Key Facts
- Duration
- August 2–22, 1777 (20 days)
- Garrison commander
- Colonel Peter Gansevoort
- Besieging commander
- Brigadier General Barry St. Leger
- Key related battle
- Battle of Oriskany, August 6, 1777
- Strategic purpose
- Diversion for Burgoyne's Hudson River Valley campaign
Strategic Narrative Overview
St. Leger's mixed force of British regulars, Loyalists, Hessians, and Indigenous warriors began besieging Fort Stanwix on August 2. A relief column under Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer was ambushed at the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, though the fort's garrison sortied and plundered enemy camps, damaging Indigenous morale. Major General Benedict Arnold then advanced with reinforcements, using a deception to inflate his apparent troop strength, causing many Indigenous warriors to abandon the siege.
01 / The Origins
During the American Revolutionary War, British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne planned a multi-pronged campaign to seize the Hudson River Valley and isolate New England. Brigadier General Barry St. Leger was tasked with advancing eastward through the Mohawk Valley from Lake Ontario as a diversionary western thrust, requiring him to neutralize Fort Stanwix, the Continental Army's key defensive position guarding the valley's western approaches.
03 / The Outcome
Undermined by Arnold's ruse and the erosion of his Indigenous allies, St. Leger abandoned the siege on August 22 and withdrew. His failure to advance on Albany left Burgoyne's western flank unsupported. Although St. Leger reached Fort Ticonderoga in late September, it was too late to assist Burgoyne, who surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, a turning point of the Revolutionary War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Barry St. Leger.
Side B
1 belligerent
Peter Gansevoort, Nicholas Herkimer, Benedict Arnold.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.