First constructed in 1758 during the French and Indian War, Fort Stanwix stood along a historic portage and trade route first named "Deo-wain-sta" by the Oneidas, a six mile stretch linking the Mohawk River and Wood Creek that allowed travel and trade between the Atlantic Ocean and Great Lakes long before the Erie Canal. The English later renamed this route the "Oneida Carry" because travelers hauled vessels up to six miles on foot before continuing by water. During the American Revolution, the fort became famous for the 21-day siege of Fort Schuyler (Stanwix) in August 1777, when British forces used nearby high ground with views into the fort, protection from cannon fire, and access to fresh water from the Mohawk River, but American defense of "the fort that never surrendered" forced the siege to be abandoned and contributed to the larger British defeat at Saratoga. Representatives of the new United States of America and the Six Nations Confederacy later returned to Fort Stanwix to sign one of the Revolutionary War's final peace treaties.