Fort Depuy
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| Location | Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 41°00′43″N 75°06′19″W / 41.01197°N 75.1054°W |
| Built/founded | c. 1756 |
Fort Depuy, sometimes referred to in contemporary documents as Depui's Fort, Dupui's Fort, and various other spellings, is a fortified homestead located in Shawnee on Delaware, a village in Smithfield Township. It was one of many forts in Colonial Pennsylvania built in 1755 and 1756 during the French and Indian War. The fort never saw combat and was garrisoned from early 1756 until February 1757. After this, the fort was used only intermittently until the garrison was withdrawn to participate in the Forbes Expedition in May 1758. The fort was formally returned to the Depuy family in 1763.
History
[edit]The need for fortifications
[edit]At the beginning of the French and Indian War, Braddock's defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela left Pennsylvania without a professional military force.[1] Lenape chiefs Shingas and Captain Jacobs launched dozens of Shawnee and Delaware raids against British colonial settlements,[2] killing and capturing hundreds of colonists and destroying settlements across western and central Pennsylvania.[3] In late 1755, Colonel John Armstrong wrote to Governor Robert Hunter Morris: "I am of the opinion that no other means of defense than a chain of blockhouses along or near the south side of the Kittatinny Mountains from the Susquehanna to the temporary line, can secure the lives and property of the inhabitants of this country."[4]: 300
In December 1755, a series of attacks on people in the area surrounding Stroudsburg had terrified the population, who then demanded that the Pennsylvania government provide military protection. On 10 December, a war party of about 200 Native American warriors attacked the Hoeth family farm and killed Frederick Hoeth, his wife, and seven of their eight children.[5]: 270 : 226 The next day, warriors destroyed Broadhead's Plantation, and attacked and burned farms belonging to the Culvers, the McMichaels, and the Hartmanns.[6] A number of settlers died when they were trapped inside burning buildings. Over 300 people fled to Bethlehem and Easton.[4]: 138 On 25 December, the Provincial Commissioners reported that "The Country all above this Town, for 50 Miles, is mostly evacuated and ruined, excepting only the Neighbourhood of the Dupuy's, five Families, which stand their Ground."[5]: 271 In response to these attacks, the Pennsylvania Legislature placed Benjamin Franklin and James Hamilton in charge to erect a chain of forts along the Blue Mountain in the Minisink region.[7][8][4]: 300
Origin of the name
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The fort was the fortified homestead on the farm of Nicholas Depuy (1682-1762), a French Huguenot who arrived in 1727 and purchased 3,000 acres from the Minsi Indians, a phratry of the Lenape tribe.[9] The purchase included fertile land along the northwest bank of the Delaware River, as well as two large islands, Shawano and Manwalamink. Depuy built a log farmhouse on a bluff overlooking the river, in about 1734. Because of its elevated position near a river, overlooking the district below and the roads to Easton and Bethlehem, colonial authorities felt that it would be "an admirable place of defence and refuge."[4]: 310
Construction
[edit]In 1755 Benjamin Franklin insisted that the Depuy home, because of its strategic location along the Delaware River, be commandeered to serve as a fort.[10] Nicholas was living there with his son Samuel at the time and agreed to allow the troops to live in his home, although he insisted that they pay for rum and other supplies. Depuy was employed for a time as a commissary for the Pennsylvania provincial military.[4]: 310
In December 1755 Franklin sent Captain Isaac Wayne was sent by the Provincial Commissioners to fortify the homestead, and they constructed a stockade around the building, placing swivel guns at each corner. The stockade was intended to provide protection for local settlers during Native American attacks. Captain Wayne was soon replaced by Captain Jacob Wetterholt, who arrived with a garrison of 26 men.[5]: 272
Command and garrison
[edit]Major William Parsons visited the fort on 12 June 1756 and reported: "Samuel Dupui has a large commodious Stockado Fort round his House with 4 Swivels, one at each Corner; but the Fort is much exposed to a high Hill on the Land Side."[5]: 272 The fort also served as a commissary base for the other forts in the area.[4]: 310
On 24 June 1756, Commissary General James Young visited the fort and reported: "Came to Sam1 Depues, Musterd that Part of Captn Weatherholts Compy that are Stationd here, a Lt. and 26 men all regularly Inlisted for 6 Months as are the rest of his Compy, Round Depue's house, is a Large but very Slight, and ill Contriv'd Staccade with a Sweevle Gun Mounted on Each Corner."[5]: 272
Captain Wetterholt and most of the garrison were transferred to Fort Hamilton in September, and in November the captain's younger brother, Lieutenant Jacob Wetterholt, returned with a garrison of 18 men. They were sent back to Fort Hamilton in early February, 1757. The fort was garrisoned only occasionally during the rest of that year, until February, 1758 when a garrison of 23 men under the command of Ensign James Hughes was reported. On 2 March 1758, the fort was inspected by Colonel James Burd, who wrote: "This is a very fine Plantation, Situate upon the River Delaware...There is a pretty good Stockade here & 4 Sweevells mounted & good accommodation for soldiers. Reviewed this Garrison and found here 22 good men."[5]: 274
On 8 May 1758, Deputy Governor William Denny ordered the garrison to march to Bethlehem in preparation for the Forbes Expedition. The fort does not appear to have been in use afterwards, and in 1763 it was returned to the family, and to its function as a farm.[citation needed]
Modern site
[edit]In 1785, Samuel Depuy built the stone house that stands on the site today, near the site of the original log home. He named the house "Manwalamink", after the nearby island. In 1898, the Depuy family sold the home to Charles Campbell Worthington, a New York businessman who built the Inn and Gatehouse.[11] The site of the original stockade is slightly southwest, and no signs remain.[12]
The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort is located on the site of Depuy's farm.[13]: 69
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Samuel J. Newland, The Pennsylvania Militia: Defending the Commonwealth and the Nation, 1669–1870, Annville, PA, 2002
- ^ Matthew C. Ward, Breaking the Backcountry: The Seven Years' War in Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1754–1765, Pittsburgh, 2003
- ^ William Albert Hunter, "Victory at Kittanning", Pennsylvania History, vol. 23, no. 3, July 1956; pp 376-407
- ^ a b c d e f Thomas Lynch Montgomery, ed. Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, vol 1, Harrisburg, PA: W.S. Ray, state printer, 1916
- ^ a b c d e f Hunter, William Albert. Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier: 1753–1758, (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited, 2018.
- ^ Amy Leiser,"Monroe County’s frontier forts: Fort Norris," Monroe County Historical Association, December 12, 2012
- ^ Amy Leiser, "Benjamin Franklin and his tie to Monroe County’s frontier forts," Monroe County Historical Association, September 9, 2012
- ^ Amy Leiser, "Monroe County's frontier forts: Fort Hyndshaw," Monroe County Historical Association, November 11, 2012
- ^ Amy Leiser, "Monroe County’s frontier forts: Fort DePue," Monroe County Historical Association, October 10 , 2012
- ^ "Depuy: The peaceful homestead that became a fort," Pocono Record, October 14, 2012. Accessed March 4, 2014
- ^ "Pennsylvania: Fort Depuy," the GG Project, 2024
- ^ Peter Sauvigne, Fort DePuy Location, January 25, 2021
- ^ Davis, Gary Hempel. Romancing the Roads: A Driving Diva's First Hand Guide. Volume 1: East of the Mississippi Taylor Trade Publishing, 2011
