Lakes to Locks Passage: Waterways of War
As you travel along Lakes to Locks Passage in upstate New York, you will follow the waterway that the super-powers of the 18th century -- France and Great Britain -- sought to control for the empire of North America. A strategic triangle of waterways provided a vital link from the French trading centers in Montreal and Quebec to the British centers in Albany, New York City, and the interior. By the 1730s, forts protected the water gateways of the St. Lawrence on the Atlantic Ocean to the north; the Mohawk River and Great Lakes to the west; and Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Hudson River to the south. As frontier tensions erupted into open warfare in the mid-1750s, old forts were strengthened and new outposts were built along these waterways. This was a World War. For many soliders this was their first experience in the wilderness of the New World, and foreshadowed the American Revolution.
The following itinerary was adapted from Waterways of War: A Traveler Guide to the French and Indian War Forts and Battlefields along America’s Byways in New York and Pennsylvania. The full text of this itinerary, related videos and interactive map-guide, are available at www.lakestolocks.org, or you can purchase the guidebook and PBS video The Forgotten War, at www.lakestolocks.org.
1
Schenectady Stockade Historic District
Last Modified: May 19, 2013
Schenectady began as a 17th century Dutch settlement at the junction of the Binnekill and Mohawk River. Burned in 1690 by a French and Indian raiding party, it was rebuilt and beca...
2
Crailo State Historic Site
Last Modified: May 18, 2013
With campaigns heading both north and west from Albany throughout the French & Indian War, British planners frequently made use of Crailo’s ideal location. A 1500-acre estate in G...
3
Fort Edward/Rogers Island
Last Modified: May 18, 2013
Situated north of Albany where the Hudson River swings within 15 miles of Lake George, Fort Edward’s strategic importance cannot be overstated. It commanded the southern terminus ...
4
Cooper's Cave
Last Modified: May 18, 2013
In 1825 after returning from exploring the Adirondacks and inspired by "these dark and silent caves" in the heart of the Hudson River, James Fenimore Cooper took pen in hand to wri...
5
Lake George Battlefield Park
Last Modified: May 18, 2013
British plans for 1755 included an attack by William Johnson’s army, under the leadership of Theyanoguin (Chief Hendrick), on Lake Champlain’s Fort St. Frédéric. The French, aware ...
6
Bloody Pond
Last Modified: May 17, 2013
Colonel Joseph Blanchard, commander of Fort Edward, saw the smoke from Dieskau’s assault on Johnson’s camp, and sent a detachment of men to assist Johnson. Meanwhile, the attack on...
7
Fort William Henry
Last Modified: May 18, 2013
After the 1755 Battle of Lake George, the British had decided to consolidate their position at the south end of Lake George by constructing a fort to protect the terminus of the ne...
8
Fort Carillion/Ticonderoga
Last Modified: May 18, 2013
Built between 1755 and 1759 by the French as Fort Carillon at the mouth of the La Chute River connecting Lake George and Lake Champlain, the fort was designed to control the portag...
9
Crown Point State Historic Site
Last Modified: Apr 24, 2013
Fort St. Frédéric, constructed by the French in the 1730s, featured a four-story high stone redoubt with 12-foot thick walls and an impressive array of cannon. It was intended to ...