Fort De La Présentation
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The Fort de La Présentation (; "Fort of the
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"), a mission fort, was built in 1749 and so named by the French
Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (; PSS), also known as the Sulpicians, is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, where it was founded. The members of the Society add the ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
, Abbé Picquet. It was also sometimes known as Fort La Galette (). It was built at the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the
Oswegatchie River The Oswegatchie River is a river in northern New York (state), New York that flows from the Adirondack Mountains north to the Saint Lawrence River. The Oswegatchie River begins at Partlow Lake in Hamilton County, New York. The river continues t ...
and the
St Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...
in present-day
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. The French wanted to strengthen their alliance with the powerful Iroquois, as well as convert them to
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. With increasing tensions with Great Britain, they were concerned about their thinly populated Canadian colony., Friends of ''Fort de La Présentation'' Website, accessed 2 February 2010 By 1755 the settlement included 3,000
Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
residents loyal to France, in part because of the
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
, as well as their hostility to encroachment by British colonists in their other territories. By comparison,
Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
had only 4,000 residents. In 1758, with the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
intensifying, a French-Canadian military commander took charge of a garrison at the fort. In 1759, French military forces abandoned the fort to move to Fort Lévis. Ultimately the British besieged that fort and Montréal. After the British victories of 1760, the French ceded their Canadian territory to Great Britain. The British renamed it Fort Oswegatchie. It remained under their control until 1796, after
Jay's Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Kingdom of Great Britain, ...
, when redefinition of the northern boundary caused the land to be taken over by the United States. The first settlement under an American flag began that year. American residents named the town Ogdensburg after early settler Samuel Ogden.


Background

As the colony of
New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...
expanded into the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
, the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...
became a vital link connecting outposts on the lakes to
Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
. The French began establishing fortifications to secure the route to prevent Anglo-American expansion. Sometime before 1683, the French had built ''Fort la Galette'', a fortified post located on the St. Lawrence River along the northern shore of the river (near present Prescott, Ontario). The fortified post was mainly used as a trading site and was abandoned and reoccupied several times.


Establishment of the fort

As the Anglo-Americans continued to expand westward, the French chose a site at the meeting of the
Oswegatchie River The Oswegatchie River is a river in northern New York (state), New York that flows from the Adirondack Mountains north to the Saint Lawrence River. The Oswegatchie River begins at Partlow Lake in Hamilton County, New York. The river continues t ...
and the St. Lawrence River to establish a new fort. Located on the south side of the St. Lawrence River, the fort was based on the existing mission that had been erected there as early as 1688. The site had a good harbor and was situated to prevent the Anglo-Americans from coming up the Oswegatchie River and simultaneously prevented further expansion west of
Fort Oswego Fort Oswego was an 18th-century trading post in the Great Lakes region in North America, which became the site of a battle between French and British Army forces in 1756 during the North American phase of the Seven Years' War, known in the United ...
. Aside from impeding the Anglo-Americans, the purpose of the fort was to
Christianize Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...
the
Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
. Led by the
Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (; PSS), also known as the Sulpicians, is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, where it was founded. The members of the Society add the ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
, Abbé Picquet, the mission was a source of some controversy as Picquet actively encouraged Iroquois war party raids on English settlements. Construction began in 1748, with the initial fort composed of a small house and a barn and a garrison of three soldiers. On 1 June 1749, the fort was officially established by Picquet, who was its commander, with 25 Frenchmen and 4 Indians. By late 1749, early 1750, the fort was expanded to included quarters for the commandant, missionaries and storekeeper. Four large timbers towers built on masonry foundations had been erected and were connected by a wooded
palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...
. A larger detachment of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine had arrived and approximately 300 Iroquois, Huron and other Indians were housed at the fort. In 1749, the population aside from the garrison comprised six Iroquois families. By 1751, there were 396 families distributed among three villages. The villages were composed of 49 bark cabins, long, which lodged three to four families each. There were also approximately 20 cabins near the fort. By 1756, trenches were constructed around the villages.


