Fort Montgomery-- Part 6: Strength

Initially constructed to have a garrison of 800 troops, the fort never had that many and mainly had the role as a military deterrent along the border.  Many of the Third System  forts by design were never  fully garrisoned, ultimately they were to be ready for action as needed.

Contrary to local legend, however,the fort never fired a shot in anger, but this does not mean it didn't have some of its guns mounted.

According to War Department records in 1886, when Fort Montgomery was most heavily armed, it mounted 74 guns of its 125 capacity, including 8 and 10-inch Rodmans, some of the heaviest caliber cannons in the U.S. arsenal.

Most of these cannons were mounted facing Canada.  Although never mounted, two huge 15-inch Rodmans were on site on the parade ground for years.  They were to be mounted on top of the wall.

In 1880, commander of the U.S. Army, William Tecumseh Sherman, toured the fortification and was so im pressed that he wanted the garrison at nearby Plattsburgh Barracks to be stationed there, but public outcry kept that from happening.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain-- Part 5: Joseph Totten

Directly behind the fort itself, between it and the actual shoreline, a massive manmade island was constructed.  Standing higher than the fort itself,  the earthen berm was known as the "cover face" and protected the fort against an enemy on land being able to utilize heavy siege guns to reduce the walls.

It was connected to land by a narrow stone causeway and to the fort itself by a bridge.  Also, during the fort's latter construction, Chief Engineer of the Army, Joseph Totten, invented an iron reinforced embrasure for cannons which would better protect the gunners.

This upgrade was added to the fort's design in the upper tier.  The two lower ones had aleady been completed so were left with the brick embrasures.

Totten was no stranger to the area either, having served as a major under Generals Izard and Macomb during the 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh where he had been in charge of constructing the American defenses.

Later, he was brevetted to lieutenant colonel for gallantry under fire.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery-- Part 4: Innovative Design

Fort Montgomery was also one of only nine forts constructed in the United States to have a moat (as was Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas).  This made the fort essentially surrounded on all sides by water and accessible only by drawbridge from the land side.  

Another interesting and innovative design also was a drawbridge which could be mechanically pivoted on a central balance point with one end raising to block the entrance to the fort and the other end dropping into a curved pit in the postern, or sally port, behind the doorway like a seesaw.

Raising the bridge would effectively cut the fort off from any entrance by land as the bottom of the fort's doorway stood a full fifteen feet above the water of the  moat or "wet ditch" below.  A similar entrance from the lakeside, known as the 'water gate", also utilized a drawbridge which accessed a dock extending from the fort to the lake.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery-- Part 3: A Magnificent Structure

Work on the fort continued almost continuously through 1870, with the peak of construction taking place during the Civil War, amidst rumors of possible British intervention  against the Union from Canada.  To assauge concern among area residents, a detachment of the 14th United States actually garrisoned the fort for three months in 1862.

These fears were actually realized during the St. Albans Raid, the northernmost action during the Civil War that took place in nearby Vermont.

Over the roughly 30 years of construction of the fort, no expense was spared and the work constituted some of the most advanced and cutting edge military technology of the day.  At  the peak point of construction, the labor force had around 400 stonecutters and masons plying their trade.

When its basic structure was completed, the fort boasted walls some 48 feet high and gun emplacements for 125 guns on three tiers.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain-- Part 2: Named for Richard Montgomery

When a new survey discovered that the 45th parallel was actually located 3/4th mile south, effectively placing the fort in Canada, all construction on the fort stopped.  Much of the material was scavenged by locals for use in their own homes and public buildings.

There is no evidence that the fort was named before this.  Most contemporary documents list the fortification as the "works," "fortification" or "battery" at Rouse's Point.  It is often mistakenly referred to as Fort Montgomery.  However, the site of the first fort is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Montgomery in 1977.

It was eventually decided to build a second fort on the site after the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 ceded the strategically important Island Point, the site of the 1816 fort and the northernmost  point on Lake Champlain, to the United States.

Construction began on the new fortification  two years later and it was officially named Fort Montgomery  in honor of the American Revolution's Major General Richard Montgomery who was killed during the 1775 invasion of Canada at Quebec City.

Fort Montgomery was one of the very few "Permanent" ot "Third System" built along the Northern Frontier.  Most of them were built along the Atlantic Coast.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain-- Part 1: How It Got the Name Fort Blunder

From Wikipedia.

