Fishkill Supply Depot

During the time he served as Postmaster General (July 1775 to November 1776), Benjamin Franklin established Fishkill as one of six Regional Post Offices. So mail between the New England Colonies and Philadelphia and the Southern Colonies passed through Fishkill. And also, travelers going from New York City to Albany, or Fort Ticonderoga, took the Albany Post Road, located on the east bank of the Hudson River and now Route 9. And passed through Fishkill.

In 1775 General George Washington established a supply depot there for the Continental Army. The depot provided logistical support for the army's operations in the Hudson Valley. Without it there would have been no victory at the Battles of Saratoga, and thus no turning point to the war. It housed a medical complex, a prison facility, powder magazines, store houses, an artillery park and numerous artisan workshops. It included officer's residences and barracks for thousands of soldiers. Although under British surveillance, the depot was never attacked.

Cannons, cannon balls, muskets, uniforms, blankets, etc., manufactured in the New York and Pennsylvania were shipped to the Fishkill depot for distribution to the army as needed. Equipment and supplies used during the Battle of Trenton, NJ (Dec. 1776), the Battle of Saratoga, NY (Oct. 1777), and at Valley Forge, PA (winter encampment 1777-1778), probably came from the Fishkill depot.

Hundreds of Continental Soldiers and Militia are buried in an unmarked graveyard at the Fishkill depot. This graveyard was discovered during archeological digs in the Spring of 2007, and is the largest Continental Army burial site.

Could John O. Dirlam spent time as a prisoner at Fishkill? Fishkill is located in Dutchess County (the county seat is Poughkeepsie, 12 miles north of Fishkill).