XIII.

FORT STANWIX.

CAPT. GREEN'S OBSERVATIONS ON A PLAN OF A FORT ORDERED TO BE BUILT AT THE ONEIDA CARRYING place.

Being ordered by Brigadier General Stanwix to give my opinion in Writting of a Plan ordered for a Fort at the Oneida Carrying Place, paying a Comparative attention to a letter from His Excellency General Abercrombe Dated from the Camp at Lake George July 16 1758.

66 HEADS OF THE ORDERED PLAN.

"A good Post to be made at the Oneida Carrying Place capable of Lodging 200 men in the Winter and for 3 or 400 men in the Summer for its Defence, with Loggs-A Parrapet of such a thickness as the Engineer shall think necessary according to the scituation.

"A Ditch to be made to serve to thicken the Parrapet-Barracks to be made underneath the Rampart, with Flues of the Chimneys to come through the Top.

"The Square will be Cheapest Form to be made use of for this Work.

"The Bastions in Like manner can be made Use of for Storehouses or Magazines.

"In the Square may be made Lodging for Officers, and the rest of the Quadrangle clear-The whole to be Logged.

"And opposite the Officers Barrack may be made a Store house for the Deposite of Indian Goods." By a good Post-I understand to be meant, such a one, as will contain with ease, the said number of Men, To be executed in such a manner, as to protect them from a Coup de main and to be of such a Size, as will admitt of a proper Defence by such a Garrison-ye Exterior Side of which Square, cannot possibly be less (if so little) than 300 ft wch procures but a verry small Defence from its flank, & will make an Exterior Circuit of Logging of nearly 1420 ft by at the very least 14 ft high, according as the Scituation may be, & in order to admitt of Barracks under the Rampart, to which the Retaining & Bracing Logg Works, as well as the Logg work fronting the Interior Area, must in course be considered, as Likewise the Logg Work to cover the Barracks, Store houses & Magazines that are proposed to be made under the Rampart of the Curtins and Bastions, by wch it will appear, that the greatest part of the Rampart round this Post, must be formed & Supported with Loggwork.

As I am ignorant of the Scituation conceive that any form of a Work, that does not take up more in its Exterior & Interior Circuit, Attention, being made to an equal Flank Defence must be as cheap and as good as a Square, as it might not be in my power strictly to adhere to that FigureAs to the thickness of the Parapet, being informed Cannon can be brought there by the Enemy it cannot be less than 12 ft. if so little, 18 ft. being the standard in such Cases.

The Rampart for the Manoeuver of Cannon, and likewise to admitt of a Reasonable Breadth for the Barracks underneath cannot be less than 20 ft.

The Breadth & Dept of the Ditch must be considered in Proportion for the Earth wanted to form the said Parrapet, and to cover the Loggwork of the Proposed Barracks Magazines & Storehouses to be made under the Rampart.

His Excellency General Abercrombie is pleased to Observe in His Letter of the 16 of July to the following Purpot-that He does not find himself vested with ye Power of Building Forts, and that His Excellency does not think that it would be right for Him to Undertake the Building of those He proposed &c. &c.

I humbly conceive that the Plan Ordered for the Post at Oneida Carrying Place is in all Respects and Circumstances to be considered as a Fort, as it partakes not only of the Figure, and the respective parts of a Fort, but even of the Parmanent Intentions of a Fortress, as must clearly appear by considering all the Particulars Ordered in that Plan, the Materials of which it is Ordered To be Built with being only peculiar to the Country and Scituation, and can no ways affect the Intention of that Work, and as to its capacity in point of Size, and the proper Strength requisite in the Execution, when considered, it is Ordered To be made, a good Post for 200 Men to 400 men I should think it my Duty to execute it with Propriety, Care, and Attention, in order that it might answer the end proposed―That of Covering that part of the Country.

How far this can be executed (allowing it only to be looked upon as a Post instead of it's absolutely partaking of all the Qualitys & Intentions of a Fort) to answer the end proposed, of having it finished against the Winter must appear by Considering

First It will be near the end of this month before 'twill be begun upon

2dly How soon the Winter setts in in that part of the country.

34ly The great Quantity of Carpenters Work to be executed in Logging and Braceing at least 1420 Ft: Exterior Circuit by 14 feet high, besides the Retaining Logg Work, and the Front Loggwork towards the Interior Area, togather with covering the Barracks, Storehouses and Magazines with Loggs under the Rampart, all this being composed of Heavy Workmanship, besides the Lodging for the officers, and Storehouse for Indian Goods

4thly The Consequences that may attend this Post being attacked If only half or two-thirds compleated

And lastly, The Practibility of executing this post before the Winter sets in, Must still further be judged, not only by the number of artificers that would be Requisite to Compleat it in due time, but by considering it is one of the Reasons inter alia His Excellency General Abercrombie Himself Gives for laying aside the Scheme of Building a Fort there--By observing as follows "Besides when I recollect how far the Season is advanced and that is not likely, that by beginning a Fort* now it would be finished against the Winter & consiquently not of the Use proposed.

N. B: The Exterior Circuite of Fort Edward is nearly 1569 Ft: And as I am informed took nearly Two Seasons to build it. And the Exterior Circuite of the Fort proposed will be nearly 1420 Ft.

GENL. ABERCROMBIE TO GEN STANWIX.

