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The battle took place on July 24, 1759, the final day of the Siege of Fort Niagara during the French and Indian War.
About 800 French soldiers attempted to break through to lift the siege of Fort Niagara, but were defeated by British forces who blocked the road to the fort from Niagara Falls. The battle took place where the village of Youngstown, New York now stands. A history interpreter dressed as a soldier who took part in the epic battle will explain how the battle unfolded in the early hours of July 24, 1759.
British soldiers, along with the New York National Guard and Native American allies, laid siege to French-occupied Fort Niagara from July 6 to 25, 1759. At the beginning of the siege, the fort’s commander, Captain Pierre Pouchot, sent emissaries to gather French and Native American reinforcements from Venango (now Franklin, Pennsylvania). About 1,300 people answered the call and the boat docked above Niagara Falls on the night of July 23rd.
On the morning of July 24, they marched north on Portage Road (modern Route 18F) toward Fort Niagara. British commander Sir William Johnson, warning of an attack by native allies, sent a small force to block the road just north of the intersection of modern Lockport Street and Main Street. At 8:00 a.m., a French column ran directly into the 464-man British force. In the short but decisive battle that ensued, about 250 French soldiers were killed and wounded, and the survivors fled for their lives. The next day, Fort Niagara surrendered to the British.
