Rich history envelopes state park prior to America’s independence

By Tom and Jerry Caraccioli

During the 2023 golf season in Central New York nearly 20,000 rounds of golf were played on a course along the Oswego River that got its name from a pre-Revolutionary War skirmish.

To this day, many of those golfers — and other visitors — probably are not even aware of the name’s significance.

While most visitors to Battle Island State Park and Golf Course are more concerned with birdies and pars on a course featuring 18 holes and 5,973 yards of manicured fairways and greens, this area played a vital role in the history and birth of America. The repercussions of what occurred on this land would be remembered in the burgeoning years and decades after our nation’s birth, as well as today.

Two decades before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the rivers and lakes of Upstate New York, as well as west through the Ohio River Valley region, served as important waterways for commerce — especially fur trading.

Oswego, the area known today as Fulton and other surrounding lands, were key outposts and arteries in the flow of transport in and out of Lake Ontario. These areas up and down the Oswego River leading to Lake Ontario were the sites of wartime skirmishes featuring two of the most powerful countries in the world at that time — England and France.

On July 3, 1756, one year following British Province of Virginia Major George Washington’s defeat at the Ohio River Valley in what would become known as the French and Indian War, the Battle of Battle Island commenced.

The battle began after a British fleet was ambushed by a party of French and Indians while returning from British outpost Fort Ontario in Oswego.

“It wasn’t that big of a battle,” Bob Coant, town of Volney historian said. “It was more of a skirmish that lasted maybe three hours. British Colonel John Bradstreet was sent by General Sir Thomas Shirley, the Royal Governor of Massachusetts [1741 to 1759] and commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America, to Oswego to re-supply Fort Ontario and the other garrisons in Oswego — Fort George and Fort Oswego. Bradstreet had about 1,000 men and 700 stayed in Oswego. Most of the men were ship builders from New England and General Shirley wanted them in Oswego to build ships for the British Royal Navy.”

The Battle of Battle Island was fought in the Oswego River with bateau boats, which were brought to North America in 1603 and used primarily in colonial times for transporting trappers and goods through the interconnected waterways. They were especially effective for the French and British troops in the lakes and rivers of Upstate New York.

“The overall outcome of the Battle of Battle Island proved that the French could be taken down,” Coant explained. “Bradstreet and his men actually accomplished their mission of restocking the garrisons in Oswego. The battle occurred on the way back. French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and his men were late in stopping the English supply chain.

“At the time, it was a pivotal win for the English because months later Montcalm came back and totally annihilated the forts in Oswego. The British victory was very short lived. But in terms of its significance, it did save the area for the day,” Coant said.

Most of the 235 acres of state-owned land we know today was first owned by F.A. Emerick.

In 1916, Emerick deeded the land to the state of New York. And in 1936, he designed Battle Island Golf Course in Fulton. Two years later, the land bearing the name of the 18th century French and Indian War skirmish became an official state park and was turned over to the state.

Today, Battle Island State Park is known more as a scenic Upstate New York State Park and golf course, as well as a place that offers magnificent vistas and plenty of space to cross country ski in the winter.

And in case the history of this parcel of land along the Oswego River is not known, it is remembered by a plaque proclaiming:

Battle Island Park

Here and upon adjacent island now nearly submerged July 3, 1756 British forces under Captain Bradstreet repulsed an attack of  French and Indians.

In the year 1916 this historical site was acquired by Frederick A. Emerick and presented to the State of New York under the jurisdiction of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society as a place for the pleasure and Recreation of the public.

In colonial America the battle was for life and death and supremacy of the waterways. These days, most of the skirmishes that take place for superiority at Battle Island involve Nassau bets, Best Ball Scrambles and fun and games.

Tom and Jerry Caraccioli are freelance writers originally from Oswego, who have co-authored two books: “Striking silver: The Untold Story of America’s Forgotten Hockey Team” and “Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.”