Fort Ontario
United States · Americas
About
Fort Ontario is a historic bastion fort used by British and American forces, located in the City of Oswego in Oswego County, New York, US. Fort Ontario is located on the east side of the Oswego River on high ground overlooking Lake Ontario. The present fortifications are built on a pentagonal plan with five bastions. The fort is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is owned by the state of New York and operated as a museum known as Fort Ontario State Historic Site.
Originally erected in 1755, it was one of several forts erected by the British to protect the area around the east end of Lake Ontario. During the American Revolutionary War, it was destroyed by American forces in 1778; the British rebuilt the fort in 1782 and held it until 1796. The fort was again destroyed by British forces in 1814, and it was rebuilt during the American Civil War following a period of disuse. In the 20th century, it served variously as a military hospital, an infantry base, an induction center, and a World War II refugee camp. Although closed by the U.S. Army after World War II, some of the buildings at Fort Ontario are still used for training by the Army Reserve.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.