TheCrown Point forts standing within the confines of the State Reservation at Crown Point, were frequently mentioned during the Tercentenary celebration exercises as well as during the dedicatory ceremonies of the Champlain memorials.
They are of historical and public interest, now that they belong to the State, through the generosity of Witherbee, Sherman & Co., and will be preserved from further devastation.
Fort Frédéric was built by Marquis de Beauharnois in honor of the French Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Frédéric Maurepas, in 1731. The English forts were constructed under the supervision of General Jeffrey Amherst as will appear from the following excerpts of the official “Correspondence of William Pitt,” edited by Gertrude Selwin Kimball and published by the Macmillan Company.
In his report under date of Crown Point, August 5, 1759, General Amherst says: “I arrived at Crown Point [August 4th] before the evening, landed and posted all corps.* * *I ordered [August 5th] Lt. Colonel Eyre to trace out the ground for a Fort, which I will set about with all possible expedition.” Correspondence of William Pitt, Vol. 2, pp. 147-148, published by the Macmillan Company.
General Amherst in his report under date of Crown Point October 22, 1759, to William Pitt, says “to make the fortress as formidable as I can I ordered with the advise of the Engineer three Forts to be erected, which I named the Grenadier Fort, the light Infantry Fort, & Gages light Infantry Fort, ordering those Corps’s to build each their own as fast as possible.” Correspondence of William Pitt, Vol. 2, p. 191.
In a later report under date of New York December 16, 1759, to William Pitt, General Amherst (on November 10, 1759, that being the birthday of George II), says: “The Troops worked till three o’clock, excepting the Grenadiers, who were under Arms at one o’clock and fired Volleys.* * *The three Forts firing 21 Cannon, and the Battalionsvolleys. The Fortress 21 Cannon, the Army a running fire, the Park of Artillery 21 Cannon, the Army a general volley* * *.” Correspondence of William Pitt, Vol. 2, p. 222.
Again in a later report under date of New York, January 7, 1761, to William Pitt, General Amherst says: “The works of the Fortress of Crown Point, and of the Forts of Oswego, Pittsburg, and Fort Stanwix, are not finished so much as I could wish, and I judge, it will be proper to compleat them in the Spring, and that the Provincials should furnish men for this Service.” Correspondence of William Pitt, Vol. 2, p. 382.
It thus appears that the fortress at Crown Point was not completed in 1761, and in fact it was never fully completed.
It does not appear from the foregoing correspondence between General Amherst and William Pitt or from any of the official reports of General Amherst that the fortress at Crown Point was officially named “Fort Amherst,” as it was occasionally denominated in common parlance.
Additional light is thrown on the early history of the region in the papers of Victor Hugo Paltsits, State Historian, and W. Max Reid, on the Rock Inscription at Crown Point, found in the New York State Historical Association Publications [Vol. X, pp. 106-113]. In the papers of Mr. Reid, he says that “The Earl of Waldegrave writes to the Board of Trade, June 13th, 1732: ‘the French have caused a fort to be built* * *at a place calledPointe de la Couronne, in English, Crown Point.’” [N. Y. Hist. Assoc. Pub. X, p. 113.]