FORT MONTGOMERY (ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN)

Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain is the second of two American forts built at the northernmost point of the American part of the lake. A first, unnamed  fort was built on the same site in 1816.  Fort Montgomery was built in 1844.

FORT BLUNDER

Construction on the first fort at this location, an octagonal structure with 30-foot high walls, in 1816 to protect against attack from British Canada such as what had happened at the Battle of Plattsburgh/ Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814. 

In July 1817, President James Monroe visited the incomplete  fortification and the adjacent military reservation known locally as "The Commons."

However, due to an earlier surveying error, it was found that this American fort was actually situated on the wrong side of the border.  This resulted it as sometimes being referred to as Fort Blunder.

--Brock-Perry

Not to Be Confused with the First Fort Montgomery on the Hudson River

In the last several posts I have been writing about a U.S. fort on Lake Champlain near the Canadian border that was built after the War of 1812, for the purpose of stopping any further incursion into New York by British/Canadian forces.

The fort was first built on the wrong side of the border and was derisively called Fort Blunder for some reason.  Later, the U.S. negotiated  for the land and it was built and named for Richard Montgomery, an American Revolution general who was killed.  (I've also written about two American warships named after him, one in the Revoution and the other in the War of 1812.)

However, this fort is not to be confused with the first Fort Montgomery which was built on the Hudson River.  This fort was built in 1776 and a battle took place there in 1777.  

I'll write about this fort in my Cooter's History Thing blog at some point in the future.

--Brock-Perry

New York's Fort Blunder/Montgomery-- Part 3: New Owners

With advances in military technology, particularly in rifled artillery and high explosives, Fort Montgomery gradually became  obsolete and was abandoned and sold at auction by the U.S. government in 1926.  The fort was plundered by locals for building materials, especially stone, wood and iron work and had several owners.

Over the years,  parts of the walls collapsed or were demolished for landfill.  The previous owners tried to sell the fort on eBay in 2016, but a deal never happened.

In September this year, the fort was sold to two Canadian brothers.  The brothers, Martin Benoit, 55, and Benoit Benoit, 46, purchased the fort and adjoining grounds for $750,000.  They envision using the fort and grounds as a winery and wedding venue. 

They also think that they will restore the fort and have it be a tourist attraction.

A Happy Ending for Fort Blunder? --Brock-Perry

New York's Fort Blunder/Montgomery Has War of 1812 Connection-- Part 2: How It Became Known as Fort Blunder

In order to defend Lake Champlain and the border, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed and started construction of permanent fortifications near that border in 1816.  However, due to some poor surveying, this fort was built nearly  a mile on the northern side of the U.S.-Canadian border.

This was a huge "Oops."  Not surprisingly, this fortification became known as Fort Blunder.

The second fort, properly surveyed this time, was built between 1844 and 1871 at Rouse's Point in Clinton County, New York.  Unlike many contemporary forts of the time, it wasn't built of bricks, but stone instead.

The fort was named after General Richard Montgomery who was killed leading the American attack on Quebec in 1775 (during the first American invasion of Canada).  At its  height,the fort mounted over eighty guns on three levels (it was designed for 125) and was surrounded by a moat which could only be crossed by a drawbridge.

That Was A Big OOPS.  --Brock-Perry

New York's Fort Blunder/Montgomery Has a War of 1812 Connection-- Part 1

Even though it wasn't built during the war.

From the December 5, 2022, Daily Kos  "Mid-19th century New York fortress built to keep the British out sold to Canadians" by  BeeD.

A fortress in upstate New York once designed to defend the  U.S. border from British incursions from Canada was recently sold to Canadian brothers.

The United States has been invaded  by the British using Lake Champlain as their highway three times:  twice during the American Revolution and once during the War of 1812.

The first attack was stalled by Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Valcour Island in 1776 and the withdrawal of the British at the onset of winter, the second ended with the surrender of General John Burgoyne's British and Hessian Army at Saratoga  in October 1777, and the third was stopped by the U.S. Navy  at the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814.

You're Probably Wondering About the Fort Blunder Name.   --Brock-Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry & the Battle of Lake Erie-- Part 4

Instead of striking his colors, much to the surprise of the British, Perry lowered his flag on the USS Lawrence and rowed across the water to the USS Niagara, which was still in the fight.   He then raised his colors, a flag with the inscription "Don't Give Up the Ship," the last words of his friend James Lawrence.  He then continued the fight.

