Fort Lévis, a fortification on the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

, was built in 1759 by the French. They had decided that Fort de La Présentation was insufficient to defend their St. Lawrence River colonies against the British. Named for François Gaston de Lévis, Duc de Lévis, the fort was constructed on ''Isle Royale'', downstream from the other fort. The fort surrendered after intense bombardment in August 1760 to the British and was renamed Fort William Augustus. The fort was abandoned in 1766. During the construction of the

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

, the remains of the fort were destroyed and submerged beneath the waters of the river.

Background

The French began settling the

and establishing trade routes into the interior of the continent. To secure the areas of French settlement and trade, they began constructing forts along the shores of the waterways of their trade routes, including lakes and rivers. To the south along the St. Lawrence River, Fort de La Présentation was established on the southern shore of the river along with a shipyard along the northern shore at Pointe aux Baril. The French, finding the defences insufficient, ordered the construction of a new fort on Isle Royale in September 1759. The fort was ordered along the expected invasion route of the British during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, intended to protect the French and

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

inhabitants of the area. The site was chosen due to the island's steep cliffs and proximity to a series of

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

that would force attacking naval vessels to sail upstream one at a time.

Description

The initial plan by the fort's namesake François Gaston de Lévis, Duc de Lévis, called for a stone fort armed with 200 guns and a garrison of 2,500. This did not have time to come to fruition and Fort Lévis was a large earthen and wood

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...

, which was one-log thick. There were

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

s along the inner defenses, some were covered with open sides, while others were not covered. There were four

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

buildings and an armourer and blacksmith's shop, all located centrally. The island, located midstream of the St. Lawrence River, had a small harbor for vessels. The head of the fort's

hornwork A hornwork is an element of the Italian bastion system of fortification. Its face is flanked with a pair of half-bastions. It is distinguished from a crownwork, because crownworks contain full bastions at their centers. They are both outwork ...

faced west with demi-

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s facing east. The fort never received its 200 guns and by the time of the

Battle of the Thousand Islands The Battle of the Thousand Islands was an engagement fought on 16–24 August 1760, in the upper St. Lawrence River, among the Thousand Islands, along the present day Canada–United States border, by British and French forces during the closing ...

, was armed with several iron cannon with trunions removed and set in logs. Lacking their trunions these cannon were hard to maneuver. Additionally twelve guns, two guns, thirteen guns, four guns (all iron) and four

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

guns were located within the fort.

History

Construction began in September 1759. In 1760 during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, Major-General Amherst began a march on

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

intending to capture the city. The Duc de Lévis, commander of French forces in North America, ordered Captain Pierre Pouchot of the Régiment de Béarn to delay Amherst's approaching army for as long as he could. Pouchot ordered the evacuation of the nearby Fort de La Présentation and Pointe aux Baril due to their susceptibility to Amherst's guns and set up his defense of the area at Fort Lévis. Pouchot had a garrison of 340 regulars of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine and Canadian

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

men. On 20 August 1760, Amherst sent his naval vessels to bombard the island. Guns were landed on nearby shorelines and islands to

enfilade Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...

the fort. By 24 August, Pouchot was out of ammunition and surrendered to Amherst. Amherst then renamed the fort to Fort William Augustus after the given names of the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...

who was head of the British Army at the time. Amherst departed to take Montreal and the British garrison that was left behind set about rebuilding the fort. The fort was abandoned by the British in 1766. The island, Chimney Island (or Isle Royale), on which the fort stood was partially destroyed during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the 1950s. The submerged location is near

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

Citations

References

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External links

New York State Military Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Levis Levis Levis Buildings and structures in St. Lawrence County, New York Levis