Old Fort Niagara In Four Centuries

Fort Niagara is located twelve miles downriver from the world-renowned Niagara Falls, yet few visitors to either site know this was once Iroquois territory and claimed by France. This volume summarizes the fascinating span of North American history when New France was established during the sixteenth century in present-day Canada, explored, and expanded to the Niagara River — a strategic water and portage route connected to the Great Lakes. Chronologically the authors dramatically trace how the Iroquois gained the Niagara River, and how they kept this lucrative trade route for themselves long after the French became established fur traders in the Great Lakes. The Iroquois continued to control the Niagara River as the French built the short-lived Forts Conti (1669), Denonville (1687/1688), and finally Fort Niagara (1726-1759). Fort Niagara: The Key to the Inland Oceans and the French Movement to Dominate North America incorporates actions and political changes elsewhere that influenced the French and Iroquois at Niagara, especially during the French and Indian War, which ended the French Occupation of Fort Niagara and set the stage for the Iroquois to lose their long-held Niagara River territory.

From his first court martial as a cadet at West Point through his dismissal from the United States Army at the age of 49, Justus McKinstry made his career through outright cunning and manipulation of the legal system. Graduating from West Point in 1838, he eventually landed a long-sought-after position in the quartermaster corps. During his service here he took advantage of the extraordinary wartime circumstances to betray the public trust and make a profit for himself in the guise of acquiring much needed supplies. He was brought before a court of inquiry or a court martial six times during his nefarious career, yet only one time were charges initiated from within the Army itself. The final charges--once again initiated from a source outside the Army--brought his crimes to light and resulted in his dismissal from the service. This biography takes a look at the forces within the life of Brigadier General Justus McKinstry that shaped him into the man he eventually became. It briefly discusses his upbringing as well as his unprecedented six years at West Point and his service during the Second Seminole and Mexican wars. The bulk of the text, however, concentrates on his Civil War commission and his duties as an officer of the quartermaster corps, especially his position as Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the West during the summer and fall of 1861. Special emphasis is placed on the ways in which the system itself failed McKinstry, bringing into question the ability of the Army to police itself. Sources incorporate an abundance of official records from the time period, including a transcript of McKinstry's final court martial.

Fort Niagara is located at the northern mouth of the Niagara River about twelve miles from Niagara Falls. This scenic river and world-famous tourist area, which is now shared by the United States and Canada, was Iroquois territory in the 18th century being fought over by France and England. Fort Niagara: The British Occupation 1759–1796 dramatically portrays how the British Army took Fort Niagara from the French and Indians in 1759 and held it for thirty-seven years while Indian, French, British, and American warriors and diplomates vied for control of the Niagara River and its portage route into the Great Lake. If the men who garrisoned Fort Niagara joined up to “see the world,” they probably didn’t anticipate being stationed at this isolated frontier post. It is doubtful that few, if any, of the thousands who served at Fort Niagara recalled their time there as the best part of their military life, even as one British officer wrote home that it wasn’t as bad as he had expected. Some died at the fort, in raids out of the fort, or by accidents in the icy cold and volatile waters of the Great Lakes. Others, thinking they were on their way home for a welcomed leave, were unexpectedly rerouted to Boston in 1775 and fought in the battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, and other famous battles of the Revolution. This second book about Fort Niagara by Patricia Kay Scott and William E. Utley carries on the history presented in Fort Niagara, the Key to the Indian Oceans and the French Movement to Dominate North America, published in 2019.

Many Canadians see the role their country’s military plays in Afghanistan as an anomaly. However, this assumption is far from the truth. As U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has commented, "Canadians are fierce fighters." Fortune Favours the Brave certainly proves this point in a collection of essays that showcases the fighting spirit and courage of Canada’s military. Daring actions featured in the book include the intrepid assault on the Fortress of Louisbourg and the cat-and-mouse struggle between Canadian partisans and Rogers’s Rangers in the Seven Years’ War in the 1750s; the seesaw battle for the Niagara frontier in the War of 1812; an innovative trench raid in the First World War; the valiant parachute assault to penetrate the Third Reich in the Second World War; the infamous battle at Kap’yong in the Korean War; covert submarine operations during the Cold War; the Medak Pocket clash in Croatia in the early 1990s; and Operation Medusa in Afghanistan.

The only multivolume encyclopedia covering all aspects of North American colonial warfare, with special attention paid to the social, political, cultural, and economic affairs that were affected by the conflicts. Encyclopedia of North American Colonial Conflicts to 1775: A Political, Social, and Military History is the first multivolume resource on the full range of combat and confrontation in the New World prior to the American Revolution—not just rivalries between European empires but Indian conflicts, slave rebellions, and popular uprisings as well. Organized A–Z, the encyclopedia covers all major wars and conflicts in North America from the late-15th to mid-18th centuries, with discussions of key battles, diplomatic efforts, military technologies, and strategies and tactics. Encyclopedia of North American Colonial Conflicts to 1775 explores the context for conflict, with essays on competing colonial powers, every major Native American tribe, all important political and military leaders, and a range of social and cultural issues. The insights and information contained here will help anyone understand the genesis of North American culture, the plight of Native Americans after European contact, and the beginnings of the United States of America.

This is the first summary of archaeological contributions to our understanding of the War of 1812, published as the war commemorates its 200th anniversary. The contributors of original papers discuss recent excavations and field surveys that present an archaeological perspective that enriches-- and often conflicts with—received historical narratives. The studies cover fortifications, encampments, landscapes, shipwrecks, and battles in the midwestern, southern, mid-Atlantic, and northeastern regions of the United States and in Canada. In addition to archaeologists, this volume will appeal to military history specialists and other historians.