Historical Development of the Fort
Fort Niagara, 1816
- 30 Barracks (French Castle), 1726
- 31c Bakehouse, 1762 altered c.1807-10
- 31c Sutler's Shop, c.1815
- 32 South Redoubt, 1770
- 33 North Redoubt, 1770-71
- 34b Quartermaster Storehouse, 1762
- 35 Powder Magazine, 1757
The War of 1812 was very hard on Fort Niagara. The post was on the front lines throughout the conflict, alternately facing British guns across the river or a possible American assault from the land. By 1815 the remaining buildings were badly neglected, and the troops had been able to accomplish little more than patching of the slippery clay walls of the land-side fortifications. Lake Ontario continued its encroachment from the north, but the many other demands of the war had precluded construction of a seawall. By 1815 the surf was breaking only a few feet behind the Castle. American Captain William Gates, who took command in the summer of 1815, reported his post in a "desolate state."
In spite of its disrepair, Fort Niagara was considered too important to be surrendered to either neglect or the elements. In September 1815 Major General Jacob Brown ordered temporary repairs to commence, and his decision was endorsed by General Joseph G. Swift, the army's chief engineer, who considered Niagara "the only permanent fortification of importance" on the northern frontier. Swift sent Lieutenant John L. Smith to examine the place and make recommendations for securing it against both the British and Lake Ontario.
Lieutenant Smith submitted his report on January 16, 1816 and appended a "Plan of Fort Niagara with proposed alterations" which served as the basis for this sketch. With the exception of structure 466, Smith's proposed alterations have been deleted, so what appears here is a record of Fort Niagara as it was soon after its reoccupation by United States troops on May 22, 1815. The proximity of the lake to the Castle is apparent. So is the weakness of the river defenses which probably had been partially dismantled by the British after their capture of the post.
Little repair of the buildings had been accomplished by the time Smith prepared his plan. The "Red Barracks" (46Oc) and the small quarters east of the "Castle" (463 a and b) had been enlarged, probably during the last nine months of British occupation. Several small additions had been made to the bakehouse (31c) which served as shops for the garrison sutler. Despite these minor additions, however, Fort Niagara had assumed its modern form of a large, empty "parade" with buildings clustered around the perimeter.
Smith's proposed alterations were approved. They included a stone seawall along the entire lake front and strong new walls and bastions facing the Canadian shore. Work on the seawall began during the winter of 1816, but no fortifications were built aside from the foundation for an "elliptical bastion" (466) that was to have been incorporated into the seawall. In May 1818 President James Monroe ordered work on the new fortifications to cease, virtually before it had begun. About 80% of the seawall had been completed.