Fort Augusta, Sunbury PA - An Overview
Friendly Indians, at a conference on February 22 1756, expressed themselves to Governor Morris:
"We strongly advice you to build a fort at Shamokin, and we entreat you to not delay in so doing. it will strengthen your interests very much to have a strong house there"- The Miltonian, 1912
Below, find assorted illustrations, postcards, histories, stories, and newspaper articles regarding Fort Augusta.
A General Overview Of Fort Augusta, The Largest Provincial Fort In America
Today, Shamokin is a city to the east of Sunbury, known for it's coal mining activities. But in 1756, Shamokin was the area of Sunbury, including "Shamokin Island", which today is Shikellamy State Park.
"From 1718 until the start of the French and Indian War Shamokin was the largest Indian town and trading center in Pennsylvania. On July 8, 1736 it was described as having eight huts beside the Susquehanna with scattered settlements extending over seven to eight hundred acres between the river and the mountain.." https://www.departments.bucknell.edu/environmental_center/sunbury/website/FortAugustaHistory.shtml
Construction of Fort Augusta began in July of 1756, under the leadership of Col. William Clapham. Clapham was called away for other duties, with Col. James Burd taking over, completing the project the following year.
The fort was built in a square design, 204 feet on a side, with bastions at each corner and a double palisade surrounding it. The outer walls and the fort itself protected nearly a six hundred (600) foot long stretch of the riverbank. The main structure enclosed seven buildings including the commander's quarters, officer's quarters, three enlisted barracks and a powder magazine. The buildings were of log construction except for the magazine which was constructed underground of stone with a brick ceiling. The fortification included at least twelve cannon, possibly fifteen, two swivel guns; and seven blunderbusses in its armament. For a more detailed description: https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/01/fort-augusta-as-described-in-1871-in.html
Fort Augusta was built to serve three grand purposes:
To be a barrier against the encroachments of the French of Western Pennsylvania, who then claimed all of our lands west of the Susquehanna River as part of their province of Canada
To give the friendly Indians on the northwest branches of our river a convenient place for trade, where they could easily bring their deer, bear, and other wild animal skins and the like to exchange them for flour, blankets and such other thins as needed or desired, and so save themselves the time and trouble of going down to Fort Harris, Lancaster, or Philadelphia for such purpose
To Afford all of our white settlers in these parts of Pennsylvania a strong and easily reachable place of safety in times of great danger from hostile Indians. 1
Fort Augusta was the largest provincial fort in America, with an ideal location at the confluence of the river making it both assessable, and formidable. "Fort Augusta, built in 1756, was then, and for years afterwards, the largest and most costly regular fort that we had in Pennsylvania -built at the expense of Pennsylvania, for Fort Pitt, a much larger fort at Pittsburgh, was built at the expense of the British Crown."
"The fort is now almost finished and a fine one it is. We want a good large flag to grace it.
On the 25th one of the soldiers was coming here from Harris's Express, and fifteen miles from the fort was murdered and scalped, the party that went to escort Capt. Lloyd found and buried him.
Last Sunday morning one of our people who attended the cattle went to the spring about a half a mile from the fort, and while he was drinking was shot and afterwards scalped and tomahawked. There was immediately a party send in quest of them, but could not come up with them. Chagray says he is satisfy'd they were Delawares" - From a letter to Governor Morris, 1756
More about How Bloody Springs In Sunbury Got It's Name:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/12/how-bloody-springs-got-its-name-in.html
1763
"During the French and Indian War in 1757–1758, several hundred French and Indian troops traveled the Great Shamokin Path in an effort to destroy Fort Augusta, the main stronghold of the English at the junction of the East and West branches of the Susquehanna River. This army was gathered from the French posts at Duquesne, Kittanning, Venango and Le Boeuf and assembled at the mouth of Anderson Creek. They constructed crude boats, rafts and bateau for passage down the Susquehanna River for the proposed attack. They dragged along with them two small brass cannon, but after reconnoitering, found the distance too great for the guns to shoot from the hill opposite the fort. The defense at Fort Augusta was strong enough to resist attack by storming or by siege, and the French attack was abandoned. A British defeat at Fort Augusta may have altered the history of the course of the French and Indian War."
McCreight, M.I. (1939). "Memory Sketches of Du Bois, Pennsylvania: A History". Du Bois History. p. 69.
The Fort, which was constructed as part of the British defense against the raids of the French and Indians, was named for the mother of King George III - Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. In 1764, the land of the area, including where the fort stood, was given to the officers of Bouquet’s expedition as a reward for their services.
"There is advice that the French and Indians at Ohio threatened a grand Attack on Fort Augusta at Shamokin, in Revenge for the Destruction of Kittanning by Col. Armstrong" - The Pennsylvania Gazette, October 21 1756
By September of 1763, a new flag and flag post had been placed at Fort Augusta. On October 1st the fort had a garrison of 100 men, 12 cannon, two swivels and seven blunderbuses.
