Forty Fort was a stronghold built by settlers from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, on the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

in what is now

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Luzerne County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeaste ...

. Before the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, both Connecticut and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

claimed this territory, as Connecticut's colonial charter extended its land claims far to the west. These competing claims triggered the Pennamite-Yankee Wars but were resolved after the Revolutionary War when the federal government awarded the contested territory to Pennsylvania. The fort was a refuge for settlers during the

Battle of Wyoming The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois warriors. The battle took place in the Wyoming Val ...

on July 3, 1778. Lieutenant Colonel Zebulon Butler's force of largely militia soldiers was defeated by a force of

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

soldiers from

Butler's Rangers Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. T ...

and their Indigenous allies. Forty Fort capitulated the following day. The fort was reoccupied by the Americans later that year.

Description

Forty Fort was located in the

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan ar ...

on the west bank of the Susquehanna River in what is now Forty Fort Borough in Luzerne County. The fort is named for the forty families from Connecticut who arrived in the

in 1769. Construction of the fort began in 1770, however, it fell into disrepair until rebuilt in 1777 during the Revolutionary War. The fort enclosed about an acre of ground. Barracks and other buildings were constructed along the double-thick, twelve-foot-high stockade wall. These provided shelter for the occupants and a firing platform for the garrison. The enclosure was rectangular in shape with gates in the north and south walls. Small sentry towers were constructed at the four corners of the fort. File:WyomingValleyForts.jpg, Forts in the Wyoming Valley. A-Fort Durkee, B-Fort Wyoming or Wilkesbarre, C-Fort Ogden, D-Kingston Village, E-Forty Fort, G-battleground, H-Fort Jenkins, I-Monocasy Island, J-Pittstown stockades, G-Queen Esther's Rock. File:FortyFort1778.jpg, Artist's conception of Forty Fort in 1778

References

{{reflist Forts in Pennsylvania American Revolutionary War forts Buildings and structures in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 1770 establishments in Pennsylvania History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania