Fort Jay

In terms of aesthetics of the forts used in the Revolutionary War, Fort Jay may have the others beat with many trees, buildings, and a great view of New York City's skyscrapers. The fort was originally built during the American Revolution by the colonists in order to defend New York City. The first fortification of the site began in April of 1776 and armed with eight cannons to defend New York Harbor. More fortifications and artillery would soon be added and the cannons inflicted enough damage to make the British cautious about traveling through that part of the river and would later contribute to George Washington's success in the Battle of Brooklyn.

Fort Niagara

Easily the most uniquely shaped and designed fort of the Revolutionary Was was Fort Niagara. The fort is fixed on a peninsula in Youngstown, New York on a bank of the Niagara river. Instead of fortifying the property with huge walls on every side, this fort uses the cliffside to its advantage in that it has shorter walls on the riverside and big walls facing inland. This technique would have saved time, manpower, and lots of money. The fort served as the Loyalist base during the Revolutionary War for Colonel John Butler. The British maintained the fort for the entire war with only a few Colonist attempts of capture, which speaks to its effectiveness in battle.

Fort Stanwix

The construction of Fort Stanwix commenced on August 26, 1758 in present day Rome, New York under the British general John Stanwix and it was completed in 1762. The fort is in the shape of a square with 4 diamonds breaking out at each corner, which was a popular feature of forts of the time, because it provides more surface area to fit more cannons and to have more feasible angles on targets. Fort Stanwix was built to guard a portage between the main waterway southeastward to the Atlantic seacoast, down the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, and an important interior waterway northwestward to Lake Ontario, down Wood Creek and Oneida Lake to Oswego. The fort was abandoned in 1768 and allowed to go to ruin until it reconstructed by colonial troops in 1777 in order to be used in the revolutionary war where it would aid them greatly in their battles against the British.