He forced the British to surrender.

His victory at the Battle of Lake Erie was a decisive turning point of the War of 1812.  The American people had something positive to cling to and celebrations in dozens of cities took place.  Now there was hope that the momentum of the war would shift.

And it sure did.

Today, Perry's legacy lives on, and perhaps most symbolic of this is the Victory and International Peace Memorial, which was built in 1936  in Put-In-Bay, Ohio, on South Bass Island in Lake Erie.  This dedication to Perry represents lasting peace between Canada, the United States and Great Britain, which in turn created stability and made it possible for surrounding  areas such as Trumbull County to thrive and grow.

--Brock-Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry & the Battle of Lake Erie-- Part 3:

At this time, President Thomas Jefferson decided to drastically reduce the Navy from 45 warships to 13 and 42 captains to 9 and  midshipmen from 350 to 150.  This became significant when a few years later, Congress declared war on Great Britain on June 8, 1812.

There wasn't much of a U.S. Navy.

When Perry requested and was granted a command on Lake Erie, he was tasked with building the very ships he needed to fight the British. Not only that, but he seriously lacked the manpower to build and man those ships.

Perry and his ships were underdogs when they went into battle against the British at the Battle of Lake Erie, but he wouldn't give up.

Even after Perry's flagship, the USS Lawrence, was damaged beyond  repair, he refused to strike his colors.

--Brock-Perry

 

Oliver Hazard Perry & the Battle of Lake Erie-- Part 2

Perry's victory at the Battle of Lake Erie had a great impact on the War of 1812 an d gave the U.S. Navy control of Lake Erie, but it also resulted in a huge growth in the population of Trumbull County.  

By 1820, the population had almost doubled to 15,546, and continued to grow in the next two decades.  By 1840,  there were 38,107 people living in Trumbull County.

Even as a young boy, Perry was exceptional.  He was born August 23, 1785, to Sarah Wallace Alexander and Christopher Raymond Perry.  By the time he was 13, he had already determined what he was going to do as an adult.  He was going to join the U.S. Navy.

In April 1799, he was made a midshipman on the USS General Green.  During the two years he was that rank, he learned how to board enemy ships and land on enemy shores.  He also learned other valuable skills such as  the art of fighting and navigation.

Perhaps the most important lesson was  how to conduct himself on board a ship.

In 1802, he was promoted to lieutenant when he was just 17 years old.

--Brock-Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie--Part 1

From the December 12, 2022, Tribune-Chronicle by Belinda Weiss.

In the early morning hours of September 10, 1813,  Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was instrumental in defeating the British Navy on Lake Erie, despite being the underdog in the fight.

Perry's bravery, determination and sheer stubborness were the driving forces behind the American victory.  The Battle of Lake Erie  proved to be a turning point, not only because of Perry's victory, but also because of the inspirational and emotional impact it had upon the American government and people.

This victory eliminated the British threat from the north and  lessened the Native American threat to American settlers.

Trumbull County, Ohio, was originally part of the Connecticut Western reserve, established on July 10, 1800, and named in honor of Connecticut  Governor Jonathan Trumbull.  However, the population of the county was a meager 1,302 in 1800 and only increased to 8,671 by 1810.

However, Perry's victory in the Battle of Lake Erie changed all of this.

Oliver Hazard Perry is the Perry in the signoffs of this blog.

Brock-Perry

Michigan's Shore Indian Trail and Hull's Trace & the War of 1812

From the October 25, 2022, Thumbwind by Michael Hardy.

The Shore Indian Trail was one of five major routes of land travel leading to Detroit and was well-known by early settlers.  The trail begins at the rapids of the Maumee River to Toledo, then closely follows along the shore of Lake Erie through Monroe and Brownstown to Detroit.

This trail became a crucial tactical element in the War of 1812.  The U.S. was concerned with supplying Fort Detroit early in tnhe war (it was still in American hands).  Since the British Navy controlled the Lake Erie, overland supply was the only option.

Starting in June 1812, troops under the command of General William Hull constructed what became known as "Hull's Trace," a 200-mile military road running from Urbana, Ohio, to Fort Detroit.  One hundred and fifty men under the command of  Hubert Lacroix completed "Corduroy Road" on July 4, 1812, with a bridge over  the River Huron.

