Fort Stanwix was a colonial

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which lie ...

, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built to guard a

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

known as the

Oneida Carry The Oneida Carry was an important link in the main 18th century trade route between the Atlantic seaboard of North America and interior of the continent. From Schenectady, near Albany, New York on the Hudson River, cargo would be carried upstre ...

during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. Fort Stanwix National Monument, a reconstructed structure built by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, now occupies the site. Fort Stanwix is historically significant because of its successful defense by American troops during an August 1777

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

. The fort had been built by the British in 1758 at a strategic site along the water route from Lake Ontario to the Hudson River. After American forces captured and rebuilt the fort during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, they were besieged by a British army that invaded from Canada via Lake Ontario, hoping to reach the Hudson River. The British force abandoned the siege, a consequence that helped lead to the defeat of a larger British army during the

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of a British army, which historian Edmund M ...

. Fort Stanwix was also the site of the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix between Britain and Native American tribes, as well as of the

1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty finalized on October 22, 1784, between the United States and Native Americans from the six nations of the Iroquois League. It was signed at Fort Stanwix, in present-day Rome, New York, and was the fi ...

between the tribes and the American government. Besides the fort reconstruction itself, the national monument includes three short trails that encircle it, one of which follows a portion of the

. The Marinus Willett Collections Management and Education Center preserves the monument's 485,000 artifacts and documents, displays exhibits about Fort Stanwix and the

Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...

, and serves as a regional tourism center.

History

Fort Stanwix was constructed in 1758 to guard a portage, the

, between the main waterway southeastward to the Atlantic seacoast, down the Mohawk and Hudson rivers, and an important interior waterway northwestward to

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, down Wood Creek and Oneida Lake to Oswego.

Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768)

In 1768, Fort Stanwix was the site of an important treaty conference between the British and the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

, arranged by William Johnson. By the time of this treaty, the fort had become dilapidated and inactive. The purpose of the conference was to renegotiate the boundary line between Native American lands and white settlements set forth in the Proclamation of 1763. The British government hoped a new boundary line might bring an end to the rampant frontier violence, which had become costly and troublesome. Native Americans hoped a new, permanent line might hold back white colonial expansion. The final treaty was signed on November 5 and extended the earlier proclamation much further west. The Iroquois had effectively ceded

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

to the whites. However, the tribes who actually used the Kentucky lands, primarily

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, had no role in the negotiations. Rather than secure peace, the Fort Stanwix treaty helped set the stage for the next round of hostilities. Fort Stanwix was abandoned in 1768 and allowed to go to ruin.

Fort Schuyler and the Battle of Oriskany

The fort was reoccupied by Colonial troops under the command of Colonel Elias Dayton on July 12, 1776. They began reconstruction and renamed it Fort Schuyler, although many continued to call it Fort Stanwix. Colonel Peter Gansevoort took over command of the fort on May 3, 1777. On August 3, 1777, the fort was besieged by The King's 8th Regiment of Foot, Loyalists, and Native Americans, under the command of Brigadier General Barry St. Leger, as part of a three-pronged campaign to divide the American colonies. Gansevoort refused the terms of surrender offered by the British, and the siege commenced. According to local

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, when the Colonial troops raised the flag over the fort on August 3, 1777, it was the first time that the

Flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

was flown in battle. It is more likely that the flag flown at Fort Schuyler was one that consisted only of thirteen stripes, an early version of the

Flag of New York Flag of New York may refer to: * Coat of arms of New York, Flag of the State of New York * Flags of New York City {{disambiguation ...

, or the

Continental Union Flag The Continental Union Flag (often referred to as the first American flag, Cambridge Flag, and Grand Union Flag) was the flag of the United Colonies from 1775 to 1776, and the ''de facto'' flag of the United States until 1777, when the Betsy Ros ...

. The Battle of Oriskany was fought a few miles away when an American relief column, led by General

Nicholas Herkimer Brigadier-General Nicholas Herkimer (also known as Nikolaus Herchheimer; – August 16, 1777) was an American military officer who fought during the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War. He died in 1777 from wounds suffered during the ...

, was ambushed by Tories and their Native American allies. While many of the besiegers were attending to that battle, the defenders of the fort sallied forth and attacked the enemy camp, looting and destroying enemy stores. Demoralized and reduced in strength, the British withdrew when they heard reports of the approach of yet another relief column, led by General

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

. The British forces withdrew through Canada and joined Burgoyne's campaign at

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in northern New York. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian ...

. The British failure to capture the fort and proceed down the

was a severe setback and helped lead to the defeat of General

John Burgoyne General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...

at the

Battle of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The Battle ...

. In April 1779, an expedition from Fort Schuyler against the

Onondaga people The Onondaga people (Onontaerrhonon, Onondaga language, Onondaga: , "People of the Hills") are one of the five original nations of the Iroquois, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy in the Northeastern Woodlands. Their historical homelands are in ...

was begun by the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

led by Col. Goose Van Schaick. The fort burned to the ground on May 13, 1781, and was not rebuilt. It was abandoned and the garrison took up quarters at Fort Herkimer.

Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)

The second Treaty of Fort Stanwix was conducted at the fort between the Americans and the Native Americans in 1784. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

a blockhouse was built on the parade ground. Beginning in 1828 the fortifications were dismantled.

National monument

President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

signed enabling legislation that created the

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

on August 21, 1935; at that time, the land that would ultimately be used for the monument was occupied by the businesses and residences of downtown Rome. During the 1960s, Rome city leaders lobbied for a fort reconstruction as part of an

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

program to help revitalize downtown Rome. Under political pressure from Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY), who was seeking political support in upstate New York, the Park Service reluctantly agreed to build a reconstruction of the Revolutionary War-era fort. See also the 2004 report on which the book is based: The Park Service completed a master plan for Fort Stanwix in 1967, and in 1970, the NPS began a three-year archaeological investigation. Reconstruction of the fort began in 1974, and the partially completed structure was opened to the public in time for the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

celebration in 1976. The current reconstruction—an earth-and-timber-clad, reinforced concrete structure surrounding three freestanding buildings—was completed in 1978. From 1976 until the mid-1990s, the national monument explained the significance of the national monument to visitors using first-person interpretation to portray the fort immediately after the siege (1777–78), emphasizing life during the American Revolution. More recently, third-person interpretation has extended visitor understanding to the

as well as the role played by the fort during the negotiation of a series of treaties with Native Americans.Executive Summary. A new visitor center was added in 2005. The monument is currently open year around, operated by the National Park Service.

Notes

References

* *''Casemates and Cannonballs. Archeological Investigations at Fort Stanwix, Rome, New York'', by Lee Hanson, Dick Ping Hsu *''Fort Stanwix Construction and Military History'', by John F. Luzader, 2001, *William J. Campbell, ''Speculators in Empire: Iroquoia and The 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix'' (University of Oklahoma Press, 2012).

External links

Fort Stanwix National Monument
– NPS

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5oCV9t_zqo/ Video showing the fort and several re-enactorsfrom 2016 {{authority control 1758 establishments in the Province of New York Stanwix Stanwix Stanwix National Park Service national monuments in New York (state) National Historic Landmarks in New York (state) Portages in the United States Museums in Oneida County, New York Military and war museums in New York (state) Stanwix Stanwix Buildings and structures in Oneida County, New York American Revolutionary War museums in New York (state) Rome, New York National Register of Historic Places in Oneida County, New York