I’d like to introduce you to a bit of the history of my native area, starting with a unique feature of the landscape that made what is now the Rome, NY region critical to westward expansion.  I’ll try to get the details correct in a simplified version of events, but if any of my new ranger friends are reading, please feel free to correct me or add more details in the comments!

Rome was founded on an ancient portage, or carrying place, that connected the Mohawk River and Woods Creek by a six mile path through Oneida Indian territory, making it possible to travel a water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, and therefore deep into the interior of the continent.  On the map below I’ve circled the Oneida Carrying Place, or Deo-Wain-Sta in the Haudenosaunee language, in red.

Of course, a feature like this made it a natural location for trade between those bringing natural resources such as furs from the interior, and others who brought trade goods from the east, or across the ocean.

When Europeans came to the New World, the territory that is now Upstate New York was often contested between England and France, and the Oneida Carrying Place became of military and strategic importance.  In 1758 the British build Fort Stanwix there to protect their interests in the area, from which, in following years, they capture the French forts at Kingston, Oswego, Niagara, St Lawrence River, and Montreal.

In the years leading up to the American Revolution, both British loyalists and the new American colonists built relationships with the Native American Indians in the region.  The Iroquois Nation, or Six Nations Confederacy, consisted of the Oneida, Tuscarora, Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations, and at the time of European settlement had been at peace since at least 1450, although some place the date even earlier.  According to oral history, the tribes were brought together by Dekaniwida, known as the Great Peacemaker, Hiawatha, and Jigonhsasee, known as the Mother of Nations, who together spread the Peacemaker’s message, called the Great Law of Peace.  According to European accounts they were very politically sophisticated.

In 1777, British generals, St. Leger from the west, and Burgoyne from the northeast, attempted to split the new American colonies along the Hudson River and so end the American Revolution.  St Leger’s intelligence had told him that Fort Stanwix was in bad repair and poorly defended, and that it would be easy to take, but the opposite proved to be the case.  Gen. Gansevoort, leading the 3rd New York Militia, vowed to defend the fort “to the last extremity” and was able to hold off the attackers.  The attack turned into a siege that lasted 21 days.  Three days into the siege, British loyalists and their Indian allies ambushed a militia regiment under Gen. Herkimer who was attempting to come to the aid of Fort Stanwix.  The attack took place at Oriskany, about 6 miles east of the fort.  In the first volley, Gen Herkimer’s horse was shot and killed, and his leg was shattered by a musket ball.  The militia, however, were able to get to an area of trees felled by a storm the week before, and set up a resistance.  Gen Herkimer directed the rest of the battle propped on his saddle under a beech tree, smoking his pipe.  In spite of extremely heavy losses, the resistance was so stubborn and the battle so brutal that the Loyalist’s Indian allies, led my the Mohawk Joseph Brant who had been told there would be few or no losses, abandoned the fight, forcing the British to retreat as well.  They returned to Fort Stanwix to find that their camp had been raided by the militia there in their absence.  Gen Herkimer returned to his home, but died three days later in an attempt to amputate his shattered leg.

In general, the Oneida and Tuscarora Indians supported the Americans during the Revolution, while the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations supported the British, although individuals were free to chose who they supported.  This division of loyalties eventually led to the end of the peace that had existed among the tribes for so long.  Colonists were also divided, often even within families, between British Loyalists and American Revolutionaries.

After several weeks of the seige, the British Indian allies retreated, having lost most of their goods when their camp was raided, and not in support of the tactic of siege warfare.  With the loss of these allies, and threatened by the approach of American reinforcements led by Benedict Arnold, St Leger was also forced to retreat to Canada, leaving Fort Stanwix still in the hands of Gen Gansevoort and the Americans.  The attempt by Burgoyne to take American positions in the Albany area several months later was also unsuccessful, foiling the British attempt to end the Revolution in New York.

Fort Stanwix continued to play an important part in keeping the Oneida Carrying Place safe for colonists in the face of Indian raids, and was the site for the signing of several peace and land grant treaties.  Eventually the Erie Canal was dug to connect the Mohawk River and Woods Creek, making the route from Manhattan to the Great Lakes completely navigable by water.  The Erie Canal was later expanded, and railroads and main highways now follow the route up the Hudson and through the Mohawk Valley.

I grew up hearing these stories and learning about them in school, but had forgotten much of the details, so my visits to the rebuilt Fort Stanwix and Oriskany Battlefield were a wonderful refresher course.  I really have to praise the rangers who keep both, but especially the Fort Stanwix National Monument, as it’s really a wonderful and informative experience, the tour is informed and engaging, and the facilities and grounds beautifully kept!  Very well done guys!!

There’s a wonderful interpretive room in the visitor centre, that’s one of the best I’ve ever seen, and also items of interest on display.  I particularly liked this powder horn with engraved map of the area, and the tomahawk, pipe, and arrowheads.

After explaining some of the importance of the strategic situation of the fort, the Fort Stanwix tour follows a short way along the old carry path, now paved to accommodate visitors, to the entrance of the fort.  Our ranger guide explained the aspects of the fort’s design that aided in its defence, including a picketed fence, a surrounding ditch, canon ports, spikes, etc, and gave the kids a chance to participate and guess the reasons for the features.

The main gate was approached over the ditch on a wooden bridge.

The families of the soldiers, who sometimes had no other means of support and had to follow them, were allowed to camp in the ditch, within the outside pickets, and do work for the fort.

A counterbalanced drawbridge could be closed to add an additional layer of defence.

Our guide led us inside the massive gates, which were double thickness, and covered with iron studs.

Inside, while the kids got wooden rifles and trained in how to march together, I explored the officer’s quarters…

…the poor general soldier’s quarters…

…and the trader’s store.

I also climbed up on the fort wall to take a look at the canons there.  Every year the Syracuse Symphony plays a concert on the fort grounds, and these canons are traditionally fired during the 1812 Overture, which I remember well, and are always a real highlight for the crowd!

The Drum Major gave us a demonstration of loading and firing a firelock rifle.

 

And then the kids, who had been training hard, gave us an example of the cutest bayonet charge ever! 🙂

 

After I left Fort Stanwix, I drove 6 miles to Oriskany Battlefield to look at the site there.  Although the landscape has been altered over the years by farming and development, you can still see the two ravines that bounded the defended area, and a monument was erected in 1884 near the site where the American troops regrouped after a rainstorm.  The ranger there explained to me that, although the bottom is made of granite, the whole upper part of the monument was made from sandstone recycled from an old lock on the Erie Canal.

Among other interpretive signs, this one recognizes the impact that a such a battle can have on a small community.

So there you have some of the history and stories that I grew up with, and saw every day in the landscape and monuments around me.  With reminders like these always in view, I think that many Americans grow up with a sense of gratitude for the people who created and defended the young nation at the risk of their own lives, and therefore a willingness to also make that contribution when required.  Having lived in Australia, a country that was formed through an act of peaceful federation rather than war, I think that American pride and patriotism is often difficult to understand.  Outsiders frequently lack the deeper understanding and cultural perspective that can only come from living surrounded by vivid history.  Both perspectives are valid, though, and given the opportunity, I can’t help but think that many of the people killed in these battles would have chosen the peaceful path if they could!