--Brock-Perry

Pennsylvania's National Guard Celebrates Its 275th Anniversary December 7

From the December 6, 2022, DVIDS "Top ten moments in Pennsylvania National Guard history" by Brad Rhen.

WAR OF 1812 SERVICE

Of course, they were militia back then.

More than 14,000 Pennsylvanians were drawn into active service during the War of 1812.

During the Battle of Lake Erie, an artillery company provided volunteers to serve as cannoneers on Commodore Perry's fleet.

That unit today is known as Wilkes-Barre's 109th Field Artillery.

--Brock-Perry

81st Anniversary of Pearl Harbor: Herbert Jacobson-- Part 5

Continued from my Down Da Road I Go blog.

Bert Jacobson's name was recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of then Pacific in Honolulu along with other military personnel listed as missing in action from World War II.  A rosette later was placed next to his name to indicate that his remains have been identified.

The identification process began in 2015 when the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed the remains of the unidentified USS Oklahoma crew members for additional analysis.  (They had been buried commingled in several graves in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.)

'It's been a long process," Brad McDonald said.  "My mother, she kind of took up the torch for the whole family to figure out what's going on.  ...I have stacks and stacks of documents of all the agencies she contacted."

Continued in my Cooter's History Thing blog.

War of 1812 Veteran Fought at Battle of Gettysburg-- Part 5: John Burns' Statue

John Burns became a national hero after the battle.  When President Abraham Lincoln stopped in Pennsylvania to deliver his Gettysburg Address he asked to speak with Burns and met him at his home.  Burns was also photographed and even a poem written about him (see last post).

A statue of John Burns was erected on the Gettysburg Battlefield and still stands today.

Am inscription of the base of the statue reads:  "My thanks are specially due to a citizen of Gettysburg named John Burns who although over seventy years of age shouldered his musket and offered his services to Colonel Wister One Hundred and Fiftieth Pennsylvania Volunteers. 

"Colonel Wister advised him to fight in the woods as there was more shelter there but he preferred to join our line of skirmishers in the open fields when the troops retired he fought with the Iron Brigade.  He was wounded in three places."

These words were from the official report of Union General Doubleday.

Quite the Character.  --Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Veteran Fought at Gettysburg-- Part 4

We're talking about John Burns, of course.

Burns got rid of his rifle and buried his ammunition before passing out. When he came to, he was among the Confederates and tried to convince them that he was just an old man trying to find help for his aged wife, but this account varies depending upon who you read.

He survived his wounds and lived another nine years.

The Battle of Gettysburg turned out to be a major turning point of the war and the hopes of the South to form their own country faded after that.

As the poem "John Burns of Gettysburg," written after the war by Francis Bret Harte, goes:

"So raged the battle.  You know the rest.  How the rebels, beaten and backward pressed, broke at the final charge and ran.  At which John Burns -- a practical man-- shouldered his rifle, unbent his brows, and then went back to his bees and cows."

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Vet Fought at Gettysburg-- Part 3: Wounded Several Times Fighting with the Iron Brigade

This time John Burns was not turned away.  The commanders of the 150th Pennsylvania sent Burns to Herbst Woods, figuring that would be away from where the main fighting would take place.  They were wrong.

Herbst Woods was the site of the first  Confederate offensive of the Battle of Gettysburg.  Burns, sharpshoting for the Iron Brigade, helped blunt this offensive.

John Burns was mocked by the other Union troops for showing up for the battle with an antiquated weapon and "swallowtail coat with brass buttons, yellow buttons and tall hat."  But when the bullets started to fly, he calmly took cover behind a tree and started to shoot back with his more modern weapon.

He fought beside the 7th Wisconsin and later moved over to the 24th Michigan.

He was wounded  in the arm, legs and chest and was left on the field when the Union forces fell back.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812: Napoleon, Embargo Act, Treaty of Ghent, William Henry Harrison and USS Constitution

DECEMBER 4, 1804

**  Napoleon is crowned Emperor of France following a coup d'etat.  (Thankfully because he kept the British tied up fighting him  at first in the war.)

DECEMBER 22, 1807

**  The Embargo Act passed.

DECEMBER 24, 1814

**  The Treaty of Ghent was signed ending the war.

DECEMBER 28. 1812

**  William Henry Harrison formally resigns as Governor of Indiana Territory and takes the rank of brigadier general.

DECEMBER 29, 1812

**  The USS Constitution defeats the HMS Java.

--Brock-Perry