Colonial Forts Of The Champlain And Hudson Valleys

From Montreal to New York City, the rivers and lakes of the Hudson and Champlain Valleys carved a path through the primeval forests of the Northeast. The rival French and English colonies on either end built strategic strongholds there throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The establishment of Fort St. Frederic at Crown Point gave the French command over the vital Lake Champlain. The French and Indian War saw the construction of frontier forts such as the English Fort William Henry at the headwaters of Lake George. Fortifications sometimes changed hands and names, such as when French-built Fort Carillon became the famed Fort Ticonderoga after a successful English siege. Author Michael G. Laramie charts the attempts to secure the most important chain of waterways in early North America.

This comprehensive resource follows the pivotal and often overlooked efforts of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Dutch, the French, and the English colonies to control the strategic waterways of the Hudson-Champlain corridor from their discovery to the fall of New France. From Champlain and Hudson's initial voyages some 400 years ago, to the surrender of Montreal in 1760, The European Invasion of North America: Colonial Conflict Along the Hudson - Champlain Corridor, 1609–1760 offers unprecedented coverage of the 150-year struggle between New World rivals along this natural invasion route—a struggle which would ultimately determine the destiny of North America. Unlike other volumes on this period, The European Invasion of North America includes extensive coverage from the French and Dutch as well as British perspectives, examining events in the context of larger colonial confrontations. Drawing on hundreds of firsthand accounts, it recaps political maneuvers and blunders, military successes and failures, and the remarkable people behind them all: cabinet ministers in Paris, Amsterdam, and London; colonial leaders such as Stuyvesant, Frontenac, and Montcalm; shrewd diplomats of the Iroquois Confederacy; and soldiers and families on all sides of the conflict. It also highlights the growing friction between Britain and her American colonies, which would soon lead to a different war.

'New France' consisted of the area colonized and ruled by France in North America. This title takes a look at the lengthy chain of forts built by the French to guard the frontier in the American northeast, including Sorel, Chambly, St Jean, Carillon (Ticonderoga), Duquesne (Pittsburgh, PA), and Vincennes. These forts were of two types: the major stone forts, and other forts made of wood and earth, all of which varied widely in style from Vauban-type elements to cabins surrounded by a stockade. Some forts, such as Chambly, looked more like medieval castles in their earliest incarnations. René Chartrand examines the different types of forts built by the French, describing the strategic vision that led to their construction, their impact upon the British colonies and the Indian nations of the interior, and the French military technology that went into their construction.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "A Brief History of the United States" by John Bach McMaster. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

With a different take on the life of Benedict Arnold, Ben’s Tale reveals an epic story of greed and glory, family and friendship, treason and truthfulness. Told by a history buff who is also a London physician, the drama unfolds as the doctor gets an opportunity to treat—and befriend—the infamous general, and find out for himself whether Arnold’s story is one of slanderous legend or an extraordinary man wrongly accused. The so-called traitor unmasks his tale of woe–of jealous, ambitious founding fathers, doubts about the viability of the new nation and of his relationship with his beautiful wife, Peggy, and her role in facilitating his change of coat.

With more than 1,300 cross-referenced entries covering every aspect of the American Revolution, this definitive scholarly reference covers the causes, course, and consequences of the war and the political, social, and military origins of the nation. This authoritative and complete encyclopedia covers not only the eight years of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) but also the decades leading up to the war, beginning with the French and Indian War, and the aftermath of the conflict, with an emphasis on the early American Republic. Volumes one through four contain a series of overview essays on the causes, course, and consequences of the American Revolution, followed by impeccably researched A–Z entries that address the full spectrum of political, social, and military matters that arose from the conflict. Each entry is cross-referenced to other entries and also lists books for further reading. In addition, there is a detailed bibliography, timeline, and glossary. A fifth volume is devoted to primary sources, each of which is accompanied by an insightful introduction that places the document in its proper historical context. The primary sources help readers to understand the myriad motivations behind the American Revolution; the diplomatic, military, and political maneuvering that took place during the conflict; and landmark documents that shaped the founding and early development of the United States.

Contested for More than a Century, a Natural Invasion Route into the Heart of North America For more than 150 years, the natural invasion route along the waterways of the Champlain and Richelieu valleys into northeastern North America was among the most fiercely contested in the history of the continent. Whether the French and their Indian allies attacking British forts and settlements during the Seven Years' War, the American Continentals striking north into Canada during the American Revolution, or the British battling French and later American forces in these wars and the War of 1812, it was clear to policy makers in Quebec, London, Paris, Philadelphia, and Washington that whoever controlled this corridor and its lakes and rivers, controlled the heart of the continent. In By Wind and Iron: Naval Campaigns in the Champlain Valley, 1665-1815, Michael G. Laramie details the maritime history of this region from the first French fortifications along the Richelieu River in the late seventeenth century through the tremendous American victory over the British at the Battle of Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain in 1814. Using period letters, journals, and other primary source materials, the author examines the northeastern waterways and their tributaries within the framework of the soldiers and sailors who faced the perils of the campaigns, while at the same time clarifying the key role played by this region in the greater struggle for North America and American independence. In support of the narrative, the book also contains appendices that include after action reports from various fleet commanders, tables of fleet strengths, additional battle maps, a glossary, and a dictionary of lake warships with notes on vessel types, typical armament, construction, deployment, and fates.

Essays by eleven prominent scholars provide the latest insights into the seventeenth-century history of the Hudson Valley and its environs. This book provides an in-depth introduction to the issues involved in the expansion of European interests to the Hudson River Valley, the cultural interaction that took place there, and the colonization of the region. Written in accessible language by leading scholars, these essays incorporate the latest historical insights as they explore the new world in which American Indians and Europeans interacted, the settlement of the Dutch colony that ensued from the exploration of the Hudson River, and the development of imperial and other networks which came to incorporate the Hudson Valley. “This well-conceived volume illuminates the various contexts of life in the seventeenth-century Hudson Valley. Both laymen and specialists will gain new insights from the twelve essays, which reveal everything from the European background of tolerance and inter-imperial strife to the significance of wampum and the role of a Native model of inter-group relations that shaped Iroquois ties with the Dutch.” — Willem Klooster, author of Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative History “A perfect tribute to the Hudson Valley’s unique history and how it changed forever in the decades following Henry Hudson’s 1609 voyage! The essays in this rich collection capture the complex, interconnected world experienced by those who lived in the Hudson River Valley in the seventeenth century, a place at the crossroads of four continents, an area contested by three emerging empires, a valley where Munsee, Mahican, and Mohawk interacted with European cultures. Both professional historians and those new to the field will be intrigued by the wide variety of topics. This collection by an esteemed group of historians makes an outstanding contribution to both New Netherland and Atlantic history.” — Dennis J. Maika, New Netherland Institute