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
Check out AOL Money &
Finance's list of the hottest
products and top
money wasters of 2007.