Posted by request.

--Moderator, NYHIST-L

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAY 8, 2006

Fort Ontario Prepares for Attack 

Re-enactments celebrate 250 years as "Guardian of the Northern
Frontier"


Fort Ontario will batten down the hatches as it commemorates its 250th
birthday with a cannon-sized bang. From 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on August 11
-
13, re-enactors dressed as militiamen, French and British troops and
Native forces will reconvene in Oswego, NY at the fort known as the
"Guardian of the North Frontier." A strategic point of entry to New
York
State's northern reaches, it was also the scene of a heated
international rivalry between the French and the British as the war
for
control of North America was waged.

*       Friday, August 11: Events kick off with a waterborne
reenactment
of the French attack on the British bateau fleet, known as "Battle
Island." This legendary dispute was fought on Oswego Canal and the
re-enactment will feature period boats battling onto the western
shores.
The combined land and sea action creates a unique reenactment unlike
any
other staged in North America.

*       Saturday, August 12: Watch the main assault on Fort Ontario as
French troops assume positions along recreated siege lines and bombard
the British from across the Oswego River harbor. Here, history happens
before your eyes as cannons blast and orders are shouted. 

*       Sunday, August 13: French forces storm through the fort wall
as
the final assault is brought to life. Watch the defeat of the British
and Colonial troops, surrender negotiations and the final march as
Oswego and Fort Ontario is given to the French. In the excitement of
victory, the French will erect a replica of the large victory cross,
originally raised by the Marquis de Montcalm this month in 1756. Also,
check out reproductions of the French victory peace medal King Louis
XV
had made in 1758, for sale by the Oswego County Historical Society at
the event.

Throughout the weekend, guests can also sit in on numerous lectures
and
seminars, including Fort Ontario's role in the French and Indian War
and
a closer look at the French and British fleets on Lake Ontario.
Regardless of the day or the events a visitor attends, Fort Ontario's
250th Commemoration will be a study of life at a Fort in the mid-1700s.


Apart from the celebration, Fort Ontario is open May 4 through October
31; Tuesday through Sunday and Monday holidays from 10 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.
For more information about visiting Fort Ontario, go to: 
www.fortontario.com <http://www.fortontario.com/> 

History of Fort Ontario 
Located at the confluence of the Oswego River and Lake Ontario, Fort
Ontario was built by the British in 1755. Called "The Fort of the Six
Nations," or "Fort Ontario" it was an eight-pointed, wooden stockade
furnished with a swivel cannon, effective only against small groups of
attackers. 

After the French first destroyed the fort in August 1756, the British
rebuilt a bigger and better Fort Ontario in the same location three
years later. However, in the throws of the American Revolution,
British
troops left Fort Ontario vulnerable to attack and it was destroyed by
American troops from nearby Fort Stanwix (present day Rome, NY) in
1778.


Fort Ontario's history is tightly woven into the story of young
America.
General Washington considered the Fort of such a great strategic
significance that his last expedition was to recapture Fort Ontario
from
the British, who were trying to rebuild it in 1782. For this feat, he
risked a great number of men in the harsh northern New York winter.
Fort
Ontario was also the setting for much of James Fenimore Cooper's
classic
novel, "The Pathfinder," describing frontier life in war times. 

# # #

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Jill DeAnzeris          Sarah E. Bilofsky                       
Empire State Development        Eric Mower and Associates 
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