Fort Stanwix, New York

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Fort Stanwix, New York

FORT STANWIX, NEW YORK. Located at the head of navigation of the Mohawk and at the portage between that river and Wood Creek, which led to Oswego, this place was astride the main route between Canada and the Mohawk Valley. Here, on the site of present-day Rome, New York, the French had built a fort to protect their trade with the Indians. The British had built Fort Stanwix in the same area in 1758. This fort fell into disrepair after 1763, but in June 1776 a detachment of Continental troops under Elias Dayton started rebuilding it. For a time it was called Fort Schuyler, in honor of General Philip Schuyler, and is therefore occasionally confused with an older Fort Schuyler built during the Seven Years' War and named for one of Schuyler's uncles. The new Fort Schuyler, which most people persisted in calling Fort Stanwix, figured prominently in Barry St. Leger's expedition.

SEE ALSO Dayton, Elias; St. Leger's Expedition.

                         revised by Michael Bellesiles

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Fort Stanwix, New York

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