Fort Oswego Fort Oswego was an important frontier post for British traders in the 18th century . A trading post was established in 1722 with a log palisade , and New York governor William Burnet ordered a fort built at the site in 1727 . The log palisade fort established a British presence on the Great Lakes . During the French and Indian War , this fort was captured and destroyed by the French in 1756 . The site is now included in the city of Oswego , New York . Oswego fortification system . Many historic references to Fort Oswego actually refer to other forts that existed simultaneously or later . The terrain at the site explains this . The original fort was built around the trading post on the lower ground on the north west side of the mouth of the Oswego River . This was convenient to canoe and bateaux traffic . A stone blockhouse was added in 1727 , and was called Fort Burnet . A triangular stone wall , ten feet ( 3 m ) high and three feet ( 1 m ) wide was added in 1741 , and the entire enclosure was called Fort Pepperrell ( a marker can be found designating the area of Fort Oswego on the north west side of the river along a sidewalk ) . Besides these expansions , Fort Ontario was started in 1755 as a palisade on the high ground on the north east side of the river , and Fort George was added to the bluff located a half mile ( 800 m ) to the southwest from Fort Oswego . To confuse matters further , Fort George was also called Fort Rascal or the West Fort . Fort Ontario was also known as the Fort of the Six Nations or the East Fort . The French knew Fort Oswego as Fort Chouaguen . Some references to Fort Oswego refer to the entire complex . Except for the marker in Oswego , nothing is left of Fort Oswego itself . Fort Ontario has been rebuilt several times on or around the original fort and was given up by the U . S . Army in the 1940s . The fort is currently being taken care of by New York State Parks and Historic Preservation and is opened to the public . The French and Indian War . During the French and Indian War , the French commander , General Montcalm , arrived in August with 3 , 000 men . His force included 3 regiment s of regulars , several companies of Canadian militia , and numerous Indians . He first captured Fort Ontario , then began the assault on Fort Oswego . Oswego was the stronger fortification , but it was now downhill from 120 cannon s in the abandoned Fort Ontario . Montcalm swept the fort with cannon fire , killing the British commander , Colonel Mercer , in the bombardment . British forces were forced to surrender on August 15 , 1756 . Montcalm gave much of the British supplies to his Indian allies , and destroyed the fort . He returned to Quebec in triumph with 1 , 700 prisoners . His actions made a very strong impression on the Indian allies of the British , and caused the Oneida and the Seneca tribe s to switch to the French side . Later actions . The site was used for shore batteries in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 ( when it was subjected to a British raid ) , but was never again fortified . Revolutionary War references to Fort Oswego are actually referring to Fort Ontario . The original site is commemorated at West First and Lake Street in Oswego , New York . Fort George was located in what is now Montcalm Park . Fort Ontario was maintained irregularly throughout the 19th and 20th Century as a military base and is currently open as a state historic site . Michael Keane . An interesting anecdote about Fort Oswego in the 1750s states - " " I knew a Michael Keane , a blind harper , who was born in the County Mayo in Connaught . He was a decent performer . He left this country for America with a Governor Dobbs , of Castle Dobbs , in the County of Antrim , who was appointed to the Government of Carolina , previous to the American Independence . Keane returned from America , and Sir Malby Crofton told this story of Keane , that when he and some other officers were garrisoned at Fort Oswego , and had a party , Keane was with them , and quarrelled with them , and beat them very well , and took a Miss Williams from them all . He left the Governor , and came back to his native country which he longed to see . " "