Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26 , 1758 , under the direction of British General John Stanwix , at the location of present - day Rome , New York , but was not completed until about 1762 . The star fort was built to guard a portage known as the " Oneida Carrying Place " during the French and Indian War . Fort Stanwix National Monument , a reconstructed structure built by the National Park Service , now occupies the site . Treaty of Fort Stanwix . Fort Stanwix was built to guard a portage on the main waterway that connected the Atlantic seacoast to the interior and the Mohawk River , to the east , with Wood Creek , to the west . Wood Creek led to Oneida Lake and ultimately to Oswego on Lake Ontario . In 1768 , Fort Stanwix was the site of an important treaty conference between the British and the Iroquois , arranged by William Johnson . By the time of this treaty , the fort had become dilapidated and inactive . The purpose of the conference was to renegotiate the boundary line between Indian lands and white settlements set forth in the Proclamation of 1763 . The British government hoped a new boundary line might bring an end to the rampant frontier violence , which had become costly and troublesome . Indians hoped a new , permanent line might hold back white colonial expansion . The final treaty was signed on November 5 and extended the earlier proclamation which happened much further west . The Iroquois had effectively ceded Kentucky to the whites . However , the Indians who actually used the Kentucky lands , primarily Shawnee , Delaware , and Cherokee , had no role in the negotiations . Rather than secure peace , the Fort Stanwix treaty helped set the stage for the next round of hostilities . Fort Stanwix was abandoned in 1768 and allowed to go to ruin . Fort Schuyler . The fort was reoccupied by Colonial troops under the command of Colonel Elias Dayton on July 12 , 1776 . They began reconstruction and renamed it Fort Schuyler , although many continued to call it Fort Stanwix . Colonel Peter Gansevoort took over command of the fort on May 3 , 1777 . On August 3 , 1777 the fort was besieged by The King ' s 8th Regiment , Loyalists , and Indians , under the command of Brigadier General Barry St . Leger , as part of a three - pronged campaign to divide the American colonies . Gansevoort refused the terms of surrender offered by the British , and the siege commenced . According to local folklore , when the Colonial troops raised the flag over the fort on August 3 , 1777 , it was the first time that the Flag of the United States was flown in battle . It is more likely that the flag flown at Fort Schuyler was one that consisted only of thirteen stripes , an early version of the Flag of New York , or the Grand Union Flag . The Battle of Oriskany was fought a few miles away when an American relief column , led by General Nicholas Herkimer , was ambushed by Tories and their Indian allies . While many of the besiegers were attending to that battle , the defenders of the fort sallied forth and attacked the enemy camp , looting and destroying enemy stores . Demoralized and reduced in strength , the British withdrew when they heard reports of the approach of yet another relief column , led by General Benedict Arnold . The British forces withdrew through Canada and joined Burgoyne ' s campaign at Fort Ticonderoga . The British failure to capture the fort and proceed down the Mohawk Valley was a severe setback and helped lead to the defeat of General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga . The fort burned to the ground on May 13 , 1781 and was not rebuilt . It was abandoned and the garrison took up quarters at Fort Herkimer . Second treaty . The second Treaty of Fort Stanwix was conducted at the fort between the Americans and the Indians in 1784 . During the War of 1812 a blockhouse was built on the parade ground . Beginning in 1828 the fortifications were dismantled . The fort was designated a National Monument on August 21 , 1935 . Between 1974 and 1978 the National Park Service reconstructed the fort ; a new visitor center was added in 2005 . The monument is currently open year around , operated by the National Park Service .