Fort Niagara guards the waterways that served, in the 18th century, as the gateway to the interior of North America. With control of this wilderness empire came all the riches of the fur trade. In July of 1759 a British force of 3300 men began an onslaught of relentless artillery fire as they lay siege to one of the most important forts on the continent. The French, with a garrison of between 500 and 600 men, managed to withstand the siege for 19 days. Running desperately short of supplies the French commander of Fort Niagara, Capitaine Pierre Pouchot, finally relented after a relief force of 800 French soldiers was defeated in a British ambush less then a mile away from the fort. Come join us as we honor the men on both sides of the conflict during the 250th Anniversary of the Siege of Fort Niagara.
To honor this event we here at Fort Niagara have developed a new Education program that focuses on the French and Indian War. We hope that you will use and that your students will enjoy the educational packet that can be downloaded from this page. The educational packet is divided into 6 sections. The sections are as follows.
Section 1 Soft Gold - A Fur Trade Empire- This unit illustrates the importance of the Fur trade in 18th century North American society.
Section 2 Who’s Who? – This unit explains the people of the Nations involved in this French and Indian war and the claims that each nation holds over the Ohio country.
Section 3 Geography at Niagara- This unit is a Power point presentation explaining the key role Geography played in the history of Fort Niagara.
Section 4 Prelude to a Siege- This section explains the events running up to the Siege of Fort Niagara
Section 5 Siege at Fort Niagara- This section explains the historic events and tactics used during the Siege of Fort Niagara
Section 6 Seeds of Discontent- This section shows the students how the events during and immediately following the French and Indian War lead directly to the American Revolution.
We hope that you will come visit us at and allow your students to take part in exciting new and expanded programming here at Fort Niagara. During your trip to Old Fort Niagara your students will experience this epic struggle from several different viewpoints. Special attention will be paid to all to the groups of people involved including the French, British, Iroquois (and other Native American groups), women, and the New York Provincials. During your foray into the 18th century your students will have the opportunity to meet Christopher Yates a 22 year old Captain in the New York Provincial Regiment, Daniel Chalbert de Joncaire a French Officer and son of the founder of Fort Niagara, Madame Douville a formidable woman and the wife of a French lieutenant., Kaendae a Seneca warrior and several French and British soldiers.
Before your trip to Old Fort Niagara you will be provided with a pre-visit packet. This packet will outline the New York State Learning Standards that we will aid you to meet during
