Fort Stanwix, colonial outpost on the site of Rome, N.Y., controlling a principal route from the Hudson River to Lake Ontario. Originally a French trading center, it was rebuilt by the English general John Stanwix in 1758. The British colonial leader Sir William Johnson signed an important treaty with the Iroquois there in 1768. The fort fell into disrepair until early in the American Revolution, when it was rebuilt by the patriots and called Fort Schuyler. In 1777 (see Saratoga campaign) the fort was held against British and Tory forces until reinforcements under Benedict Arnold helped lift the siege. Fort Stanwix is a national monument (see National Parks and Monuments, tablenational parks and monuments, table).
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