Fort George was built here in October 1755 as an outwork of Fort Oswego by Lieutenant Colonel Mercer of the first American regiment of English troops. It was garrisoned by 150 New York Colonial Militia under Colonel Schuyler, and was captured and destroyed, along with Fort Oswego, by French and Indians under the Marquis of Montcalm on August 14, 1756; Colonel Mercer was then killed and buried nearby. Fort George was made of pickets embanked with earth and entrenched, and it was not rebuilt, though its lines were visible in 1850.