- Joined
- Jun 21, 2012
- Location
- Louisville, KY
Fort Ontario is a 5 bastioned masonry and earthwork fortification located in Oswego, New York. It is situated on a small hill at the mouth of the Oswego River on the shores of Lake Ontario. Construction of the present day Fort Ontario began sometime in 1838 or 39 on the site of previous fortifications, the last being destroyed by British forces during the War of 1812. The fort is named for Lake Ontario and when viewed from above looks very similar to the much more well known Fort McHenry.
When the fort was completed in the 1840s it was an earthern and timber fortification with it's earthern walls sloping outward into the moat around the fort as well as a V shaped earthwork battery facing inland in case of a land assault. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 and the uncertainty of Great Britains entrance into the war federal troops were sent to reinforce Fort Ontario as well as update the fort. The earthern walls were destroyed to make room for vertical walls which contained casemates for new artillery although most artillery from the fort was removed to be sent south in late 1861 and 1862. The post had already contained a storehouse, barracks, officers quarters and a magazine within its walls but with the Civil War two new guardhouses were built flanking the new the sally port into the fort, one of which contained a small jail/prison. The fort however never saw action during the war although construction continued through the end of the war.
Although all improvements regarding the walls and casemates were completed in Fort Ontario the war demonstrated that masonry walls could no longer stand up to new rifled artillery and the government slowly cut funding for the post. The post was briefly put into caretaker status until it was once again used by the U.S. Army in the early 1900s. The old fort itself was all but abandoned as the post flooded outside the walls to take on a more open post look as was common in the time. The fort saw use all the way through World War II when it was used as a refugee camp for European Jews fleeing the war and the Nazi Holocaust.
In 1946 the site was transferred to the state of New York to house veterans until 1949 and the formation of the Fort Ontario State Historic Site. The fort was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and remains open to the public today for a small fee except during the winter when the site shut down. The fort is mostly restored to it's post-Civil War look and visitors can tour the casemates, post buildings and parade ground. There are also many reenactments and activities on the site grounds every summer.
http://fortoswego.com/
Also be sure to check out all other "forgotten forts" in the Forgotten Forts Series Index (Link Below)
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-index.80901/
When the fort was completed in the 1840s it was an earthern and timber fortification with it's earthern walls sloping outward into the moat around the fort as well as a V shaped earthwork battery facing inland in case of a land assault. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 and the uncertainty of Great Britains entrance into the war federal troops were sent to reinforce Fort Ontario as well as update the fort. The earthern walls were destroyed to make room for vertical walls which contained casemates for new artillery although most artillery from the fort was removed to be sent south in late 1861 and 1862. The post had already contained a storehouse, barracks, officers quarters and a magazine within its walls but with the Civil War two new guardhouses were built flanking the new the sally port into the fort, one of which contained a small jail/prison. The fort however never saw action during the war although construction continued through the end of the war.
Although all improvements regarding the walls and casemates were completed in Fort Ontario the war demonstrated that masonry walls could no longer stand up to new rifled artillery and the government slowly cut funding for the post. The post was briefly put into caretaker status until it was once again used by the U.S. Army in the early 1900s. The old fort itself was all but abandoned as the post flooded outside the walls to take on a more open post look as was common in the time. The fort saw use all the way through World War II when it was used as a refugee camp for European Jews fleeing the war and the Nazi Holocaust.
In 1946 the site was transferred to the state of New York to house veterans until 1949 and the formation of the Fort Ontario State Historic Site. The fort was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and remains open to the public today for a small fee except during the winter when the site shut down. The fort is mostly restored to it's post-Civil War look and visitors can tour the casemates, post buildings and parade ground. There are also many reenactments and activities on the site grounds every summer.
http://fortoswego.com/
Also be sure to check out all other "forgotten forts" in the Forgotten Forts Series Index (Link Below)
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/forgotten-forts-series-index.80901/