“The French built the first fort at Niagara in 1679. The U.S. Army finally decommissioned the post in 1963 making it one of the longest occupied military posts in America.”
By Robert Emerson
THE HISTORY OF Old Fort Niagara spans more than 300 years.
Situated at the mouth of the Niagara River — a natural bottleneck between lakes Ontario and Erie — the fort’s guns controlled access to the Great Lakes and the westward route to the interior of North America.
During the 18th and early 19th centuries, armies would fight to place their flag on its ramparts. And long after its strategic importance had faded, Fort Niagara would continue to play a role in America’s defence, both in war and peace.
Here’s a quick history of Fort Niagara, one of America’s oldest and most fascinating fortifications.
Establishing Fort Niagara
Prior to the coming of Europeans, Native Americans intermittently used the future site of Fort Niagara as a hunting and fishing camp. During the 17th century, the French were the first Europeans to explore the Niagara Region. Twice they established outposts at the river’s mouth — the first in 1679 and the second in 1687. Neither lasted more than a year.
In 1726 French soldiers and workmen arrived at the mouth of the Niagara and began construction of Le Maison Machicoulis, a large stone building known today as the French Castle. This building, surrounded by a wooden stockade, was designed to house about 40 soldiers. The new fort protected French interests in the region and provided a venue where Frenchmen and Native Americans could meet to negotiate and trade.
The War for a Continent
Shortly after the outbreak of the French and Indian War, the British targeted Fort Niagara for capture. The French responded by expanding the fortifications to house a larger garrison, while earthworks were excavated to withstand artillery fire. It was not until 1759 that a British and New York Provincial army, along with almost 1,000 Hodenosaunee (Iroquois) allies, laid siege to the fort. After 19 days, the walls had been breached by British artillery and a French relief force was defeated just one mile from the fort. The French surrendered the post and Fort Niagara became a British bastion.
By 1763 a new threat confronted the garrison. Native Americans, upset by British expansion and trade policies captured eight Great Lakes forts and laid siege to Detroit during what became known as Pontiac’s War. Although Fort Niagara was not attacked, it served as a critical link in the supply line to Detroit.
The following year, Fort Niagara played host to a great council between the British and several Native nations. The location also served as an assembly point for an expedition that relieved Detroit and returned many of the Great Lakes outposts to British control.
With the return of peace, Fort Niagara’s garrison was reduced to around 150 men whose duties included guarding the region, protecting the flow of supplies and policing local Indian traders. To defend against a Native attack on the reduced garrison there, the British built two stone redoubts on the site in 1770 and 1771.
Revolution
In spite of these improvements, by the outbreak of the American War of Independence in 1775, the fort had fallen into disrepair. Over the next eight years, British commanders did what they could to improve the fort and protect the Crown’s link to the west. In addition to serving as Britain’s Great Lakes headquarters, the fort became a refuge for frontier Loyalists and Native American allies.
Using Fort Niagara as a base of operations, Loyalist and Native raiding parties devastated the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania, diverting much-needed manpower and supplies from George Washington’s armies fighting elsewhere. When American forces counterattacked in 1779, Fort Niagara became a haven for thousands of Native American refugees. The British were ill-prepared for the influx and hundreds of Natives starved or perished from exposure during the brutal winter of 1779-80.
At the conclusion of the Revolution, Fort Niagara was to be turned over to the new United States. Unresolved treaty disputes delayed the transfer however, and it was not until 1796 that American troops finally secured control of Fort Niagara. The British moved the garrison across the river and erected Fort George on the Canadian shore. Unfortunately Fort Niagara’s most formidable defences faced east, away from this new threat. In addition, small garrisons and paltry resources resulted in rapid deterioration of the fort’s defences.
An American Fort
With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Fort Niagara found itself on the front lines of the conflict. In October and November of 1812, Fort Niagara traded artillery fire with Fort George in a series of furious but indecisive bombardments.
Barrages were again exchanged in May 1813 when U.S. troops invaded Upper Canada and successfully captured Fort George. By the end of the year however, American troops abandoned the Canadian side of the river and burned the town of Newark, known today as Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The British reoccupied the ruins of Fort George and on the night of Dec. 18-19, 1813 secretly crossed the river and captured Fort Niagara. The outpost remained in British hands until the end of the war a year later.
In the 1820s the completion of the Erie and Welland canals rendered the Niagara portage obsolete and Fort Niagara’s strategic value quickly declined. The garrison was withdrawn and only a caretaker watched over the fort’s venerable buildings and walls. The outpost was re-garrisoned from 1828 to 1832 but then once again deactivated. A new border crisis in 1837 prompted Congress to authorize improvements to the fort. But by the time these improvements were completed in 1843, the crisis had passed and Fort Niagara was once again only sporadically manned.
During the Civil War, the fort once again saw improvements as the Union worried about a British alliance with the Confederacy. Construction of new concrete and brick revetments began in 1863 but were not completed until the war ended. The fort’s artillery casemates were never armed and the new defences were obsolete by the time of their completion. As an anticlimax, border tensions once again escalated in 1866 as rebels known as Fenians sought Irish liberation through the conquest of Canada.
