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FEATURE
CONTACT:
Scott Flaherty
(518) 292-5131
sflaherty@empire.state.ny.us



FORT EDWARD, NY: GATEWAY TO AMERICAN HISTORY

The town of Fort Edward, NY, is a link to America?s past that reaches back thousands of years. Known most prominently for the role it played as a staging ground by the British in the French and Indian War, Fort Edward, which incorporated Rogers Island, is also the site where Major Robert Rogers wrote his famous military tactics, ?Ranging Rules,? and the location of an archaeological dig that has produced thousands of prehistoric artifacts.

All of this history, and more, can be experienced at the Rogers Island Visitors Center in Fort Edward (www.rogersisland.org).

Fort Edward: America?s 3rd Largest City

New York City, Boston and ? Fort Edward? Believe it or not, it?s true: Fort Edward was once the third largest city in the country at its peak of military buildup during the French and Indian War. Due to its strategic location on the Hudson River, thousands of soldiers were encamped at Fort Edward as it became one of the largest British fortifications in North America and Great Britain?s staging ground for all invasions north into New France, or present-day eastern Canada. With this military build-up, Fort Edward was actually inhabited by enough people to become one of the most populous cities in the country.

The fort itself was never heavily utilized again after the French and Indian War as it was ordered to be evacuated and left to decay. Though American soldiers occupied remaining barracks at the fort during the Revolutionary War, they were forced to evacuate when British General John Burgoyne?s troops neared the fort on their way to the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.

The US military returned to Rogers Island in the 19th Century when local militias drilled there before leaving for duty during the Civil War.

Rogers Rangers: Standing Orders

Modern-day US Army Rangers can trace their outfit?s ancestry back to Rogers Island and Major Robert Rogers. From 1756 until 1759 Rogers and more than 400 of his rangers were based on the island, which now bears his name. While there in 1757, Rogers penned a letter to Lord Loudon in which he detailed his method of military training and rules, which later became known as ?Standing Orders.?

Rogers noticed that many Native American forces would ambush and attack their enemies, utilizing the element of surprise to gain advantage. He adapted these techniques, which were in stark contrast to the traditional ways of British warfare that usually consisted of armies meeting head-on on a battlefield, and trained his forces to employ these tactics during the French and Indian War. In time, these strategies became the blueprint of military tactics implemented by irregular fighting forces throughout the world.

Archaeological Dig: Big Finds at Little Wood Creek

Just like a box of chocolates, when putting the shovel into the ground, you never know what you?re going to get. This is exactly what happened in 1986 when evidence of several prehistoric settlements and parts of the 18th century Fort Edward appeared during the construction of a building near Little Wood Creek on the east bank of the Hudson River.

Federal funding and archaeologists soon arrived and evidence of a Native American settlement dating back to 1000 B.C. was found including an intact living floor with more than 80,000 artifacts, most notably Susquehanna Broadspears. Also found on this site, which was adjacent to the fort, were storage pits, tobacco pipes, pottery and hearths that dated further activity in the area to circa 1000-1300 A.D.

Artifacts from these excavations have been made available to the public as part of a long-term loan to the Rogers Island Visitors Center.

Rogers Island Visitors Center ? The Center of it All!

Detailing thousands of years of Fort Edward?s and Washington County?s history, from 1000 BC to the French and Indian War and American Revolution, is the Rogers Island Visitors Center.

Through a series of exhibitions, lectures, workshops and other events, including an archaeological field school, the Center promotes the heritage of the area and nation in an engaging and interactive setting. The Center also hosts an annual French and Indian War Encampment, with recreated camps, military life, tactical demonstrations and daily ?skirmishes? that bring history alive for all to see.

For more information on Fort Edward and Rogers Island, visit www.rogersisland.org or for information about other travel opportunities in New York State, visit www.iloveny.com or call toll-free 1/800 CALL NYS.

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The French and Indian War, fought from 1754 to 1763, is the precursor to the fight for American Independence. This conflict, now gaining recognition for its important role in the shaping of this country and Canada, was a fierce contest between the British and American colonists against the French and Canadians, with Native American allies on both sides. The strategic waterways in New York?the Hudson-Champlain corridor, the Mohawk Valley, and the St. Lawrence?made the state a focal point of the war. As a result, the New York State French and Indian War 250th Anniversary Commemoration Commission was established by Governor George E. Pataki to raise awareness of this significant and fascinating period of American history.

Editor?s Note: For downloadable photographs depicting New York State?s French and Indian War sites, visit www.iloveny.com/pressroom.