Battle of Oriskany

Battle of Oriskany Part of the American Revolutionary War Herkimer at the Battle of Oriskany Painting by F.C. Yohn, c. 1901 Date August 6, 1777 Location Oriskany, New York 43°10′38″N 75°22′10″W / 43.177259°N 75.369521°W / 43.177259; -75.369521Coordinates: 43°10′38″N 75°22′10″W / 43.177259°N 75.369521°W / 43.177259; -75.369521 Belligerents United States Great Britain Loyalists Iroquois Confederacy Mohawk Seneca Algonquin Indians Huron Indians Nipissing First Nation Commanders Nicholas Herkimer  † Sir John Johnson John Butler Chief Joseph Brant Strength Tryon County militia: 720–740 Oneidas: 60–100[1] 500 King's Royal Regiment of New York, Butler's Rangers, Seneca, Mohawks, Abenakis, Algonquins, Nipissings and Hurons Casualties and losses 465 killed or wounded[2] 150 killed or wounded (includes casualties at the Siege of Fort Stanwix)

v • d • e Saratoga campaign, 1777 Ticonderoga – Hubbardton – Fort Anne – Fort Stanwix – Oriskany – Bennington – 1st Saratoga (Freeman's Farm) – Forts Clinton and Montgomery – 2nd Saratoga (Bemis Heights)

The Battle of Oriskany, fought on August 6, 1777, was one of the bloodiest battles in the American Revolutionary War and a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign. Early in the siege of Fort Stanwix, an American relief force from the Mohawk Valley under General Nicholas Herkimer, numbering around 800 men of the Tryon County militia and a party of Oneida Indians, approached in an attempt to raise the siege. British commander Barry St. Leger authorized an intercept force consisting of a Hanau Jäger detachment, Sir John Johnson's King's Royal Regiment of New York, Native allies from the Six Nations, and Indian Department Rangers totaling at least 450 men.

The Loyalist and Native force ambushed Herkimer's force in a small valley about six miles (10 km) east of Fort Stanwix, near the present-day village of Oriskany, New York. During the battle, Herkimer was mortally wounded. The battle cost the Patriots approximately 450 casualties, while the Loyalists and Natives lost approximately 150 dead and wounded. The apparent Loyalist success was tarnished when a sortie from Fort Stanwix sacked their camp, spoiling morale among the Indians.

This was one the few battles in the war where almost all of the participants were North American: Loyalists and Native Americans fought against Patriots in the absence of British soldiers. For the Natives, the battle marked the beginning of a civil war, as Oneidas under Colonel Louis allied with the American militia fought against members of the other Iroquois nations.

Background

In June 1777, the British Army, under the command of General "Gentleman Johnny" John Burgoyne, launched a two-pronged attack from Quebec. Burgoyne's objective was to split New England from the other colonies by gaining control of New York's Hudson River valley. The main thrust came south across Lake Champlain under Burgoyne's command; the second thrust was led by Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger, and was intended to come down the Mohawk River valley and meet Burgoyne's army near Albany.^[3]

St. Leger's expedition, about 1,800 men that were a mix of British regulars, Hessian jägers from Hanau, Loyalists, Indians, and rangers, reached Fort Stanwix on August 2, and began besieging it.^[4]

Prelude

Alerted to the possibility of a British attack along the Mohawk, Nicholas Herkimer, the head of Tryon County's Committee of Safety, issued a proclamation on July 17 warning of possible military activity and urging the people to respond if needed.^[5] Warned by friendly Oneidas that the British were just four days from Fort Stanwix on July 30, Herkimer put out a call to arms. The force raised totaled 800 from the Tryon County militia and was composed primarily of poorly-trained German-American farmers. Setting out on August 4, the column camped near the Oneida village of Oriska on August 5. While a number of the militia dropped out of the column due to their lack of conditioning, Herkimer's forces were augmented by a company of 60 to 100 Oneidas, led primarily by Han Yerry, a strong supporter of the Patriot cause.^[6] That evening, Herkimer sent three men toward the fort with messages for the fort's commander, Colonel Peter Gansevoort. Gansevoort was to signal the receipt of the message with three cannons, and then sortie to meet the approaching column.^[6] Due to difficulties in penetrating the British lines, these couriers did not deliver the message until late the next morning, after the battle was already underway.^[7]

The site of the ambush at Bloody Creek, New York.