The post-Civil War years witnessed a significant change in Fort Niagara. A garrison that arrived in 1865 found the fort’s living quarters antiquated and virtually uninhabitable. Construction soon began on modern buildings situated outside the old fortifications. This was the beginning of “New” Fort Niagara, the area occupied by modern Fort Niagara State Park.
Old Fort; Modern Times
Continuous changes to New Fort Niagara allowed the post to survive well into the 20th century. A 1,000-yard rifle range was constructed in 1885 and the fort was used for training purposes. Troops drilled there for the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the Philippine Insurrection of 1899 to 1901. The post also served as an officers training camp during World War One.
Despite all of the activity on the base, the old fort was in a sadly neglected state by the early 1920s. Lake Ontario had undermined the seawall protecting its northern flank and the French Castle was in danger of collapse. Also, the surviving 18th century buildings had badly deteriorated. Fortunately, by then the old fortifications and structures were being recognized for their historical value and a group of local citizens began to advocate repair and preservation. They formally organized the Old Fort Niagara Association in 1927 with the goal of saving the old French Castle. Cooperation between the U.S. Army and the association permitted restoration of the other buildings by 1934.
New Fort Niagara continued as an active post. During World War Two, the fort was used as an induction centre and as a prisoner of war camp.
Fort Niagara was finally declared surplus in 1945 and many of the buildings were converted to temporary housing for returning veterans. Plans to convert the New Fort into a state park were developed in the late 1940s but the Korean War forced the reoccupation of the fort in 1950. Anti-aircraft troops were stationed there from 1952 until the base was decommissioned in 1963. Long-delayed plans to convert the area to a park were soon implemented and most of the garrison buildings were demolished in 1965-66 to clear ground for recreational purposes. Only a few structures remain. With the exception of the United States Coast Guard station adjacent to the Fort, the military history of this important site had come to an end.
Robert Emerson is the executive director of Old Fort Niagara. You can reach him at remerson@oldfortniagara.org
11 Quick Facts about Old Fort Niagara
1. The French Castle, built in 1726, is the oldest building in the Great Lakes Basin.
2. In 1759 popular British travel writer Arthur Young called Niagara “the key to the whole continent.”
3. In 1759 British forces besieged Fort Niagara for 19 days. When the fort finally fell on July 25, it was the first of three North American victories that led the British to call 1759 “the year of wonders.”
4. Captain Pierre Pouchot, of the Régiment de Béarn, oversaw the construction of massive earthworks at Fort Niagara between 1755 and 1757. He created one of the most elaborate earthen fortifications in North America yet constructed.
5. Two successive British commandants of Fort Niagara, colonels John Caldwell and Mason Bolton, died on Halloween. Caldwell in 1776 and Bolton in 1780.
6. A soldier’s wife named Betsy Doyle carried red hot shot to artillery atop the French Castle during a day-long November 1812 bombardment. When the British attacked the fort in December 1813, she fled with several children in tow – 310 miles across New York to safety at Greenbush.
7. When British forces captured Fort Niagara in December 1813, they took the garrison colours. The 24 x 28-foot banner hung at General Gordon Drummond’s castle in Scotland until the 1990s, when it was purchased and returned to Fort Niagara. Today it is on display at the historic site’s Visitor Center.
8. During World War One, the fort hosted two 90-day officer training camps. An elaborate trench system was constructed to prepare officer candidates for the frontlines in France.
9. During World War Two, Fort Niagara was the site of a prisoner of war camp. About 2,800 German and Austrian POWs were held there during 1944 and 1945. One of them, Ernst Wille, of Cologne, Germany, painted a mural on the wall of the post’s Bachelor Officers Quarters that can still be seen today.
10. The French built the first fort at Niagara in 1679. The U.S. Army finally decommissioned the post in 1963 making Fort Niagara one of the longest occupied military posts in America.
Old Fort Niagara 2019 Schedule of Events
Thinking of checking out Old Fort Niagara for yourself this summer? Here are some living history events you won’t want to miss.
May 25 to 26: Soldiers through the Ages — Experience four centuries of military history at this time line event. Displays of military vehicles, living history camps, uniforms and weapons, military rations and special demonstrations highlight the weekend. On May 27, Memorial Day, there will be free admission for veterans and active duty military
July 5 to 7: French and Indian War Encampment — Hundreds of re-enactors converge on Old Fort Niagara to recreate the historic siege of 1759 during the French and Indian War. The event features battle reenactments, siege demonstrations, a large camp of period artisans and merchants, cooking demonstrations, an exhibition of 18th century medicine, living history camps, artillery and musket firings, Native American councils and much more. This is the 40th year for this event, which is one of the largest French and Indian War events in the world. It’s also the fort’s largest event of the year.
Aug. 10 to 11: Soldiers of the Revolution — Experience the American Revolution on the New York frontier as British and American forces do battle. The event includes battle reenactments, living history camps, recruiting programs for kids, artillery and musket firings.
Aug. 31 to Sept. 1: War of 1812 Encampment — The War of 1812 comes to life as British and American forces gather at Old Fort Niagara. The event features battle reenactments, living history camps, uniform programs and a Saturday night battle that recreates the 1813 British capture of the fort.
Old Fort Niagara, Post Office Box 169 Youngstown, N.Y. 14174 (716) 745-7611 www.oldfortniagara.org
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