One Fine Example of a Fort
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The fortification was a project urged by the local Native Americans upon Royal Governor Robert Morris on January 17, 1756 to erect a stronghold near their village for both his and their defense against their enemies. The Governor was slower to comprehend the military necessity of the move than the Indians. Colonel William Clapham arrived in July of 1756 with a regiment of 400 men to begin construction and everything was completed the next year by Colonel James Burd. Colonel Clapham was called away for other duties and was killed a few years later by Native Americans, together with his family, on Sewickley Creek in Western Pennsylvania. Colonel Burd finished construction and participated in the Bouquet expedition and had command of 582 men. He took place in the Battle of Loyalhanna, known as Bushy Run and accompanied the army onward to Fort Duquesne.
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The site of the fort is now within the limits of the city of Sunbury, Pennsylvania, in an area the local Native Americans called "Shamokin." When construction was completed the fort was named for Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the mother of King George III, and was the largest of the Provincial forts. During the French and Indian War, it was evident that several hundred French and Indian troops traveled the Great Shamokin Path and were aware of the crucial importance of the Susquehanna River for travel and communication, as well as, being a link to the pioneer settlements downstream. The area was a depot for supplies and a point where the main Indian paths such as the Kittanning Path and Iroquois Warriors Path could easily be reached. The French forces came upon the main stronghold of the colony of Pennsylvania that was situated at the junction the north and west branches of the waterway.
Fort Augusta was strong enough to resist attack and any effort to do so was abandoned by the French. It is considered that a British defeat at Fort Augusta may have altered the history of the course of the conflict in North America. The fort was built in a square design, 204 feet on a side, with bastions at each corner and a double palisade surrounding it. The outer walls and the fort itself protected nearly a six hundred (600) foot long stretch of the riverbank. The main structure enclosed seven buildings including the commander's quarters, officer's quarters, three enlisted barracks and a powder magazine. The buildings were of log construction except for the magazine which was constructed underground of stone with a brick ceiling. The fortification included at least twelve cannon, possibly fifteen, two swivel guns; and seven blunderbusses in its armament.
The land on which the fortification sat was given to officers of Henry Bouquet’s expedition of 1764 against the Ohio Indians as a reward for their services. In 1772, Northumberland County was formed and Sunbury was laid out near Fort Augusta as the county seat. The first county courts met at the fort, and the powder magazine was used as the first jail. A few years later, during the Revolutionary War, Fort Augusta was the military headquarters of the American forces in the upper Susquehanna Valley. The activities of the Northumberland County Militia, the sending of troops to serve in Washington’s army, and the support and protection of smaller posts throughout the valley were all directed from this main fort, where their commander, Colonel Samuel Hunter was in residence. The Iroquois became allies of the British as the conflict progressed and frequently invaded the area.
Afer the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, General Washington consolidated the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment, and along with the 3rd and 5th Pennsylvania Regiments, mustered out the officers and sent them home to help the people organize for defense of the nearby fortification. Captain John Brady, Captain Hawkins Boone, and Captain Samuel Daugherty were part of this crew.
In 1778, a massacre occured in Wyoming, Pennsylvania that sent settlers fleeing to Fort Augusta seeking protection. Colonel Thomas Hartley restored order briefly but a year later Native American raids began again. An expedition against the Iroquois was planned and executed by General John Sullivan. The campaign essentially halted Britain's Native American allies. Fort Augusta served its purposed for well over thirty years and was eventually dismantled in 1796. The fort once known as Fort Augusta is just one prime example of a French and Indian War that stood the test of time and assisted in the fight for American independence.
Fort Augusta was strong enough to resist attack and any effort to do so was abandoned by the French. It is considered that a British defeat at Fort Augusta may have altered the history of the course of the conflict in North America. The fort was built in a square design, 204 feet on a side, with bastions at each corner and a double palisade surrounding it. The outer walls and the fort itself protected nearly a six hundred (600) foot long stretch of the riverbank. The main structure enclosed seven buildings including the commander's quarters, officer's quarters, three enlisted barracks and a powder magazine. The buildings were of log construction except for the magazine which was constructed underground of stone with a brick ceiling. The fortification included at least twelve cannon, possibly fifteen, two swivel guns; and seven blunderbusses in its armament.
The land on which the fortification sat was given to officers of Henry Bouquet’s expedition of 1764 against the Ohio Indians as a reward for their services. In 1772, Northumberland County was formed and Sunbury was laid out near Fort Augusta as the county seat. The first county courts met at the fort, and the powder magazine was used as the first jail. A few years later, during the Revolutionary War, Fort Augusta was the military headquarters of the American forces in the upper Susquehanna Valley. The activities of the Northumberland County Militia, the sending of troops to serve in Washington’s army, and the support and protection of smaller posts throughout the valley were all directed from this main fort, where their commander, Colonel Samuel Hunter was in residence. The Iroquois became allies of the British as the conflict progressed and frequently invaded the area.
Afer the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, General Washington consolidated the 12th Pennsylvania Regiment, and along with the 3rd and 5th Pennsylvania Regiments, mustered out the officers and sent them home to help the people organize for defense of the nearby fortification. Captain John Brady, Captain Hawkins Boone, and Captain Samuel Daugherty were part of this crew.
In 1778, a massacre occured in Wyoming, Pennsylvania that sent settlers fleeing to Fort Augusta seeking protection. Colonel Thomas Hartley restored order briefly but a year later Native American raids began again. An expedition against the Iroquois was planned and executed by General John Sullivan. The campaign essentially halted Britain's Native American allies. Fort Augusta served its purposed for well over thirty years and was eventually dismantled in 1796. The fort once known as Fort Augusta is just one prime example of a French and Indian War that stood the test of time and assisted in the fight for American independence.
"During July, Samuel Miles and Lieutenant Atlee were ambushed by three Indians near a spring about half a milk from Fort Augusta, at Sunbury. A soldier who had come to the spring for a drink, was killed. Miles and Atlee made their escape. A rescuing part came out from the fort, and found the soldier scalped, with his blood trickling into the spring, giving its waters a crimson hue."