St. Leger learned from a messenger sent by Molly Brant to her brother Joseph that Herkimer and his relief expedition were on their way on August 5.^[8] He sent a detachment of light infantry from Sir John Johnson's Royal Yorkers toward the position that evening to monitor Herkimer's position, and Brant followed early the next morning with about 400 Indians and Butler's Rangers. Although many of the Indians were armed with muskets, some were not, and only carried tomahawk and spear.^[9]

Battle

On the morning of August 6, Herkimer held a war council. Since they had not yet heard the expected signal from the fort, he wanted to wait. However, his captains pressed him to continue, even accusing Herkimer of being a Tory, considering that his brother was serving under St. Leger.^[10] Stung by these accusations, Herkimer ordered the column to march on toward Stanwix.^[11]

About six miles (9.6 km) from the fort the road dipped more than fifty feet (15 m) into a marshy ravine where a stream about three feet (1 m) wide meandered along the bottom.^[12] Sayenqueraghta and Cornplanter, two Seneca war chiefs, chose this place to set up an ambush.^[13] While the King's Royal Yorkers waited behind a nearby rise, the Indians concealed themselves on both sides of the ravine. The plan was for the Yorkers to stop the head of the column, after which the Indians would begin their assault on the extended column.^[12] At about 10 am, Herkimer's column, with Herkimer on horseback near the front, descended into the ravine, crossed the stream, and began ascending the other side.^[8]

Monument marking location of tree to which Herkimer was taken

Contrary to the plan, the Indians near the rear of the column, apparently unable to contain themselves any longer, opened fire, taking the column completely by surprise. Herkimer turned his horse to see the action, and was very shortly thereafter struck by a ball, which shattered his leg and killed the horse.^[14] He was carried by several of his officers to a beech tree, where his men urged him to retire from further danger. He defiantly replied, "I will face the enemy", and calmly sat leaning against the tree, smoking a pipe and giving directions and words of encouragement to the men nearby.^[15] Historians^[who?] interpret Herkimer's reply not only as a testament to his valor, but also his bitterness towards those officers who—having earlier branded Herkimer a coward for his caution and goaded him into the ravine—now urged him to retreat for his own safety.^{[citation needed]}

As the trap had been sprung too early, portions of the column had not yet entered the ravine.^[14] Most of these men panicked and fled; some of the attacking Indians pursued them, resulting in a string of dead and wounded that extended for several miles.^{[citation needed]} Between the loss of the column rear and those killed or wounded in the initial volleys, only about one half of Herkimer's men were probably still fighting 30 minutes into the battle.^[14] Some of the attackers, notably those not armed with muskets, waited for the flash of an opponent's musket fire before rushing to attack with the tomahawk before he had time to reload, a highly effective tactic against men not also armed with bayonets.^[14][16] Louis Atayataronghta, a Mohawk warrior fighting with Herkimer's men, shot one of the enemy whose fire had been devastating in its accuracy, noting that "every time he rises up he kills one of our men".^[17]

Herkimer's men eventually rallied, fighting their way out of the ravine to the crest just to its west. About three hours into the battle, a violent thunderstorm broke out, causing a one-hour break in the fighting.^[15] Herkimer regrouped his militia on the higher ground, and instructed his men to fight in pairs: while one man fired and reloaded the other waited and then only fired if attacked. Firing in relays, both were to attempt to keep at least one weapon loaded at all times, to reduce the effectiveness of the tomahawk attacks.^[16]

The fighting began again after the thunderstorm, and persisted in its ferocity. Johnson and the rest of his Royal Yorkers joined the battle late in the fray. They had turned their coats inside out to disguise themselves as a relief party coming up the valley from Fort Stanwix, but one of the Patriot militiaman, Captain Jacob Gardinier, recognized the face of a Loyalist neighbor. In the confusion, the Royal Yorkers succeeded in investing the militia's position but they withdrew as casualties mounted.

At about 2 pm the garrison of Fort Stanwix sortied from the fort to sack the nearly-empty British and Indian camps. Exactly what role this played in the disengagement of the forces at Oriskany is unclear, but the Indians eventually withdrew from the action with cries of "Oonah, oonah!", the Seneca signal to retire.

Aftermath

Patriots

The battered remnant of Herkimer's force, with Herkimer seriously wounded and many of its captains killed, retreated back to Fort Dayton. The wounded Herkimer was carried by his men from the battlefield. His leg was amputated, but the operation went poorly and he died on August 16. Many wounded Patriots were left on the field, and some of the dead were not buried for several years.

When General Philip Schuyler heard of the retreat from Oriskany, he immediately set about sending additional relief to the area. The siege at Fort Stanwix was eventually lifted on August 21 when a relief column led by General Benedict Arnold approached. While still at Fort Dayton, Arnold sent messengers into the British camp that were able to convince the British and Indian besiegers that his force was much larger than it actually was.

