19. Fort Stanwix National Monument, New York

               Welcome back to our blog on the National Park Service.  For our latest post, we will be traveling to upstate New York to visit the site of an important crossroads of early American history, Fort Stanwix National Monument.

Entrance Sign, with the fort in the background

BACKGROUND:

               Prior to European settlement, the small stretch of land between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek in upstate New York was an important link for Indian Tribes known as the Oneida Carrying Place, where tribes used the portage between rivers to transport goods from the Atlantic coast to Lake Ontario.  This highway was also the northern gap in the Appalachian Mountains, and the location’s strategic significance was not lost on European powers as they expanded their territories westward.

The Monument visitor center, with a replica American Indian canoe of the type used to transport goods to the portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place

               During the French and Indian War, several British forts at the Oneida Carrying Place were destroyed by the French.  In order to maintain a hold on the portage, British General John Stanwix ordered the construction of a new replacement fort.  The fort was named Stanwix in his honor and held the gap between the rivers until the end of the war.  Following the French and Indian War, the famed Indian Agent William Johnson, negotiated a treaty at the fort with Iroquois Confederacy which ceded land to British colonists in present day West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee (something the Iroquois had no authority to do). 

               With the beginning of the American War of Independence, American forces once again saw the need to fortify the Oneida Carrying Place.  American General Phillip Schuyler seized the abandoned fort and immediately set about repairing it.  The renamed Fort Schuyler would play a vital role during the campaigns of 1777.

Exterior view of the fort, partially obscured by the earthen ramparts

               Determined to finally crush the American rebellion, the British devised a strategy to cut off New England, the hotbed of the American Independence movement, from the other States and take the new United States apart piece by piece.  A three-pronged attacked was envisioned to take control of the Hudson River.  One British army would march north from the occupied New York City, a second marching south from Lake Champlain, and a third marching east down the Mohawk Valley from Lake Ontario, all converging at Albany.

               The British plan fell apart before it started.  The southern force, rather than marching north, sailed from New York to capture the American capital of Philadelphia.  While the British succeeded in capturing the city, the detour would instead lead to an inevitable American victory.  The force from Lake Ontario would be the next to fail.  Upon reaching Fort Schuyler, the British commander, Barry St. Leger, decided to besiege the fort rather than bypass it and leave the sizable garrison in his rear.  As the Americans hunkered down, a militia force was dispatched to lift the siege.  The American militia was ambushed near the fort by a mixed force of British Loyalists and Indian allies.  The following Battle of Oriskany was devastating as hundreds of militiamen fell fighting their Loyalist families and neighbors, while the Iroquois Confederacy was torn apart as British and American allied tribes fought each other.  Though St. Leger’s force beat off the force sent to relieve the fort, the siege was making no progress, and with more American reinforcements approaching, he lifted the siege and retreated.  This left only one British force marching to take Albany.  The northern force would be stopped north of Albany and destroyed at the pivotal battle of Saratoga, giving the Americans the upper hand in the War of Independence.

 

Gallery in the visitor center displaying artifacts from participants in the siege of Fort Schuyler and Battle of Oriskany

THE MONUMENT:

               Fort Stanwix National Monument as is as seen today, was constructed by the city of Rome, New York and the National Park Service.  The fort is accurate to its appearance during the American War of Independence when it was known as Fort Schuyler.  The modern fort lies on a large plot of land at the center of Rome, New York, and is in the shape of a square with four diamond shaped bastions at each corner.  The fort is constructed entirely of earthen ramparts and wood, with its interior buildings furnished with reproduction items.  The visitor center is a short distance from the fort and contains exhibits with items from people associated with events at Fort Stanwix and Oriskany, as well as several short films.

 

Interior of the fort as seen from the southeast bastion

TRAVEL TIPS:

               Fort Stanwix National Monument is easily accessible, located at the center of the town of Rome, New York.  There are no parking lots at the visitor center, though street parking is ample.  The fort is open from 9am to 5pm from April through October, closing at 4pm in November, and closed from December through March, though the visitor center is open in the winter months.  Tours of the fort are self-guided, though Ranger led tours are available twice daily.  It is recommended to view all the exhibits in the visitor center before going on a Ranger led tour.  Reenactors are a common sight and visitors are advised to check the fort’s schedule for upcoming reenactor events.  For those interested in the Battle of Oriskany, the battlefield is a short drive away and is now a New York State Park.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

A replica of an encampment in the fort's ditch

Interior of the fort

A group of reenactors practice artillery drills

The storeroom under the southwest bastion that served as a hospital during the siege

Interior of one of the fort's barracks

The interior of the Suttler's store

A view looking along the line of barracks from the Suttler's Store to the north wall.