The French and Indian War Tour
This Fall the Eastern Regional Office of the Conservancy wrapped up its French and Indian War Tour. For the tour we traveled across New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland to explore the rich history and archaeology of the French and Indian War. This epic struggle involving Native Americans, the English and French Empires, and Colonial forces, was one of the first global conflicts and a defining moment in American history.
After a severe storm during our opening reception in Buffalo the skies cleared and we had perfect weather for visiting some of the most important sites associated with this conflict in New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Here are just a few of the highlights. For a full overview of all the amazing locations and sites visited on this trip please see our website. We had an excellent group of participants, and thank everyone for making this a very memorable trip!
The site is a magnificent reconstruction of Fort Stanwix, an 18th century fort used in both the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Now a National Monument and Park, the area containing the fort was extensively excavated in the 1970s.
Fort Ticonderoga which was originally built by the French in 1756. The British made two attempts to capture the fort, the first ending in defeat in 1758 and a second successful siege in 1759. The fort is also the site of the first American victory during the Revolutionary War. From Fort Ticonderoga we traveled to the site of Crown Point which contains impressive ruins of French and British forts which once occupied this strategic peninsula on Lake Champlain and has been subject to extensive archaeological research by the State of New York.
Roger’s Island at Fort Edward was the site of the largest British military complex during the French and Indian War. The complex included Fort Edward, the Royal Blockhouse (now a Conservancy Preserve) and Rogers Island, which was the base for Roger’s Rangers and the birthplace of the U.S. Army Rangers. Dr. David Starbuck, archaeologist and French and Indian War scholar, discussed the history of the area and the archaeology of Rogers Island. We then traveled to the Iroquois Indian Museum, near the town of Howes Cave to help gain a Native American perspective on the conflict.
The reconstructed Fort Frederick, said to be one of the best preserved stone forts from the period, guarded the Cumberland Valley and Potomac River from Native American raiding parties.
Standing on a bluff above Lake Ontario, Fort Niagara has dominated the entrance to the Niagara River since 1726. The fort played an important role in the struggles of France, Great Britain, and the United States to control the Great Lakes region of North America, and also helped shape the destinies of the Iroquois (Six Nations) peoples and the nation of Canada.
~Kelley Berliner, Eastern Regional Field Representative.
For upcoming tours please visit our tours webpage.
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