Prior to the construction of the New York State Barge Canal
and dam at Crescent, the Mohawk River was shallow and
fordable most of the year. For centuries, Native Americans
had crossed at this place. In 1755, during the French and
Indian War, a crude road was constructed nearby between
Albany and Lake George. It was built by the British under
the direction of General John Campbell, the Fourth Earl of
Loudoun, and became known as the Loudon Plank Road.
Soldiers used this route north in 1758 to supply Fort
William Henry and to support an ill-fated attempt to wrest
control of Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga) from the French.The river crossing located here and others spanning the
Mohawk River at nearby Waterford were a source of great
concern for American forces during the American
Revolutionary War. British army officers planned to capture
Albany and isolate New England from the rest of the colonies.
Using a three pronged plan of attack, British Colonel Barry
St.Leger would approach from the west along the Mohawk
River; General William Howe would drive north from New
York City and General John Burgoyne would forge southward
from Canada. The attacks from the west and south failed. Burgoyne's army coming from the north was finally stopped
at the famous Battle of Saratoga in 1777. He never reached
the fords of the Mohawk
River.The Loudon Ford Crossing
was protected during the events of 1777 by American Generals Enoch
Poor and Benedict Arnold. Poor, a native of New
Hampshire, became a hero at Saratoga, served
under General Washington, but died in 1780 in
New Jersey organizing an army to raid New York
City. Despite a brilliant military record, in 1780
Benedict Arnold was charged with collaborating
with the British on a
was protected during
plan to capture the American
stronghold at West Point. Arnold was labeled a
traitor. He escaped to Great Britain dying
there in 1801.
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