Editing Fort Stanwix (section)

==History==
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 River|Mohawk]] and [[Hudson River|Hudson]] rivers, and an important interior waterway northwestward to [[Lake Ontario]], down [[Wood Creek]] and [[Oneida Lake]] to [[Oswego, New York|Oswego]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/fost/history/history-sec1.htm |title=I. THE ONEIDA CARRING[sic] PLACE AND ITS EARLY FORTS |website=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=August 30, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806015155/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/fost/history/history-sec1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768)===
{{main|Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768)}}
{{unreferenced section|date = September 2019}}
In 1768, Fort Stanwix was the site of [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768)|an important treaty]] conference between the British and the [[Iroquois]], arranged by [[Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet|William Johnson]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Treaties of Fort Stanwix {{!}} North America [1768 and 1784] {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaties-of-Fort-Stanwix |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> 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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Fort Stanwix was abandoned in 1768 and allowed to go to ruin.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

===Fort Schuyler and the Battle of Oriskany===
{{main|Siege of Fort Stanwix|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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

On August 3, 1777, the fort was besieged by [[8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot|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 [[Saratoga campaign|campaign]] to divide the American colonies. Gansevoort refused the terms of surrender offered by the British, and the siege commenced.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

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 (state)|Flag of New York]], or the [[Continental Union Flag]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/fost/historyculture/flag-of-ftstanwix.htm |title=Fort Stanwix National Monument; Red, White, Blue – and Gold |first=Kelly |last=Cardwell |date=26 February 2015 |access-date=15 July 2018 |work=[[National Park Service]] |publisher=[[U.S. Department of the Interior]] |archive-date=14 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014205516/http://www.nps.gov/fost/historyculture/flag-of-ftstanwix.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Battle of Oriskany]] was fought a few miles away when an American relief column, led by General [[Nicholas Herkimer]], was ambushed by [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|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]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

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]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In April 1779, an expedition from Fort Schuyler against the [[Onondaga people]] was begun by the [[Continental Army]] led by Col. [[Goose Van Schaick]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

The fort burned to the ground on May 13, 1781, and was not rebuilt.<ref>{{cite book |title=Casemates and Cannonballs. Archaeological Investigations at Fort Stanwix |url=https://archive.org/stream/casematescannonb00hans |last1=Hanson |first1=Lee |last2=Hsu |first2=Dick Ping |year=1975 |pages=196}}</ref>  It was abandoned and the garrison took up quarters at [[Fort Herkimer]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

===Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)===
{{main|Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)}}
The [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)|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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}