierre". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey, ed. (1853). Documents relative to the colonial history of the state of New York. Vol. 9. Albany, New York: Weed, Parsons and Company.
- Taillemite, Étienne (1979). "Benoist, Antoine-Gabriel-François Benoist". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.