A Winter Fort Tour

National Park Service/M. Colangelo

Winters at Fort Schuyler (Stanwix) during the American Revolution brought new challenges to the people garrisoned there. Many of the difficulties were the same as those of the rest of the Continental Army during the winter, particularly in trying to keep the soldiers properly clothed in the frigid weather.

A timeless aspect of military service is the camp rumors and misinformation that flourish and spread quickly, especially amongst frustrated men and officers. Colonel Philip Van Cortlandt of the 2nd New York Regiment fell prey to this while encamped at Valley Forge in January of 1778. Desperate to get clothing for his men, he complained to New York Governor George Clinton that “I have upwards of seventy men unfit for duty only for the want of clothing, twenty of which have no breeches at all, so they are obliged to take their blankets to cover their nakedness…was informed that several hundred pair of leather breeches, etc., was delivered to the two Northern regiments, who are in great want, it seems, to keep their thighs from scorching this winter in their warm barracks.”

One of the two “Northern regiments” mentioned was the 3rd New York Regiment at Ft. Schuyler. Far from having received “several hundred pair of leather breeches”, their commander, Colonel Peter Gansevoort was himself begging Governor Clinton for clothing, noting “...I beg you to…urge the Legislature to endeavour to relieve the Distresses of their Troops in this particular as soon as possible-Troops not paid and half naked can be but little expected from-this is the Case in this Department-.“ To add to this distress, by February, most of the soldiers were destitute of proper bedding and blankets, forcing the modification of the normal practice of fires being extinguished at lights out. Fires were now allowed to burn all through the night. This was a dangerous practice in a wooden fort, but there was no other way to keep the men from getting sick or dying from cold and exposure. So much for the “warm barrcks” mentioned in Col. Van Cortlandt’s rant. Still with no relief in sight, Col Gansevoort wrote to General Horatio Gates in March, "It gives me pain to inform you that my Regiment is almost naked, insomuch that no more than half have shirts, which is exceeding discouraging to Troops in so inclement a Country.." It would not be until April that any new clothing was noted as arriving at the fort.

Wood for cooking was an indespensible need at any time. As noted above, more wood then normal was being consumed in the winter of 1778 in an effort to keep the men warm and healthy. To ensure a good supply was maintained, orders were given in February that “Six good Ax Men to be pick’t out who will engage to cut two Cords of Wood each pr. Day as their task for which they are to have half pint of Rum each man pr Day.” A cord of wood is a stack that totals 4 ft. high, by 4 ft. deep by 8 ft. wide. With the unusal addition of heating fires, the garrison was going through wood quickly.

An aspect of winter particular to life at Fort Schuyler was snow removal. In the small, enclosed spaces of the fort, snow piled up quickly and made it difficult to defend the fort in the case of a possible attack. Several orderly books note that during the winter months, the artillery detachment had the additional duty to “keep the Bastions (corners)..clear of snow.” In addition, work parties were “…to gather with the Slays to be employed…in Carrying Snow out of the Garrison…” This last order was repeated numerous times at the fort throughout the “Hard Winter” of 1779-1780. In fact, there was so much snow that winter that additional orders stated “the...men to begin to Morrow morning and Clear the Snow from the Horizontal pickets.” (this was the “Fraise”, or horizontal posts set into the walls of the fort).

Of course, large amounts of snow could provide opportunities for mischief as well, and it’s obvious that no matter how old, “boys will be boys.” Various entries are found in the orderly books that the soldiers were forbidden from “snowballing” within the fort.

 

 

Duration:

16 minutes, 23 seconds

Winters at Fort Schuyler (Stanwix) during the American Revolution brought new challenges to the people garrisoned there. Many of the difficulties were the same as those of the rest of the Continental Army during the winter, particularly in trying to keep the soldiers properly clothed in the frigid weather. Learn more about these challenges in the following film.

 

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  April Snowstorm 2016

  Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snowstorm late, will keep these rangers from opening the gate! An early spring snowstorm rolled through the park today. Yesterday it was nearly 60° F, and today it is a frigid 26° with an inch of snow!

  Duration:

  2 minutes, 30 seconds