FORT STANWIX History, Historic Furnishing, and Historic Structure Reports

The purpose of this study is to provide an account of the history of Fort Stanwix (Fort Schuyler) that stood on a site within the limits of the modern city of Rome, New York. The emphasis is upon the story of the fort's construction and its role in the defeat of Gen. John Burgoyne's campaign of 1777, an American victory that resulted in the internationalization of the War of Independence. Other incidents, including the two Treaties of Fort Stanwix and the border warfare of 1778-81, are mentioned very briefly, not because they are insignificant but because they are not central to the purpose noted above.

Special thanks are due to a number of persons whose assistance was valuable in the preparation of this work. Among them are: Melvin Weig, former Superintendent, Morristown National Historical Park, now retired; his successor, James Coleman; Roy E. Appleman, former Chief, Park History Studies, National Park Service, retired; Historian William Meuse, formerly of Saratoga National Historical Park, now with the Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service; Dr. Eugene Kramer, Senior Historian, New York State History Office; the staff of the Rome Historical Society; and the staffs of the Map Division, Library of Congress, Huntington Library, New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, New York State Library, British Public Record Office, Public Archives of Canada, New Jersey Historical Society, and New-York Historical Society. A particular debt is owed to my colleagues: Archeologist Lee Hanson, Architect Orville Carroll, and Historian Louis Torres.