Building a Fort

Building a Fort (HM4O6)

Location: Highland Falls, NY 10928 Orange County
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Country: United States of America
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N 41° 19.451', W 73° 59.246'

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Inscription
Early in the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress realized that the Hudson River was critical to the American Cause. If the British controlled the river, they could divide the rebellious colonies. Therefore, the Americans began work on Fort Montgomery in March 1776 and quickly erected several buildings. Sited where the river is narrow and currents made navigation difficult, the fort was originally conceived as a large battery of cannons. At its heart was a "Grand Battery" of six 32-pounders commanding a long stretch of the river. As work progressed, however, it became clear that the fort would be attacked from the land. Therefore, the earthworks were slowly extended to enclose the fort.

When the Americans discovered that the land on the opposite side of the Popolopen Creek was higher and would threaten Fort Montgomery if held by the enemy, they began constructing a second fort there, called Fort Clinton. They connected the two forts by a pontoon bridge. As labor was concentrated on the new fort, work on Fort Montgomery slowed. Other problems affected construction of the fort too. Supplies were often hard to obtain, morale was often low, and discipline was a chronic problem. Nevertheless, Forts Montgomery and Clinton were largely complete by October 1777, when the British attacked them.
Details
HM NumberHM4O6
Tags
Placed ByFort Montgomery State Historic Site
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, September 8th, 2014 at 5:15am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18T E 584740 N 4575239
Decimal Degrees41.32418333, -73.98743333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 41° 19.451', W 73° 59.246'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds41° 19' 27.06" N, 73° 59' 14.76" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)845
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 690 US-9W, Highland Falls NY 10928, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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