Fort Oswego

Fort Oswego (1727-1756) - First established by the British in 1727 as a stone blockhouse and named Fort Burnet. Expanded in 1741 and known briefly as Fort Pepperrell (1745-1746), and thereafter known as Fort Oswego. The post was destroyed by a large French force under General Montcalm in 1756 and not rebuilt. Located at the city of Oswego in Oswego County, New York. Also known by the French as Fort Chouaguen.

Early History

The British first built a trading post at this site in 1722 but fortified it with a stone blockhouse in 1727 after the French at Fort Niagara built their stone "House of Peace" in 1726. They named the fortification Fort Burnet for Governor William Burnet. In 1741 the fortification was expanded by adding stone walls with bastions at each corner and the expanded fortification was briefly called Fort Pepperrell before reverting to the official Fort Oswego name.

French & Indian War (1754-1763)

As the French & Indian War began, the fortification was further strengthened by General William Shirley and garrisoned with some 1700 British regular and colonial troops. General Shirley also built Fort Ontario on the other side of the river and Fort George (6) on the same side of the river. Fort Oswego was the strongest of the three British forts and had the largest garrison.

The French under Montcalm assembled a force of some 3000 soldiers and Indians and attacked Fort Ontario from the lake and succeeded in driving the defenders off on 13 Aug 1856. He then trained his own cannon and captured cannon from Fort Ontario down on Fort Oswego. The British commander was killed by a French cannon shell on 14 Aug 1756 and the second in command surrendered the garrison. The French took away some 1700 prisoners, 121 cannons and destroyed what they couldn't take with them. The three forts were left in ruins. The British did not reoccupy Oswego until 1758 and they did not rebuild the fortifications.

Current Status

Marker only

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Location: Oswego, Oswego County, New York. Maps & Images Lat: 43.4613889 Long: -76.5144444 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 262'

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 570-572

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Oswego
• New York State Military Museum - Fort Oswego
• Wikipedia - Fort Oswego
• Wikipedia - Battle of Fort Oswego 1756
• Wikipedia - Battle of Fort Oswego 1814

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