NJ Nerd Tour #7...Fort Montgomery State Historic Site Tour
Thursday, July 6, 2023, Gary Link, John Dyksen, Bill Bogertman, Susan Serico (North Haledon Public Library Director) and Mark Yost.
Located on 690 route 9W, Fort Montgomery, NY, almost literally next door (1.3 miles away) to the Bear Mountain Bridge (built in 1923 and celebrating the 100th anniversary), spanning the Hudson River. Our weather was very, very warm with hot, hazy sunshine and high temperatures.
CONTEXT:
Major General Richard Montgomery was an American General killed during the battle of Quebec on December 31, 1775, fighting with General Benedict Arnold. This Fort, and that of Fort Montgomery on the Canada/USA border on Lake Champlain, NY/VT was named after Major General Richard Montgomery 1738-1775.
A day after the battle and British capture of Forts Clinton and Montgomery, the British received word of their humiliating loss to the Americans at Saratoga on October 7, 1775. Add this to the context of battles during and after this one:
- Battle of Peekskill, NY on March 23, 1777 (also where the Fort Montgomery chain connected to the Hudson's eastern shore)
- American victory at the Battle of Germantown, PA on October 4, 1777
- American defeat and burning of Kingston, NY on October 16, 1777 (Kingston, NY was the capital of New York State at the time)
- American defeat at the Battle of Brandywine Creek, PA on September 11, 1777
- American victory at the battle at Stony Point, NY on July 16, 1779
The battle at Fort Montgomery between the British Army under Sir Henry Clinton and American Militia and Continentals under brother General George Clinton (Governor of New York State) and Colonel James Clinton, happened on October 7, 1777. (aka "the battle of the Clintons"). The British landed over 2,000 troops on the Hudson River, south of the Forts at Stoney Point, NY. They marched north by northwest and split at Doodletown, NY with 1,100 troops following the Hudson River to attack Fort Clinton and a second group of 900 troops travelling north, northwest, to attack Fort Montgomery from the west. General Putnam was in Peekskill, NY with 50 soldiers meant to slow any approach from the east.
(British casualties were 41 killed and 142 wounded. The Americans had 26 officers and 237 enlisted men captured and about 75 killed and wounded apart from wounded prisoners; most of them from the garrison of Fort Clinton. The Americans were also forced to destroy several boats in the area, as unfavorable winds prevented them from escaping upriver.)
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| Fort Montgomery |
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| Fort Clinton |
I arrived at 9:50, then Gary, John and Yost; Susan came shortly thereafter. After 10:00am, Docent Peter took us around the indoor Museum until 11:05 am, and took us from maps to each site display. He gave us the background of the British Strategy, then to the maps of Forts Clinton and Montgomery and then to each of the artifact displays.
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| Map of British Attack |
At around 11:00am, we then went outside to walk the Fort grounds until we returned around 12:30. The Fort and battleground is effectively cut in half by NY Rt 9W.
We had lunch outdoors in the shade (outdoor temperatures were hot and humid, with highs of 90-94 degrees F), lunch until around 1:00pm, then Peter demonstrated and shot the British Brown Bess, a .69 caliber musket around 1:10 or so, then off to 15 minute movie about the battle until 1:30. Left for home at 1:45 or so.
