American Colonial Forts and Their Cities Quiz

Answer: Fort Pitt

Fort Pitt, named for a British prime minister, was built in 1759 in the site of a French fort called Fort Duquesne. Fort Duquesne was built in 1754 and its existence was one of the immediate causes of the French and Indian War, with both Britain and France claiming what was then known as the Ohio country.

Answer: Fort Orange

Fort Orange was built by the Dutch in 1624, replacing Fort Nassau, which dated from 1614. The British took control of the site in 1664 and renamed it Fort Albany. The fort was a center of the fur trade under both Dutch and British administration. The city of Albany became the capital of New York State in 1797.

Answer: Fort Dearborn

The site of Chicago was acquired by the United States in the treaty of Greenville, signed with the Potawatomi nation in 1795. Fort Dearborn was built in 1803, and was mostly used as a trading post. The British and their Native American allies destroyed the fort during the War of 1812. The site was re-occupied by the Americans following the Treaty of Ghent.

Answer: Fort St. Richmond

The British built Fort St. Richmond to defend the town from the Americans and their French and Spanish allies during the Revolutionary War. Completed in 1779, the fort was only a few months old when it was taken by Spanish troops operating from New Orleans.

Answer: Fort Ponchartrain

Fort Ponchartrain was built by the French in 1701 on the Detroit River between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The town outgrew the original fort, which was dismantled. The new palisade was named Fort Detroit. The city and the fort changed hands between the British and Americans several times until after the War of 1812, when the Americans took permanent possession.

Answer: Fort Assumption

The French built Fort Assumption in 1739 on the site of what would one day be the city of Memphis, Tennessee. The fort was used as a staging area for a campaign against the Chickasaw nation, which was inconclusive. The French destroyed the fort and retreated at the end of the campaign. American settlers founded Memphis on the site in 1819.

Answer: Fort Presque Ile

Fort Presque Ile was built by the French in 1753 to strengthen their claim to the Ohio Country. Along with Fort Duquesne and Fort Venango, it gave the French a strong line of defenses against the British during the French and Indian War. The fort was abandoned by the French in 1760 and occupied by the British. It was taken by Native Americans during Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763.

Answer: Fort Schlosser

Fort Schlosser was built in 1760 by British and Colonial forces on the site of a French fort called Le Petit Niagara, across the Niagara River from the main French stronghold of Fort Niagara. The fort was captured by the British during the War of 1812 and burned down.

Answer: Fort Saint Joseph

Fort St. Joseph was built as a trading post by the French in 1691. It was turned over to the British in 1761 during the French and Indian War. Native Americans captured the fort in 1763 during Pontiac's Rebellion. The fort was taken during the American Revolution by Spanish troops and their Native American allies in 1780. Fort St. Joseph was abandoned in 1795.

Answer: Fort Washington

Built by American troops in 1789, Fort Washington was a major supply depot for campaigns against Native American nations in what was then known as the Old Northwest. The fort was abandoned and the land it stood on sold to settlers by 1803.