Fort Stanwix
| Fort Stanwix National Monument | |||
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| Location: | New York , United States | ||
| Specialty: | 18th century fort used by the British in the French and Indian War and the United States in the War of Independence. | ||
| Next city: | Rome | ||
| Surface: | 0.1 km² | ||
| Founding: | August 21, 1935 | ||
| Visitors: | 38200 (2005) | ||
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Fort Stanwix is a fort in the center of the city of Rome in the US state of New York . It was built in 1758 during the French and Indian War by the British colonial army in North America under General John Stanwix ; to protect a nearly 5 km long portage between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek on the only waterway through the Appalachian mountain range . 1776 the dilapidated fort was in the same place by the army of the United States rebuilt and in the American War of Independence used. During a siege by the British in 1777, the American garrison of the fort hoisted a flag "made of blue, red and white stripes", which is considered to be a forerunner of the Stars and Stripes . It was abandoned in 1781, fell into disrepair and was built over by the city of Rome in the 19th century.
In 1935, the unexplored site of the fort was designated as a national monument type memorial . However, it wasn't until 1976 that the National Park Service reconstructed the fort and now manages it.
history
In 1768 Fort Stanwix was the venue for the conference on the Treaty of Fort Stanwix between the British and the Iroquois , which was arranged by William Johnson . The purpose of the conference was to renegotiate the boundary line between Indians and white settlers established in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 . The UK government hoped that a new border line would put an end to the escalating violence in the border areas that had become expensive and worrying. The Indians hoped that a new, permanent border line would hold back white colonial expansion.
The final treaty was signed on November 5th and extended the previously proclaimed border much further west. The Iroquois had effectively left Kentucky to the whites. However, the Indians who actually lived in Kentucky, Shawnee , Delaware and Cherokee , played no part in the negotiations. Instead of ensuring peace, the Treaty of Fort Stanwix prepared the scene for the next acts of war.
Fort Schuyler
During the American War of Independence , the abandoned Fort Stanwix was rebuilt by the American armed forces and named Fort Schuyler after Major General of the Army Philip Schuyler . But after several fortresses bore this name, it was often left with Fort Stanwix to distinguish them. In 1777 the fort was attacked by British forces under General Barry St. Leger in the course of the three-armed Saratoga campaign to split the American forces in New York . The Fort Commander Colonel Peter Gansevoort rejected the surrender conditions of the British and a 21-day siege began.
An American relief column under General Nicholas Herkimer who wanted to help the besieged fort was ambushed by British troops, loyalists and Indian allies at the Battle of Oriskany . Because many of the besiegers took part in the battle, the besieged ventured a sortie, attacked the enemy's camp, and plundered and destroyed its supplies. Demoralized and numerically weakened, the British withdrew to Canada when they heard (fake) rumors that more relief troops under General Benedict Arnold were approaching. The fort was the only one in the original 13 United States that the British never conquered. The fact that the British could not take the fort and then move on through the Mohawk Valley was a serious setback and contributed to the defeat of General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga .
In 1781 the fort was abandoned because of its remote location far from the settlement areas and quickly fell into disrepair. In 1784 the Americans and the six Iroquois peoples signed a treaty near the ruins of Fort Stanwix. With it, the Indians were recognized as allies of the United States and their traditional habitats were largely guaranteed. To do this, they dissolved their coalition and ended the guerrilla war against the white settlers southeast of the Appalachians. A few years later, the claims to land and independence from the treaty were no longer recognized by the state of New York. The Oneida , one of the six peoples, has been conducting a process of around 100,000 hectares of traditional land since the beginning of the 21st century.
In 1817 the Erie Canal was opened and replaced the old waterway and with it the portage at Fort Stanwix.
The National Monument today
The site of the former Fort Stanwix was designated a National Monument as early as 1935, and in November 1962 it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark . In October 1966, the entry in the National Register of Historic Places followed .
For the 200th anniversary of the United States in 1976, the fort was reconstructed at its original location . The land was acquired from various private owners as part of a large-scale urban renewal program. Some of the construction work was carried out using historical methods. The city of Rome turned to tourism as a new source of income because in 1964 the largest employer, a base of the US Air Force , had been closed.
Today, re-enactment events are held regularly in the fort, recreating different eras of the 18th century.
Web links
- National Park Service: Fort Stanwix (official site; English)
Remarks
- ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: New York. National Park Service , accessed August 20, 2019.
- ↑ Fort Stanwix National Monument in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 20, 2019.