Fort Laurens was an American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 fort in what is now the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

.

Overview

The fort was built by General Lachlan McIntosh

Lachlan McIntosh

Lachlan McIntosh was a British-born American military and political leader during the American Revolution and the early United States. In a 1777 duel, he shot dead Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.-Arrival in Georgia:Lachlan McIntosh was born near Raits, Badenoch,...

, in 1778, on the west bank of the Tuscarawas River

Tuscarawas River

The Tuscarawas River is a principal tributary of the Muskingum River, 129.9 miles long, in northeastern Ohio in the United States...

, now in Tuscarawas County

Tuscarawas County, Ohio

Tuscarawas County is a county located in the eastern part of the state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 92,582. Its county seat is New Philadelphia...

 near the town of Bolivar

Bolivar, Ohio

Bolivar is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 894 at the 2000 census. Bolivar is also home to Fort Laurens, the only American Revolutionary War-era fort in what is now Ohio.-History:...

. The fort was intended to be a staging point for an attack against the British garrison at Detroit

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

. However, the conditions at the fort were harsh during the winter, and McIntosh removed most of the American forces to Fort Pitt

Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania)

Fort Pitt was a fort built at the location of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.-French and Indian War:The fort was built from 1759 to 1761 during the French and Indian War , next to the site of former Fort Duquesne, at the confluence the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River...

, leaving only about 150 men (from the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment

8th Pennsylvania Regiment

The 8th Pennsylvania Regiment was authorized by the Continental Congress on 11 July 1776 as part of the Continental Army for frontier defense in the Northern Department during the American Revolutionary War...

 and 13th Virginia Regiment

13th Virginia Regiment

The 13th Virginia Regiment was a United States infantry regiment during the American Revolutionary War.-Summary:The 13th Virginia Regiment was authorized on 16 September 1776 by the Continental Congress for service with the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...

) under the command of Colonel John Gibson

John Gibson (Indiana)

John Gibson was a veteran of the French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War, the American Revolutionary War, Tecumseh's War, and the War of 1812. A delegate to the first Pennsylvania constitutional convention in 1790, and a merchant, he earned a reputation as a frontier leader and had good...

. Fort Laurens was the only fort built in the Ohio Country

Ohio Country

The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...

 during the Revolutionary War.

Siege

The British learned of the miserable conditions at the fort, and on February 22, 1779, Captain Henry Bird of the 8th Regiment of Foot with a handful of British soldiers and a couple hundred Wyandot, Mingo

Mingo

The Mingo are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans made up of peoples who migrated west to the Ohio Country in the mid-eighteenth century. Anglo-Americans called these migrants mingos, a corruption of mingwe, an Eastern Algonquian name for Iroquoian-language groups in general. Mingos have also...

, Munsee, and Delaware

Lenape

The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...

 warriors laid siege to the fort. The siege continued until mid-March, and the men inside the fort reportedly were reduced to making a stew of boiled moccasins

Moccasin (footwear)

A moccasin is a slipper made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp . Though sometimes worn inside, it is chiefly intended for outdoor use, as in exploring wildernesses and running from...

The British forces were also weakened by the long siege and lifted the siege on March 20, 1779. Relief forces from Fort Pitt arrived three days later, leaving a force of 106 men behind under the command of Major Frederick Vernon. Colonel Daniel Brodhead

Daniel Brodhead IV

Daniel Brodhead IV was an American military and political leader during the American Revolutionary War and early days of the United States.-Early life:...

 had replaced McIntosh as commander at Fort Pitt and felt the fort was inadequate for mounting an attack on Fort Detroit

Fort Detroit

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...

. The fort was abandoned on August 2, 1779.

It was named after Henry Laurens

Henry Laurens

Henry Laurens was an American merchant and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress...

, a president of the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 from South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. The fort was used as a reference point in defining the boundary line in Treaty of Greenville

Treaty of Greenville

The Treaty of Greenville was signed at Fort Greenville , on August 3, 1795, between a coalition of Native Americans & Frontiers men, known as the Western Confederacy, and the United States following the Native American loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It put an end to the Northwest Indian War...

, although the text of the treaty misspells the name as "Fort Lawrence".

Funds are currently being raised to build a replica of the fort on the original site.

Fort Laurens Museum & Park

The Ohio Historical Society

Ohio Historical Society

The Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 as The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society "to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio"...

 operates a small museum at the site with exhibits about the frontier soldier, a video about the fort's history and archaeological artifacts from the fort's excavation. The museum is located in a large park that is the used for military reenactments. A crypt in the museum wall contains remains of soldiers who died defending the fort. The site is closed in the winter.

In 1970, the fort site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

External links

• Friends of Fort Laurens Foundation
• Fort Laurens at the Ohio Historical Society site
• Fort Laurens at Ohio History Central
• http://www.kings8th.com
• Fort Laurens, 1778-1779: The Revolutionary War in Ohio - by Thomas Pieper and James B. Gidney. Kent State University Press (January 1980)