Fort Montgomery, NY

Fort Montgomery State Historic Site, just north of Bear Mountain, commemorates the October 6, 1777, battle in which 2,100 British and Loyalist troops captured Forts Montgomery and Clinton, defended by just 700 men, after hours of fierce fighting. The Americans' tenacity prevented the British from coming to the aid of the army of General John Burgoyne, who surrendered at Saratoga 11 days later. A self-guided interpretive trail leads past the remains of redoubts and the foundations of barracks and other buildings. A suspension footbridge across Popolopen Creek, located where a pontoon bridge originally linked the two forts, connects the site to Bear Mountain, where Fort Clinton's outer redoubt is preserved.