Fort Stanwix
Encyclopedia
John Stanwix
John Stanwix was a British soldier and politician.Stanwix entered the army in 1706, rose to a captain of the grenadiers in 1739, major of marines in 1741, and lieutenant-colonel in 1745, and was appointed equerry to Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1749...
, at the location of present-day Rome, New York
Rome, New York
Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States. It is located in north-central or "upstate" New York. The population was 44,797 at the 2010 census. It is in New York's 24th congressional district. In 1758, British forces began construction of Fort Stanwix at this strategic location, but...
, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
known as the Oneida Carrying Place
Oneida Carry
-Overview:The Oneida Carry was an important link in the trade route between Albany, New York, Oneida Lake, and Lake Ontario during the 18th Century...
during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. A reconstructed fort has been built at the site by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, and Fort Stanwix National Monument
Fort Stanwix National Monument
Fort Stanwix National Monument is a United States National Historic Site in Rome, New York managed by the National Park Service . The current fort is a reconstruction of the historic Fort Stanwix occupying approximately sixteen acres of downtown Rome...
lies in the center of the modern city.
Treaty of Fort Stanwix
In 1768, Fort Stanwix was the site of an important treatyTreaty of Fort Stanwix
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was an important treaty between North American Indians and the British Empire. It was signed in 1768 at Fort Stanwix, located in present-day Rome, New York...
conference between the British and the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, arranged by William Johnson
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish official of the British Empire. As a young man, Johnson came to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Admiral Peter Warren, which was located amidst the Mohawk, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League...
. 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 Indian 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. Indians hoped a new, permanent line might hold back white colonial expansion.
The final treaty was signed on November 5 and extended the earlier proclamation which happened much further west. The Iroquois had effectively ceded Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
to the whites. However, the Indians who actually used the Kentucky lands, primarily Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, and Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, had no role in the negotiations. Rather than secure peace, the Fort Stanwix treaty
Treaty of Fort Stanwix
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was an important treaty between North American Indians and the British Empire. It was signed in 1768 at Fort Stanwix, located in present-day Rome, New York...
helped set the stage for the next round of hostilities.
Fort Stanwix was abandoned in 1768 and allowed to go to ruin.
Fort Schuyler
The fort was reoccupied by Colonial troops under the command of Colonel Elias DaytonElias Dayton
Elias Dayton was the Mayor of Elizabethtown, New Jersey-Biography:He was born in Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey....
on July 12, 1776. They began reconstruction and renamed it Fort Schuyler, although many continued to call it Fort Stanwix. Colonel Peter Gansevoort
Peter Gansevoort
Peter Gansevoort was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also the maternal grandfather of Moby-Dick author Herman Melville.-Early life:He was born...
took over command of the fort on May 3, 1777.
On August 3, 1777 the fort was besieged by The King's 8th Regiment, Loyalists, and Indians, under the command of Brigadier General Barry St. Leger
Barry St. Leger
Barrimore Matthew "Barry" St. Leger was a British colonel who led an invasion force during the American Revolutionary War.Barry St. Leger was baptised on May 1, 1733, in County Kildare, Ireland. He was the son of Sir John St...
, as part of a three-pronged campaign
Saratoga campaign
The Saratoga Campaign was an attempt by Great Britain to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War...
to divide the American colonies. Gansevoort refused the terms of surrender offered by the British, and the siege commenced.
According to local folklore, 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
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
was flown in battle. It is more likely that the flag flown at Fort Schuyler was one that consisted only of thirteen stripes, a early version of the Flag of New York
Flag of New York
The flag of the state of New York is the state's coat of arms on a blue background. It depicts two supporters:* Left: Liberty, with the Revolutionary imagery of a Phrygian cap raised on a pole...
, or the Grand Union Flag
Grand Union Flag
The Grand Union Flag is considered to be the first national flag of the United States. This flag consisted of 13 red and white stripes with the British Union Flag of the time The Grand Union Flag (also the Continental Colors, the Congress Flag, the Cambridge Flag, and the First Navy Ensign) is...
.
The Battle of Oriskany
Battle of Oriskany
The Battle of Oriskany, fought on August 6, 1777, was one of the bloodiest battles in the North American theater of the American Revolutionary War and a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign...
was fought a few miles away when an American relief column, under the command of by General Nicholas Herkimer
Nicholas Herkimer
Nicholas Herkimer was a militia general in the American Revolutionary War, who died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany.-Career:...
, was ambushed by Tories and their Indian 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
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
. The British forces withdrew through Canada and joined Burgoyne's campaign at Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...
.
The British failure to capture the fort and proceed down the Mohawk Valley
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....
was a severe setback and helped lead to the defeat of General John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
at the Battle of Saratoga
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, south of Saratoga, New York...
.
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
Fort Herkimer
Fort Herkimer was a fort located on the southern side of the Mohawk River, opposite West Canada Creek, in central New York, United States.The fort was first built in 1740, around the homestead of the Herscheimer family...
.
Second treaty
The second Treaty of Fort StanwixTreaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed in October 1784 at Fort Stanwix, located in present-day Rome, New York, between the United States and Native Americans...
was conducted at the fort between the Americans and the Indians in 1784. During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
a blockhouse was built on the parade ground. Beginning in 1828 the fortifications were dismantled.
The fort was designated a National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
on August 21, 1935. And between 1974 and 1978 the National Park Service reconstructed the fort and is now responsible for operating the site. With the addition of a new visitor center in 2005 the park is currently open year around.