Fort Bull

Fort Bull was a fort located at the Oneida Carry in British North America (now New York, United States) during the French and Indian War.

On October 29, 1755 Governor William Shirley ordered Captain Mark Petrie to take the men under his command and to build a fort on the upper landing of Wood Creek to protect the Oneida Carry. The fort was capable of holding a garrison of sixty to seventy men. The fort was attacked and burned to the ground by the French on March 27, 1756 in the Battle of Fort Bull.

History

In 1727 the Oneida Carry was the English name for the portage path between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek. It was primarily used as a fur trade route between the Dutch East India Company and English Traders.[1] Once the French and Indian War broke out the English built 2 small stockade forts on the Oneida Carry to safeguard supply lines to Oswego. These small forts became Fort Bull and Fort Williams. 2 years into the war in March, 1756 a French led attack accompanied by Canadians and Native Americans destroyed Fort Bull and its connecting supply routes. To rebuild their strength on the Carry the British replaced Fort Bull with Fort Wood Creek right where the old Fort Bull stood. In the following Summer of 1756 the Oneida Carry became a large military complex for British troops. Yet, in late August rumors began to spread of weaknesses in the British strongholds on the Carry. Fearing another French invasion the British Commander on the Carry, General Webb, panicked and ordered all Forts and other works on the Carry to be destroyed. The British then retreated to the German Flatts and gave up on the Carry.[2][3][4][5]

Present Day

The Fort Bull site is owned by the Rome Historical Society and contains the remnants of Fort Wood Creek.

References
  1. Watt, Gavin K. Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley: The St. Leger Expedition of 1777. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2002.
  2. Luzader, John F. Fort Stanwix: History, Historic Furnishings, and Historic Structure Reports. Washington: Office of Park Historic Preservation, National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1976.
  3. Willett, William M. A Narrative of the Military Actions of Colonel Marinus Willett, Taken Chiefly From His Own Manuscript. New York: G.C.H. Carvill, 1831.
  4. Scott, John Albert. Fort Schuyler and Oriskany. Rome: Rome Sentinel Company, 1927.
  5. Park Ranger William Sawyer, "The Oneida Carry and Its Early Fortifications: 1755-1757", National Park Service, February 26, 2015

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