Fort Stanwix was constructed in 1758 to guard a portage, the
Oneida Carry, between the main waterway southeastward to the Atlantic seacoast, down the
Mohawk and
Hudson rivers, and an important interior waterway northwestward to
Lake Ontario, 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, 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 to the whites. However, the tribes who actually used the Kentucky lands, primarily
Shawnee,
Delaware, and
Cherokee, 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, 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 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, or the
Continental Union Flag. The
Battle of Oriskany was fought a few miles to the southeast when an American relief column, led by General
Nicholas Herkimer, 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. The British forces withdrew through Canada and joined Burgoyne's campaign at
Fort Ticonderoga. The British failure to capture the fort and proceed down the
Mohawk Valley was a severe setback and helped lead to the defeat of General
John Burgoyne at the
Battle of Saratoga. In April 1779, an expedition from Fort Schuyler against the
Onondaga people was begun by the
Continental Army 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 a blockhouse was built on the parade ground. Beginning in 1828 the fortifications were dismantled. == National monument ==