French and Indian War

Beginning in 1755, Picquet began taking part in military expeditions as part of the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
, leaving Abbé Pierre-Paul-François de Lagarde in charge of the fort. The fort was an important link in the defence of New France as news from the Great Lakes and from among the Indians would arrive there first and be redirected to the appropriate authority. However, as the war with the Anglo-Americans grew Picquet was removed as commander of the fort by Governor Vaudreuil, replaced by Captain Claude-Nicolas de Lorimier de La Rivière, while keeping his position as chief missionary. This led to a rift as Picquet was the ''de facto'' leader of the Indians and trained them in warfare, while Lorimier was left in command of just the French. Lorimier led his Frenchmen in the attack on
Fort Bull Fort Bull was located at the Oneida Carry in British North America (now New York, United States) during the French and Indian War. On October 29, 1755 Governor William Shirley ordered Captain Mark Petrie to take the men under his command and to b ...
in 1756, and Lorimier's garrison was used to watch the British at Fort Oswego. In November 1757, a raid was launched from Fort de La Présentation on the British settlement of German Flatts in the
Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...
, which saw the settlement destroyed on 12 November. In February 1758, after Picquet had withdrawn to his abbey in Lac-des-Deux-Montagnes, the Indians petitioned for his return. The fall of Fort Frontenac in August 1758 increased the threat to the fort and Lorimier was recalled, replaced by Captain Antoine-Gabriel-François Benoist. With Lorimier's dismissal, Picquet returned to Fort de La Présentation. Furthermore, on 30 August, 1,500 soldiers were stationed at Fort de La Présentation to block any British push down the St. Lawrence, making the fort the center of the French defences. Benoist was replaced by Captain
Pierre Pouchot Captain Pierre Pouchot (April 8, 1712 – 1769) was a French military engineer and officer in the French regular army. He was born at Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France w ...
in March 1759.


Pointe-au-Baril

With the fall of Fort Frontenac in August 1758, New France lacked a shipbuilding facility between the upper Great Lakes and Montréal. A site was chosen on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River west of Fort de La Présentation. Pointe-au-Baril, located in present-day Maitland, Ontario, was established in 1759. Pointe-au-Baril was a fortified shipbuilding site with inner earthworks and an outer palisade high. On 4 April 1759, Captain Pierre Pouchot was given temporary command of both Pointe-au-Baril and Fort de La Présentation until the two
corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...
s under construction there were completed.


Battle of the Thousand Islands

By August 1760, only Pointe-au-Baril, Fort de La Présentation, and Montréal were left in French control along the upper St. Lawrence River. Pouchot, who had been captured at
Fort Niagara Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great L ...
and returned in a prisoner exchange, was sent to establish a new fort, Fort Lévis on an island in the St. Lawrence River, downstream from Fort de La Présentation. Due to Fort de La Présentation's location on low ground, the fort was susceptible to bombardment by British guns and Pouchot ordered its evacuation. Picquet moved his mission to Île Picquet, but lacked the support of the French and his Indian allies began to starve and depart. In March 1760, Picquet abandoned the mission and departed for Montréal. In July, the French sent a party to Fort de La Présentation to begin the fort's demolition, removing the roofs of the buildings. However, some Iroquois remained in the villages, sending war parties on occasion to scout. On 16 August 1760, the British under General
Jeffery Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the ...
captured the abandoned Pointe-au-Baril and established an
artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...
. From 19 to 24 August in the
Battle of the Thousand Islands The Battle of the Thousand Islands was an engagement fought on 16–24 August 1760, in the upper St. Lawrence River, among the Thousand Islands, along the present day Canada–United States border, by British and French forces during the closing ...
, Fort Lévis was assaulted by the British before surrendering. French control over the area was broken. During the battle, Fort de La Présentation was occupied by the British, with a garrison composed of three provincial regiments from
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
under the command of Colonel Nathan Whiting. They established a supply base at the fort during the siege of Fort Lévis.


Fort ''de La Présentation'' site

The Fort de La Présentation Site is an
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...
located on Lighthouse Point, near Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, New York. It encompasses the remains of at least eight different and discrete potential components, as identified in 1987–1988. These include four contributing components: remains from French and Native American occupation during the period 1749 to 1760; remains from English and Native American occupation during the period 1760 to 1796; remains from American settlers in Ogdensburg during the period 1796 to 1812; and remains from American military occupation during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. ''See also:'' The site was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2010.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort de La Presentation Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) French and Indian War La Presentation Archaeological sites in New York (state) La Presentation La Presentation St. Lawrence County, New York Native American history of New York (state) La Presentation La Presentation 1749 establishments in the French colonial empire National Register of Historic Places in St. Lawrence County, New York