Fort Stanwix National Monument - The Story of Bastion 3: Stick With It! (U.S. National Park Service)

a blinking fort with a compass facing north

In the Summer of 1777, William Colbrath kept a journal at Fort Schuyler. He was writing how more and more American soldiers came to the fort. They did not want the British to capture Fort Schuyler. If that happened, the whole state of New York would be captured and the British would still own America. The Americans at Fort Schuyler could not give up. They had to stick with it.

The 800 men at the fort had to learn all the different jobs the soldiers did. The soldiers had 3 main duties or jobs - fatigue, drill, and guard.

a drawing of men digging a trench feverishly.

These soldiers are doing fatigue work

Much of their time was spent repairing the fort and making it strong, like building the walls 12 feet thick. That job was called fatigue work. It did make the men very tired and hungry.

several men with stand in a straight row. white X's are formed on their fronts by uniform straps; they hold muskets

These soldiers are drilling; practicing to defend the fort

The men also had to learn how to fight the British. They practiced how to march and how to use their weapons, flintlock muskets. Practice would go on and on for hours. This job was called drill. Guard duty was a very important job as well. The Americans had to be on the lookout for the British and their Loyalist friends and Haudenosaunee allies trying a surprise attack on the fort.

A man holds a rifle; he wears leggings, a blouse & a leather bag

Saratoga NHP

The Oneida Indians warned the Americans that many British were coming to attack the fort. The soldiers inside the fort did not give up. They worked very hard to build up the fort and get ready for the attack. They even chopped down trees along the Great Carry portage. They hoped this would block the British advance and make the British give up.

The British thought capturing the fort and New York State would be easy. They did not know the Americans were ready for them. When the British reached the fort, they had nearly 1,700 men with them. They demanded the Americans give up. The Americans said No!

The Americans stuck with it.

a map with heavy black lines details a river, dots for a swamp, and little squares surrounding a star shape

This map shows how the British surrounded the fort during the Siege

The British could see the fort would be too hard to attack.

They surrounded the fort and won't let anybody go in or come out.

This is called a siege. They believed the soldiers inside the fort would not stick with it for very long without getting help.

a wounded man sits by a tree frantically shouting at the people around him. there is smoke lingering in the air around him.

Utica Public Library

The wounded General Herkimer stuck with it!

The Militia from the Mohawk Valley tried to help the fort. Their leader was General Nicholas Herkimer. About 900 patriots reached the small village of Oriskany, 6 miles south of the fort on August 6. The British Loyalists and Iroquois allies ambushed the Militia. The Battle of Oriskany was the bloodiest battle in the Revolutionary War. Hundreds of men on both sides died. General Herkimer was wounded and later died. But the men in Fort Schuyler stuck with it.

men drag a cart filled with supplies over a wooden bridge through a large fortified wooden door and gate

General Arnold helped the Americans at Ft. Schuyler by fooling the British

The British tried everything they could to make the Americans give up. They fired artillery rounds at the fort, but the cannon balls bounced off the thick walls. They tried tunneling under the walls, but the tunnels flooded. Nothing worked.

The Americans fired back at them with cannon and musket rounds from the fort bastions. They got more help from Major General Benedict Arnold. He fooled the British into thinking he was coming with thousands of troops to help the fort. The British could not stick with it. They gave up and marched back to Canada.

The Americans had stuck with it for 21 days and won.

Two months later, the Americans captured British General Burgoyne and his army at Saratoga, New York. Then the French, Dutch, and the Spanish became our friends and allies. They stuck with us and helped us win our Independence.