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His Majesty's Fort of Crown Point or more simply Crown Point was a British
Kingdom of Great Britain

The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a country in North-West Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801....
 fort built in 1759 on Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada ? United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec....
 (on the border between modern New York State and Vermont
Vermont

Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
) to secure the region against the French. The fort is located near the town of Crown Point, New York
Crown Point, New York

Crown Point is a town in Essex County, New York, New York, United States. The population was 2,119 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is a direct translation of the original French name, "Point au Chevalure."...
. Fort Crown Point was the largest earthen fort built in the United States.

French first built a fort here with thick walls here in the 1730s to "impress" the Indians.






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His Majesty's Fort of Crown Point or more simply Crown Point was a British
Kingdom of Great Britain

The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a country in North-West Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801....
 fort built in 1759 on Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada ? United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec....
 (on the border between modern New York State and Vermont
Vermont

Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
) to secure the region against the French. The fort is located near the town of Crown Point, New York
Crown Point, New York

Crown Point is a town in Essex County, New York, New York, United States. The population was 2,119 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is a direct translation of the original French name, "Point au Chevalure."...
. Fort Crown Point was the largest earthen fort built in the United States.

History

The French first built a fort here with thick walls here in the 1730s to "impress" the Indians. They named it Fort St. Frederic
Fort St. Frédéric

Fort St. Fr?d?ric was a France fort built on Lake Champlain to secure the region against British colonization and to allow the French to control the use of Lake Champlain....
. British assaulted this twice during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War

The French and Indian War was the North American chapter of the Seven Years' War, known in Canada as the War of the Conquest. The name refers to the two main enemies of the British: the royal French forces and the various Indigenous peoples of the Americas forces allied with them....
 before the French finally blew it up in the summer of 1759.

Fort Crown Point was constructed by the British army under the command of Sir Jeffery Amherst following the capture of Fort Carillon to the south (which he renamed Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga is a large eighteenth-century fort built at a narrows at the south end of Lake Champlain where a short traverse gives access to the north end of Lake George in the state of New York....
) and the destruction of Fort St. Frédéric. Amherst used the construction of the fort as a means of keeping his men working through the winter 1759 after pushing the French into modern Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. The use of the name "Fort Crown Point" as the English name of this fort is historically innaccurate and should be avoided; "Fort" was not added until after 1800. The English fort built in 1759 was always referred to in the records as just "Crown Point," or occasionally "His Majesty's Fort at Crown Point."

The Fort at Crown Point was never directly assaulted. Never having the comforts of the smaller Fort Ticonderoga to the south, the Fort at Crown Point was generally used most for staging, then as a position in its own right.

After the French and Indian War
French and Indian War

The French and Indian War was the North American chapter of the Seven Years' War, known in Canada as the War of the Conquest. The name refers to the two main enemies of the British: the royal French forces and the various Indigenous peoples of the Americas forces allied with them....
 the British left only a skeletal force at the fort, who yielded easily to the Americans in 1775 at the start of the American Revolution
American Revolution

The American Revolution refers to the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen Colonies of North America overthrew the governance of the British Empire and then rejected the British monarchy to become the sovereign United States of America....
. The fort was used as a staging ground by Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a General officer during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army, but switched sides to the British Empire....
 during the American Revolution
American Revolution

The American Revolution refers to the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen Colonies of North America overthrew the governance of the British Empire and then rejected the British monarchy to become the sovereign United States of America....
 for his navy on Lake Champlain. After the destruction of that navy in 1776 during the Battle of Valcour Island
Battle of Valcour Island

The naval Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain in a narrow strait between the New York mainland and Valcour Island during the American Revolutionary War....
, the fort was abandoned to the British in 1777. With no reason for attacks in that region the fort was abandoned after the end of the revolution in 1780.

The large earthen walls of the Fort at Crown Point are still visible today. A massive, accidental fire in April 1773 entirely destroyed the log and earth fort, leaving the empty stone ruins of two barracks buildings standing. These ruins still stand in the fort and are being carefully preserved as ruins.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, :wiktionary:site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States for its historical significance....
 in 1968.,,

Notable Visitors during the 18th century

  • Benjamin Franklin
    Benjamin Franklin

    Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and Printer , Satire, list of political philosophers, politician, scientist, inventor, activism, statesman, and diplomacy....
    , traveling to Canada, seeking an alliance against the British
  • George Washington
    George Washington

    George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States of the United States of Americas ....
    , July 21, 1783, the furthest north he ever traveled
  • Future President James Madison
    James Madison

    James Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
     in 1791
  • Benedict Arnold
    Benedict Arnold

    Benedict Arnold V was a General officer during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army, but switched sides to the British Empire....
     commanded here before turning traitor


Gallery


See also

  • Fort St. Frédéric
    Fort St. Frédéric

    Fort St. Fr?d?ric was a France fort built on Lake Champlain to secure the region against British colonization and to allow the French to control the use of Lake Champlain....
  • Crown Point State Historic Site
    Crown Point State Historic Site

    Crown Point State Historic Site is the site of a former military stronghold at the south end of the wider part of Lake Champlain. The location is in Essex County, New York, New York, USA....


External links

  • at NYS OPRHP