Siege of Fort Stanwix 1777
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1777 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 43.2106, -75.4553 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Fort Stanwix (also known as Fort Schuyler) began on August 2, 1777, and ended on August 22, 1777. Fort Stanwix, at the western end of the Mohawk River Valley, was a primary defense point for the Continental Army against the British and Indigenous forces aligned against them during the American Revolutionary War. The fort was occupied by Continental Army forces from New York and Massachusetts under the command of Colonel Peter Gansevoort. The besieging force was composed of British regulars, Loyalist soldiers, Hessians, and Indigenous warriors, under the command of Brigadier General Barry St. Leger. St. Leger's expedition was a diversion in support of Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's campaign to take control of the Hudson River Valley to the east.
One attempt at relief was thwarted early in the siege when a force of New York militia under Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer was ambushed on August 6 at the Battle of Oriskany by a large detachment of St. Leger's forces. While the battle did not involve the fort's garrison, some of its occupants sortied and plundered the nearly empty Indigenous and Loyalist camps, which was a blow to the morale of St. Leger's Indigenous allies.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Fort Stanwix (revision 1378921393), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Fort Bull 1756 · 4 km
- Battle of Oriskany 1777 · 8 km
- Battle of Klock's Field 1780 · 65 km
- Cherry Valley massacre 1778 · 73 km
- Battle of Big Sandy Creek 1814 · 81 km
- Battle of Fort Oswego (1814) 1814 · 90 km
Other battles of the American Revolutionary War
- Battle of Valcour Island 1776
- Battle of White Plains 1776
- Battle of the Rice Boats 1776
- Fortification of Dorchester Heights 1776
- Landing at Kip's Bay 1776
- Battle of Bennington 1777
- Battle of Bound Brook 1777
- Battle of Brandywine 1777
- Battle of Cooch's Bridge 1777
- Battle of Fort Anne 1777
All 190 battles of the American Revolutionary War →
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