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Fort Salonga

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Fort Salonga
Nearest cityFort Salonga, New York
Area0.2 acres (0.081 ha)
Built1776
NRHP reference No.82003406[1]
Added to NRHPMay 21, 1982

Fort Salonga, also known as NYSDHP Unique Site No. A103-08-0036, is an archeological site in the vicinity of Fort Salonga, New York that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1]

It is the site of the Revolutionary War British Fort Salonga, or Fort Slongo, (named after one of the fort's architects – George Slongo[2]) once located near the border of Huntington Township and The Town of Smithtown, overlooking the Long Island Sound.

A historic plaque near the site

In an October 1781 skirmish between the British and Americans at the fort, Elijah Churchill, a soldier for the Continental Army, was wounded. He personally received a Badge of Military Merit from George Washington for his actions. The Badge became the Purple Heart and he is credited with being the first to receive the award.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-27. Retrieved 2015-10-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "History of the purple heart recipients". Archived from the original on 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2010-11-12.