Sir Having been told that you had been obliged to incamp your Troops at Schenectady, thro' Reason of the Present shallowness of the Muhawk River, where it is said you cannot even yet get up light Batteaus wch will have prevented your forwarding the Tools and materials necessary for Building at the Oneida Carrying Place the Post or Fort I directed by my letters of the 16 and 23d Inst. should be forthwith built there.

* I beg it may be remembered that I have concluded the Post Ordered is to be à Fort.

And having since been advised, instead of that Post or Fort, to build one more extensive, pursuant to a Plan laid before me, I have accordingly sent that plan to Lt Williams now at Albany with directions if his health should Permit him to undertake the same, immediately to join you and set about it; my Reason for sending Lt Williams is that he is acquainted wh that part of the Country, and accustomed to the method of Working in it; besides from Capt. Green's Bad state of health, and the Difficultys he started to the former Plan, wch was not near so extensive as it is morally certain he would not execute it within proper time which as I observe before would be doing nothing at all; Wherefore, upon Lt Williams arrival, you will allow Capt Green to return to Albany, for the sake of his health, from whence he may forward every thing that may be wanted either your way or up the Hudsons River and as Lt Sowers is Williams's senior, he may take a Trip wt Lt Coll Bradstreet, as from his knowledge of the country beyond the Carrys Place, he may be of service, and after that enterprize terminates, you can employ Him in putting in Repair the little forts Below, for the Reception of the troops in Winter; this is done to prevent any Interfering in Command

Camp at Lake George July 27th 1758

I am

COLLO. MONTRESORE'S ANSWER TO CAPT. GREEN'S OBSERVATIONS.

The orders for building a Post or Fort at Oneida Carrying Place were so plain that they did not seem to want any Explanations, except in the Scituation, weh not being exactly known the figure of Course is subjected by it, and tho' called a square, has often its four sides unequall, and as part may be unattakable by a swamp, morass &ca. that side has a Parapet and Rampart less strong than the others and without a Ditch, all those alterations and changes are left to the Engineer.

As to its Execution; Amongst the number of Troops on the Mahawk River, there are no doubt carpenters more than sufficient, who understand that business.

2d The winter sets in there as in the oyr parts of the Province of New York, and not sooner; and as to the Practability of executing this post or Fort before the winter Majr Eyres begun fort Wm Henry in Sept and it was finished by the end of Nov follows being an Irregular square of about 300ft each side with Provincials alone and that without any Expence.

A. Fort Craven burnt by Gen1 Webb.

B. Ft Williams made of Stockades now destroyed

C. Ft Stanwix built in 1758

D. Ft Newport, a small Stockaded Fort with a Ditch round it

E. Saw Mill built in 1758

F. The Mohawk River

G. A small Creek wch has its head from three springs.

H. The Middle Creek, has its head at a spring and joins the above Creek a little below the Fort. I. The Saw Mill Dam

K. The Mill Race

L. The Waste Race

M. The Road from the Mahawk River over the Carrying Place to Fort Newport.

N. Stoney Creek part of the Wood Creek

O. A Drowned Swamp, the head of Stoney Creek

P. A Sluice and Dam to raise a head of water to float Batteaus to Fort Bull.

Q. A wood Dam made by a Prodigious number of trees thrown there Promiscuously by Freshes. R. The Oswegagie Indian Path.

The Black Mold of this Land in general goes to 4 or 5 feet deep, then for about 2 foot deep a Blew Pipe clay, then a gravelly and Sandy Bottom.

All the ground from the Mark * to the Mahawk river is of one and the same nature and all the Ground without that to where the ground begins to rise is of a Swampy nature, but of a Rich soil, but lying so much below the Interval Lands are wet & impassible without being drained.

The part that is marked for Stoney ground is composed of Round pebble stones mixed with Gravel and Sand, till you dig 6 foot deep, then small Gravel and Sand.

The ground where the Fort is built is 19 foot higher than the Swamps and low Lands and descend gradually to Fort Newport.

The Land marked for level ground to the east of Oswegagie Path falls about 8 foot below the high land and is level good arrable Land, but not interval.

Thro' the Swamp O runs severall small Creeks weh being joined at P make what is called Stoney Creek, wch at midling dry Seasons is too shallow to float Batteaus to Fort Bull for which Reason a little above P there is a Dam and Sluice to Raise a head of Water in the Swamp O. The Sluice is shut 6 or 8 hours before the Batteaus are to go to and from Fort Bull, when ready, it is opened wch gives water sufficient to float them.

The Portage as the Road runs over the Carrying Place is 5940 feet but the Streight Prickt Line S is about 4930 feet thro the Spine Swamp wch is nearly on a level, thro' wch if a Ditch was cut Loaded Batteaus might go and have no Portage att all, besides by a Sluice it might be made a dry or a Navigable channel at Pleasure.

All within the Line of trees as marked in the Plan is cleared; all the rest of the Country is covered with tall Timber Trees, and but little underwoods; The Swamp on the S. Wt of Ft Stanwix, is chiefly Pine and some White Cedar; There are also some white Pines in the Swamp on the East side of the Fort, all the rest of the woods are Elm, Beach, Rock Maple, Birtch, Popplar, and a few Trees of the wild Cherry kind; The Plan is laid down by a Scale of 400 ft to an Inch from an actual Survey Taken in Novr1758.