Fort Stanwix | |
 Aerial view of the Fort Stanwix reconstruction | |
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| Location | 100 North James St.,Rome, New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°12′38″N75°27′19″W / 43.21056°N 75.45528°W /43.21056; -75.45528 |
| Area | 16 acres (6.5 ha) |
| Built | 1758 |
| Visitation | 84,933 (2002) |
| Website | Fort Stanwix National Monument |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000057 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[1] |
| Designated NHL | November 23, 1962[2] |
| Designated NMON | August 21, 1935 |
Fort Stanwix was a colonialfort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British GeneralJohn Stanwix, at the location of present-dayRome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. Thebastion fort was built to guard aportage known as theOneida Carry during theFrench and Indian War.Fort Stanwix National Monument, a reconstructed structure built by theNational Park Service, now occupies the site.[3]
Fort Stanwix is historically significant because of its successful defense by American troops during an August 1777siege. 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 theAmerican Revolutionary War, 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 theSaratoga campaign.
Fort Stanwix was also the site of the 1768Treaty of Fort Stanwix between Britain and several Native American tribes, as well as of the1784 treaty of the same name 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 theOneida Carry. TheMarinus Willett Collections Management and Education Center preserves the monument's 485,000 artifacts and documents, displays exhibits about Fort Stanwix and theMohawk Valley, and serves as a regional tourism center.[4]
Fort Stanwix was constructed in 1758 to guard a portage, theOneida Carry, between the main waterway southeastward to the Atlantic seacoast, down theMohawk andHudson rivers, and an important interior waterway northwestward toLake Ontario, downWood Creek andOneida Lake toOswego.[5]
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In 1768, Fort Stanwix was the site ofan important treaty conference between the British and theIroquois, arranged byWilliam Johnson.[6] 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 theProclamation 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.[citation needed]
The final treaty was signed on November 5 and extended the earlier proclamation much further west. The Iroquois had effectively cededKentucky to the whites. However, the tribes who actually used the Kentucky lands, primarilyShawnee,Delaware, andCherokee, had no role in the negotiations. Rather than secure peace, the Fort Stanwix treaty helped set the stage for the next round of hostilities.[citation needed]
Fort Stanwix was abandoned in 1768 and allowed to go to ruin.[citation needed]
The fort was reoccupied by Colonial troops under the command of ColonelElias Dayton on July 12, 1776. They began reconstruction and renamed it Fort Schuyler, although many continued to call it Fort Stanwix. ColonelPeter Gansevoort took over command of the fort on May 3, 1777.[citation needed]
On August 3, 1777, the fort was besieged byThe King's 8th Regiment of Foot, Loyalists, and Native Americans, under the command of Brigadier GeneralBarry St. Leger, as part of a three-prongedcampaign to divide the American colonies. Gansevoort refused the terms of surrender offered by the British, and the siege commenced.[citation needed]
According to localfolklore, when the Colonial troops raised the flag over the fort on August 3, 1777, it was the first time that theFlag 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 theFlag of New York, or theContinental Union Flag.[7]
TheBattle of Oriskany was fought a few miles away when an American relief column, led by GeneralNicholas Herkimer, was ambushed byTories 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 GeneralBenedict Arnold. The British forces withdrew through Canada and joined Burgoyne's campaign atFort Ticonderoga.[citation needed]
The British failure to capture the fort and proceed down theMohawk Valley was a severe setback and helped lead to the defeat of GeneralJohn Burgoyne at theBattle of Saratoga.[citation needed]
In April 1779, an expedition from Fort Schuyler against theOnondaga people was begun by theContinental Army led by Col.Goose Van Schaick.[citation needed]
The fort burned to the ground on May 13, 1781, and was not rebuilt.[8] It was abandoned and the garrison took up quarters atFort Herkimer.[citation needed]
Thesecond Treaty of Fort Stanwix was conducted at the fort between the Americans and the Native Americans in 1784. During theWar of 1812 a blockhouse was built on the parade ground. Beginning in 1828 the fortifications were dismantled.[citation needed]
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt signed enabling legislation that created thenational monument on August 21, 1935;[9] 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 anurban renewal program to help revitalize downtown Rome. Under political pressure from SenatorRobert 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.[10]
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 theUnited States Bicentennial celebration in 1976.[11] The current reconstruction—an earth-and-timber-clad, reinforced concrete structure surrounding three freestanding buildings—was completed in 1978.[12]
From 1976 until the mid-1990s, the national monument explained the significance of the national monument to visitors usingfirst-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 theFrench and Indian War as well as the role played by the fort during the negotiation of a series of treaties with Native Americans.[13] A new visitor center was added in 2005. The monument is currently open year around, operated by the National Park Service.[citation needed]
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