Water for the Garrison
The spring-fed stream, reconstructed here, supplied the garrison with water for drinking and washing. Extending out from the fort was an elevated latrine called a "necessary." It ran into a short channel that fed downstream to the fort's garden.
During the siege of 1777, the British diverted the stream's source, causing it to run dry. Soldiers dug temporary wells inside the fort to provide an alternate water supply, safe from enemy gunfire.
"Any person who may be found easing themselves, in any other places about the Camp, or Garrison, except the Necessaries provided for that purpose, may depend on being Severely punish'd on being discovered."
Lieutenant Colonel Marinus Willett, Sept 15, 1777
Marker is on Black River Boulevard North (New York Route 46) north of East Dominick Street (New York Route 49).
Courtesy hmdb.org
