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History Archaeology has revealed significant
information about the Native Americans who began hunting and fishing on Rogers
Island and along the Hudson River as long ago as 4000 BC or perhaps earlier. They left
behind their hearths, trash pits and dumps scattered along the river Later,
Rogers Island would be strategically located in the Hudson River directly opposite Fort
Edward, one of the largest British
fortifications in North America. The wars for world
empire between Great Britain and France in the 18th century are collectively
known as the French and Indian Wars. This name was tagged especially to the last
war (1754-1760) by the people of the English colonies who bore the brunt of From 1756 to 1759 Rogers Island was the base camp
for Major Robert Rogers and his company of Rangers. It was here that Rogers
composed his "Ranging Rules" in a letter to Lord Loudon on October
Recent archaeology has borne out Fort Edward's past with the discovery of the locations of many military structures at the fort. On the island the locations of the smallpox hospital built in 1757, rangers huts, barracks, an officers house and storehouse have been defined. The 19th century saw the construction of homes on the northern end of the island while the southern 40+ acres remained untouched. Before leaving for duty in the Civil War local militia units drilled here on the island. to be continued...
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Open Wednesday – Saturday 10am – 4pm / Sunday 1pm-4pm (open daily June – August) 11 Rogers Island Drive (off Rte. 197) – PO Box 208, Fort Edward, NY 12828 Phone: 518-747-3693 rogersisland@gmail.com |
bank. They
continued to visit this area until shortly before the first Europeans arrived
around the turn of the 18th century AD. Research is continuing into the
significant role Rogers Island and Fort Edward played in the lives of indigenous
groups that traveled, hunted and fished along the Great Warpath.
frequent raids along the frontier settlements of New England. Fort Edward eventually became the
staging ground for invasions northward into French Canada by the British and
provincial troops who would eventually drive the French out of New France.
Thousands of troops encamped in and around this fort, most notably on the banks
of the Hudson and on the "Great Island" adjacent to the fort. Construction
soon extended to the Island where additional barracks, storage buildings,
hospitals and a blockhouse were built. During the height of troop build up, Fort
Edward became the third largest city in this country behind New York City and
Boston.
25, 1757 detailing his method of training and rules of order which marked a
change from the British way of confronting an enemy on the battlefield. These
"Ranging Rules", now known more commonly as "Standing Orders" form the basis of
military tactics adopted by irregular fighting forces all over the world.
In 1766, after the French & Indian War was over,
Fort Edward was ordered evacuated and its stores were moved to the British fort
at Crown Point, leaving Fort Edward to decay. Although the fort itself was in
ruins during the Revolutionary War, Fort Edward remained strategically located
on the Great Military Warpath and troops garrisoned in the remaining barracks on
the island. In 1777 they were forced to flee when General John Burgoyne's army
passed through en route to Saratoga.