More men continued to arrive, with garrison numbering 430 by October 12.
"On November 25, Burd and his officers wrote a letter to Governor John Penn congratulating him upon his safe arrival at the Province, and also advised him to stock the garrison at Fort Augusta. Smallpox has again broken out at the fort, and Burd was preparing for an expedition against the enemy. Governor John Penn however, reduced the garrison at Fort Augusta to strengthen the one at Hunters Fort near Harrisburg. Colonel Burd protested. The year 1763 drew to a close with a heavy snow." - Yesteryears Column in the Selinsgrove Times Tribune
1778-1789 - The Great Runaway
"And now as to Fort Augusta and its useless condition in 1778 and 1779, I have to say as follows: Fort Augusta, built in 1756, was then, and for years afterwards, the largest and most costly regular fort that we had in Pennsylvania -built at the expense of Pennsylvania, for Fort Pitt, a much larger fort at Pittsburgh, was built at the expense of the British Crown.
Col. Samuel Hunter, of Sunbury, ordered our West Branch settlers of 1778 and 1779 [The Great Runaway, and the Little Runaway] to come down to Fort Augusta, we can see that there was, apparently, a good reason for that command; but when our settlers, after arriving at Sunbury did not stop there, but hurried on down the river, ti made us wonder at it, and in reading the histories we had of it ask ourselves the moving questions: hy didn't our said settlers and our soldiers of Forts Muncy, Antes, Horn and Reed stop there at Sunbury? Why didn't they go to Fort Augusta, whose size and strength and ample supplies of soldiers, cannon, swivels, blunderbusses, small fire arms and ammunition and clothing would most certainly not only have made them safe, but also able to withstand a siege and battel against and overcome any enemy that dared to come there without canon and cannon too, or more than common size? But the histories that we have had, even now have, gave us and now give us no answers at all to these perplexing questions, and so left us in the dark on these important points. But it is now known to a certainty that our Fort Augusta in 1778 and 1779 had none of the supplies just mentioned, and was entirely empty, and was in a perfectly useless condition to afford the desired safety and protection to our runaway settlers and soldiers of said years; and therefore our runaway people acted wisely in hurrying on down the river and below Fort Harris. "
Wolfinger goes on to explain that he searched in vain for answers, until he came to the original records, the Colonial Records of Pennsylvania. In the 9th volume he finally found a "clear and satisfactory answer".
"It appears from these records that our Pennsylvania people were sorely oppressed with the heavy taxes of that day that they had to pay year after year, and that the keeping of a large body of soldiers at Fort Augusta had been very expensive." After Bouquet secured a general treaty of peace with the Delaware, Seneca, and Shawnee Indians, the people of Pennsylvania demanded the withdrawal of of the Fort Augusta soldiers, as they were no longer necessary and "too expensive to be kept there in idleness".
In February of 1765, the legislature sent Governor John Penn a message "to lose no time in removing the cannon and other military stores from Fort Augusta and disband it's garrison, in order to ease the public of that burden, whenever it can be done in safely and prudence". Colonial Record v9 p246
It was apparently deemed "safe and prudent" by September of that year, as that is when the order to evacuate the fort occurred. 1
Colonel Samuel Hunter continued to reside in the Commandant’s Quarters, which had become his property. His descendants continued to live there until 1848 when the log house burned. The present Hunter House was completed in 1852 by the Colonel’s grandson, Captain Samuel Hunter.
Hunter House 1909
In 1920 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased the land on whic
h the well and powder magazine are located and, in 1931, acquired the larger tract, which included the Hunter House. Together they form the Fort Augusta property, which is now owned by and used as the headquarters of the Northumberland County Historical Society, Inc.
h the well and powder magazine are located and, in 1931, acquired the larger tract, which included the Hunter House. Together they form the Fort Augusta property, which is now owned by and used as the headquarters of the Northumberland County Historical Society, Inc.
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Sources:
- J.F Wolfinger "Fort Augusta And What Became Of It's Cannon", Nov 1889
Col. Clapham and his family were killed by Native Americans along Sewickey Creek in Western Pa, a few years after beginning construction on Fort Augusta.
Col. Burd participated in the Boquet Expedition, after the completion of Fort Augusta. He also participated in the Battle of Bushy Run.
Northumberland County was formed in 1772, with Sunbury laid out near Fort Augusta, and made the county seat.
Thank you for this article and the research that went into it.
ReplyDeleteMy Great Uncle, Jack Arnold, a boy Scout Leader back in the 50-70's had built a wooden replica of the fort and I had seen it as a young boy back in 1972. It was gone when I was there in 2003. He also took me to the bloody spring area and I drank the water running from the spring thru a small pipe. Wouldve like to had a picture of the fort and time w/him. Again Thank you for the Article.