In  1 633  De  Yries  found  the  Indians  in  pos-
session of  the  post.  The  Walloons,  whom  they
had  placed  there,  had  returned  to  Manhattan,
(New  York),  having  been  taken  off  by  <ine
of  the  vessels  which  the  Dutch  annually  sent
around  from  New  York  Bay.     A^an  Twiller,

'Dr.  Mulford's  "History  of  New  .Jersey"  makes  it
appear  that  about  the  time  of  Hendricli's  voyage  to  the
Delaware,  Mey  made  a  similar  trip  from  New  Amster-
dam, and  then  ramed  the  Cape,  liutlhereis  no  evidence
that  he  landed  at  any  point,  and  he  certainly  made  no
attempt  to  found  a  settlement.
'  See  history  of  Gloucester  City.
then  the  Governor  of  the  New  Netherlands,
restored  the  fort  and  was  accused  of  incur-
ring extravagant  expenses  in  this  recon.struc-
tion.  The  Dutch  made  some  use  of  it  for
trading  purposes  until  1650  or  1651,  when
they  concluded  that  it  was  too  far  up  the
river  to  be  of  much  value  and  so  destroyed
the  stockades  and  buildings.  Van  Twiller
ordering  Commissary  Arent  Corssen  to  select
the  site  for  another  structure  on  the  river.
In  1635  it  was  attacked  by  the  English,  who
failed  to  capture  it  from  its  vigorous  Dutch
defenders.  Tlie  S\vedes  repeatedly  denied
that  the  Dutcli  had  any  fort  on  the  Delaware
in  1  63)S,  but   against  their  assertions   can  be


IlAVIl)    PTETERSEN    DE    VRtES.
placed  the  Dutch  accounts  of  expenditure
for  the  maintenance  of  Fort  Nassau  charged
for  that  year  in  the  West  India  Company's
books.  There  was  certainly  enough  of  a
garrison  in  the  fort  to  report  at  once  and  pro-
test against  the  Swedish  settlement  at  Chris-
tiana in  April,  1638.  Four  years  later  the
garrison  consisted  of  twenty  men  and  the
fort  was  continually  occupied  thenceforward
until  the  Dutch  destroyed  it.
