I appreciate the responses of all from this query, and likely will follow up with several of you.

 

The road in the vicinity of Lake Chautauqua is now – approximately – Route 394, between Mayville and Westfield, NY. 

 

My organization is producing a book on preserving scenic and historic roads in NYS, and we’re seeking to tie up a few loose ends re history of road development in the state.  This was an area of some fuzziness for our staff and consultant/author.

 

I will let the list serve know when this material is published, and thank everyone for their forwards, outreach, and responses of my original query.  This is an effective list serve.

 

From: A LISTSERV list for discussions pertaining to New York State history. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Allen
Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 4:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [NYHIST-L] Military Road Construction - French and Indian Wars and Revol...

 

Dear Mr. Mackay,

 

    This is a tough question to answer.  Because I have worked a lot with maps created during this time period, I have paid some attention to roads.  Maps are, of course, a prime resource for your subject, since they usually show roads, and by comparing maps created at different time periods you can get a clue as to when particular roads might have been constructed.

 

    I am under the impression that there were no really big road building projects in New York during either the French and Indian War or the American Revolution.  Certainly nothing comparable to the road that Braddock constructed to reach Fort Duquesne at the site of Pittsburgh.  The British army in New York depended mostly on transportation by water during both wars.  The only road construction that I know of during the French and Indian War was done along the corridor between Albany and Lake Champlain.  Since I have not done any research specific to this subject, I do not know how extensive this construction was.  I am under the impression that most of it took the form of improving existing paths and roads.

 

    The British Army Engineers, who made most of the military maps, were also involved in road construction.  One possible source of information is the published Montresor journals.  I do not recall reading anything about road construction in these journals, but I was not looking for information on the subject.  Recently I had occasion to look at the papers of Lord Loudoun at the Huntington Library (San Marino Ca.)  Loudoun (British commander in the first years of the French and Indian War) was very concerned about logistics, and I recall seeing a good deal of material about road construction in this extensive collection of his papers.  The papers of other British generals (esp. General Clinton from the Revolutionary War) are at the Clements Library in Michigan.

 

    Just prior to the French and Indian War, the French constructed a road in the vicinity of Lake Chautauqua in an effort to reach the Ohio Valley via the Allegheny River.  This route was later abandoned in favor of another route from Lake Erie via present-day Pennsylvania.  I recall seeing the "old French road" near Lake Chatauqua on several maps, and I believe I have seen information about this road on the Web and elsewhere.

 

    During the Revolution, I know that Bourgoyne had to engage in a good deal of road construction or repair in his efforts to flounder from Lake Champlain to Albany.  This should be easy to investigate in the literature on the Saratoga Campaign.

 

    The Americans may well have done some road construction/improvement in the critical transportation corridor north of the Hudson Highlands.  Maps of the roads in this area and possibly other relevant materials are in the Erskine/De Witt papers at the New York Historical Society.  You might want to check the Washington Papers (online from Library of Congress) and anything relating to Rochambeau's march from Rhode Island to Yorktown.

 

    This seems like slim pickings to me, although I may be overlooking something.  I think a lot more could be done with the extensive network of primitive roads constructed between 1784-1800.  I am curious to learn what you come with on this subject, and hope you will share what you learn with the list.

 

David Allen

Map Library, Stony Brook University (emeritus)

Encinitas, CA




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