North Redoubt

North Redoubt. . , The term redoubt at Fort Montgomery means a strong point in the fort’s walls. There were three redoubts at Fort Montgomery, including the North Redoubt, which you see here. Two of the redoubt’s walls projected out from the fort so that enemies approaching the walls of the fort would be exposed to cannon and musket fire from the redoubt. About 15 feet outside the redoubt was a two-foot-deep ditch, which would have slowed an approaching enemy., The lower portions of the redoubt’s walls were formed of earth faced with stones. Assuming the redoubt was built like other sections of the fort, the upper part of the redoubt’s walls were faced with bundles of saplings, called fascines. Around the inside of the redoubt’s walls there was a banquette, or firing step, that soldiers could stand on to fire over the wall. The redoubt probably contained a few 6- or 12-pounder cannons. Archeologists found evidence of charred wood in the “point” of the redoubt, which was probably the remains of a cannon platform. The presence of pothooks, a fork, bottle glass, ceramics, teapots, and bone scraps suggest that soldiers gathered here to eat and socialize.