OSWEGO – To commemorate the Battle of Oswego, Fort Ontario State Historic Site is hosting self-guided walking tours, which began on May 5, the first day of the battle, and will last through tomorrow, Sunday, May 9.
The tour is a 16-stop journey that if completed in its entirety could take two hours. The designer of the tour, Corey King, said, however, that hikers are not required to go to each stop or in the intended order.
“When you do this tour, you don’t have to do the route exactly. These numbers and the stops, you can just go to the page [in the free booklet] and read about the exact location,” King said.
Of the 16 stops, the first six are from the American perspective, waiting for the British around the fort. The first six are also relatively far apart, taking participants back and forth in a rather chaotic manner. This design was intentional, King said, as the American generals and soldiers did not know where the British would attack.
“From the American visual, you don’t know where the British are coming from. You don’t know if they are going to attack the port of the village side,” King said. “From the American commander side, Colonel Mitchell, he is trying to read what the British are doing, where they are going to land. The walking tour is designed with that in mind … it is kind of everywhere.”
The direct opposite of the “American visual” was the British side, which is highlighted in stops seven through 13. These are well-organized and more linear than the jarring American army since the British soldiers were incredibly well-trained, according to King.
The first time guests enter the fort itself is not until the 14th stop, as most of the fighting happened around the structure, primarily along the bluffs or in the water. Stop 14, however, was the busiest during the war, as it was where John Hewett, a lieutenant of the Royal Marines, charged the American flag bastian which was nailed into the ground. Eventually Hewett was able to rip the flag off, signifying that the British were close to victory.
One unique aspect of this particular stop is the locations of the British and American flags. At the other stops, the flags signifying a casualty were in lines, showing where the neat battle lines were drawn. At this one, the flags were scattered all throughout, as the fight was far more chaotic and close-range. According to King, this was the deadliest portion of the battle which resulted in 30 British casualties.
The tour wraps up outside the fort yet again, describing a British bivouac, or celebration. The dinner celebration occurred after the British dismantled the fort which was made of timber and wood at the time. By the end of the night, the British “torched” the fort.
Paul Lear, the historic site manager, sees the tour as a somewhat permanent fixture to remember the Battle of Oswego and to celebrate the beginning of the season.
“I think this will become an annual event after this,” Lear said. “I opened the fort a week early to coincide with the anniversary of the battle and that’s my plan, is to … set up the flags and the pedestals and all the information out on the grounds. Seems like a great way to start the season.”
According to King, the team at Fort Ontario started researching the battle in preparation of this week around Christmas of last year. Through months of hard work, the aerial views of the map which show where soldiers were wounded, captured or killed was the most eye-opening for King.
“When you’re putting the flags out is one thing, but in the walking tour itself, in the booklet, there’s graphics, modern aerial maps and what I did is I put red dots and blue dots marking where all the flags actually are,” King said. “So from an aerial view, you see where all those dots are, [this was] actually eye opening.”
