Description: Fort Esopus was a Dutch fortification built as a defense against the forces of the Native American tribe known as the Esopus. Boasting an impressive half-mile diameter, the fortress housed formidable defenses, such as a moat and a guardhouse. Established in 1658, Fort Esopus was utilized by the forces of the Dutch Empire as a base of operations to facilitate the conquest of native land throughout the 1660s. The fort was sieged by Native Americans in 1659, but the effort was unsuccessful after the arrival of Dutch reinforcements. Following this, the fort was expanded on three different occasions, with the diameter of its final iteration falling at just under an entire mile. In 1664, the fort was surrendered to English forces following the empire’s conquest of New Amsterdam. The Dutch briefly regained control of the fort in 1673, before it was retaken by the English the following year. The fort was abandoned by the English in 1677 and was then known as Fort Kingston.