Podcast Episode Details

End of the Siege at Fort Stanwix

Season 2 Episode 60

In 1777, the British besieged Fort Stanwix as part of a larger plan to control the Hudson River Valley. American forces, led by Colonel Peter Gansevoort, defended the fort. A relief effort led by Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer was ambushed at the Battle of Oriskany, but a raid by Willett from the fort caused the British allies to abandon their camps.

The siege became a stalemate, with British morale declining due to losses, broken promises, and the slow pace of siege warfare. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Willett successfully left the fort to seek further aid. General Philip Schuyler then dispatched Major General Benedict Arnold to lead a second relief force.

Arnold, upon learning of the fort's precarious situation, devised a deception. He used a captured, eccentric Loyalist named Hon Yost Schuyler to spread exaggerated rumors about the size of his approaching army. This tactic, coupled with Hon Yost's strange charisma and corroborating Oneida messengers, caused panic among the already demoralized Indigenous allies, leading to mass desertions from St. Leger's forces.

On August 22, 1777, St. Leger was forced to lift the siege and retreat in disarray, abandoning significant equipment and artillery. Arnold arrived at Fort Stanwix the next day, and though his pursuit was unsuccessful, St. Leger's expedition ultimately failed, unable to achieve its objectives in the Saratoga campaign.

Works cited

1. The Siege of Fort Stanwix - Americana Corner, accessed April 22, 2025, https://www.americanacorner.com/blog/fort-stanwix
2. Battle of Oriskany and Siege of Fort Stanwix - Revolutionary War Journal, accessed April 22, 2025, https://revolutionarywarjournal.com/battle-of-oriskany-and-siege-of-fort-stanwix-brutal-civil-war-that-helped-save-a-nation/
3. 2>r?H/l3S'73b - NPS History, accessed April 22, 2025, http://npshistory.com/publications/sara/drr-saratoga-campaign.pdf
4. British Begin the Saratoga Campaign - Americana Corner, accessed April 22, 2025, https://www.americanacorner.com/blog/saratoga
5. Battles of Saratoga - Wikipedia, accessed April 22, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Saratoga
6. Saratoga Campaign 1777 | American Revolutionary War, accessed April 22, 2025, https://revolutionarywar.us/campaigns/1777-saratoga-campaign/
7. SARATOGA - NPS History, accessed April 22, 2025, http://npshistory.com/handbooks/historical/4-1950.pdf
8. The Saratoga Campaign | American Battlefield Trust, accessed April 22, 2025, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/saratoga-campaign
9. Saratoga campaign - Wikipedia, accessed April 22, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saratoga_campaign
10. The Battle of Fort Stanwix - ArcGIS StoryMaps, accessed April 22, 2025, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/61487a224f784512acd60dda17ecfb8f
11. The Impact of the Saratoga Campaign of 1777 Upon the Communities of Upstate New York During the American Revolution, accessed April 22, 2025, https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=le_etds
12. Episode 151 St. Lege

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    Published on 3 months ago