The Mohawk leader Chief Joseph Brant

Because of the small population of settlers in the Mohawk Valley, the Patriot losses sustained at the Battle of Oriskany were almost overwhelming to the community; some families lost all their male members, and few families escaped unscathed. Furthermore, combatants often found themselves fighting relatives who happened to choose the opposing side. Germans, Indians and English died on both sides.

Loyalists

Loyalist John Butler commanded an Indian detachment in the battle. Butler was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and awarded command of Butler's Rangers for his role in the battle.

Natives

Brant and Sayenqueraghta, the principal Seneca chief, proposed the next day to continue the fighting by pursuing the Colonials down river toward German Flatts, but St. Leger turned their proposal down.^[18] This battle marked the beginning of the civil war in the Iroquois confederacy, as the Iroquois in St. Leger's camp met in council and decided to send the Oneidas a bloody hatchet.^[19] Brant's Mohawks eventually went on to burn the Oneida settlement of Oriska, while the Oneidas plundered Tiononderoge and Canajoharie. The Fort Hunter Mohawks were later subject to the same treatment, prompting most of the remaining Mohawks to flee to Quebec.

It has been claimed that Brant's Indians tortured and ate some of their prisoners.^[20] However, modern historians dispute this. It is likely that some of the prisoners taken were ritually killed; there does not appear to be any evidence of cannibalism (ritual or otherwise). John Butler reported that four prisoners held by the Indians "were conformable to the Indian custom afterwards killed."^[21]

Winners and losers

St. Leger claimed the battle as a victory, as the American relief column had clearly been stopped. However, the Americans were left in control of the battlefield by the withdrawal of the Indians. The British victory was tempered by the discontent of the Indians after the battle. They had expectations on joining the expedition that the British forces would do most of the fighting, and they were the dominant fighters in this action. This blow to their morale contributed to the eventual failure of St. Leger's expedition.

Legacy

Monument to the unknown Tryon County patriots

According to historical accounts, an hour into the battle, the creek ran red with the blood of the fallen. The Battle of Oriskany was more commonly termed the Battle of Bloody Creek by local inhabitants in the decades that followed. Much of the battlefield is now preserved in the Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site, which was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1962, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

The battle is known in British records as Herkimer's engagement out of respect for the American general's sacrifice and victory.^{[citation needed]} Herkimer was also honored when the town of Herkimer and Herkimer County, New York were named for him.

American Revolutionary War activities in the Mohawk Valley, including the Battle of Oriskany, were memorialized by Walter D. Edmonds in his 1937 novel, Drums Along the Mohawk. The battle was also remembered with the naming of the USS Oriskany, launched in 1945. The painting of General Herkimer by F. C. Yohn at the top of this article, which was painted around 1901, hung in the officer's mess of the ship,^{[citation needed]} and now hangs in the public library in Utica, New York (the modern location of Fort Dayton).^[22]

See also

• Media related to Battle of Oriskany at Wikimedia Commons
• Adam F. Helmer

Footnotes

References

Further reading

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Oriskany.

• The King's Royal Regiment of New York
• The Battle of Oriskany: "Blood Shed a Stream Running Down", a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan

v • d • e New York in the American Revolutionary War Pre-war Sons of Liberty - First Liberty Poles erected 1770 Battle of Golden Hill 1775 Capture of Fort Ticonderoga – Invasion of Canada 1776 New York and New Jersey campaign – Battle of Long Island – New York Prison Ships Begin – Landing at Kip's Bay – Battle of Harlem Heights – Great Fire of New York – Execution of Nathan Hale – Battle of Valcour Island – Battle of Pell's Point – Battle of White Plains – Battle of Fort Washington 1777 Meigs Raid – Saratoga campaign – Battle of Ticonderoga – Battle of Fort Anne – Siege of Fort Stanwix – Battle of Oriskany – Battle of Freeman's Farm (1st Saratoga) – Battle of Bemis Heights (2nd Saratoga) 1778 Setauket Spy Ring Launched – Battle of Cobleskill – West Point established – Cherry Valley massacre 1779 Battle of Stony Point – Sullivan Expedition – Battle of Newtown 1780 First Purple Heart – André Capture Reveals Traitor Benedict Arnold 1781 HMS Culloden Runs Aground at Montauk – Washington Calls Off Invasion of New York to Support Yorktown 1782 Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh – Newburgh letter 1783 Newburgh Conspiracy – British Evacuate New York – Washington's Farewell to His Officers