It was named after Henry Laurens, a president of the Continental Congress from South Carolina.

However, the conditions at the fort were harsh during the winter, and McIntosh removed most of the American forces to Fort Pitt, leaving only about 150 men (from the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment and 13th Virginia Regiment) under the command of Colonel John Gibson.

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, Munsee, and Delaware 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.

The fort is the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Patriot of the American Revolution, laid to rest with full military honors by the Ohio National Guard in 1976.