The Battle of Oriskany ( or ) was a significant engagement of the
Saratoga campaign
The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British ...
of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, and one of the bloodiest battles in the conflict between the Americans and Great Britain. On August 6, 1777, a party of
Loyalists
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
and several hundred
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
allies from different tribes ambushed an American military party that was marching to relieve the siege of
Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built ...
. This was one of the few battles in which the majority of the participants were Americans;
Patriots and allied
Oneidas
The Oneida people (autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of the five founding na ...
fought against Loyalists and allied
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...
in the absence of British regular soldiers. There was also a detachment of
Hessians in the British force, as well as Western Indians including members of the
Mississaugas
The Mississauga are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwe. The name "Mississauga" comes from the Anishinaabe word ''Misi-zaagiing'', meaning " ho ...
.
The Patriot relief force came up the
Mohawk Valley
The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...
under the command of General
Nicholas Herkimer
Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer (also known as Nikolaus Herchheimer; – August 16, 1777) was an American military officer who fought during the Revolutionary War. He died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany.
Early life and career
Herki ...
and numbered about 800 men of the
Tryon County militia, plus a party of approximately 60 Oneida warriors. British commander
Barry St. Leger
Barrimore Matthew "Barry" St. Leger (bapt. 1 May 1733 – 23 December 1793) was a British Army officer. St. Leger was active in the Saratoga Campaign, commanding an invasion force that unsuccessfully besieged Fort Stanwix. St. Leger remaine ...
authorized an intercepting force consisting of a
Creuzbourg's Jäger Corps detachment,
Sir John Johnson's
King's Royal Regiment of New York
The King's Royal Regiment of New York, also known as Johnson's Royal Regiment of New York, King's Royal Regiment, King's Royal Yorkers, and Royal Greens, were one of the first Loyalist regiments, raised on June 19, 1776, in British Canada, duri ...
, Indian allies from the
Six Nations, particularly
Mohawks
The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern Ne ...
and
Senecas
The Seneca () ( see, Onödowáʼga:, "Great Hill People") are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west ...
and other tribes to the north and west, and Loyalist Rangers, totaling at least 450 men.
The Loyalist and Indians force ambushed Herkimer's force in a small valley about six miles (10 km) east of Fort Stanwix, near the Oneida village of
Oriskany, New York
Oriskany ( or ) is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 1,400 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from the Iroquois word for "nettles".
The Village of Oriskany is in the Town of Whitestown, southeast of ...
. Herkimer was mortally wounded, and the battle cost the Patriots approximately 451 casualties, while the Loyalists and Indians lost approximately 150 dead and wounded. The result of the battle remains ambiguous. The apparent Loyalist victory was significantly affected by a sortie from Fort Stanwix in which the Loyalist camps were sacked, damaging morale among the allied Indians.
The battle also marked the beginning of a war among the Iroquois, as Oneida warriors under
Joseph Louis Cook and
Han Yerry
Han Yerry Tewahangarahken ("He Who Takes Up the Snow Shoe") (1724 – 1794) was also known as Honyery Doxtator. Han Yerry was born into his mother's Wolf clan, as the Iroquois had a matrilineal society with women holding property and hereditary le ...
allied with the American cause. Most of the other Iroquois tribes allied with the British, especially the Mohawks and Senecas. Each tribe was highly decentralized, and there were internal divisions among bands of the Oneida, some of whom also migrated to Canada as allies of the British. The site is known in Iroquois oral histories as "A Place of Great Sadness."
[ Bilharz (2009), p. 93.] The site has been designated a National Historic Landmark; it is marked by a battle monument at the
Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site
Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site is a historic site in Oneida County, New York, United States that marks the Battle of Oriskany, fought in 1777 during the American Revolution, one of the bloodiest engagements of the war.
The park is north ...
.
Background
In June 1777, the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
launched a two-pronged attack from
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
under the command of General
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...
. Burgoyne's objective was to split
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
from the other colonies by gaining control of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
's
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
. The main thrust came south across
Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/ Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type ...
under Burgoyne's command; the second thrust was led by Lt. Colonel
Barry St. Leger
Barrimore Matthew "Barry" St. Leger (bapt. 1 May 1733 – 23 December 1793) was a British Army officer. St. Leger was active in the Saratoga Campaign, commanding an invasion force that unsuccessfully besieged Fort Stanwix. St. Leger remaine ...
and was intended to come down the
Mohawk Valley
The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...
and meet Burgoyne's army near
Albany.
[Ketchum (1997), p. 84]
St. Leger's expedition consisted of about 1,800 men who were a mix of British regulars,
Creuzbourg's Jäger Corps, Loyalists, Rangers, and Indians of several tribes, including the Mohawks and Senecas of the Iroquois. They traveled up the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
and along the shore of
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
to the
Oswego River, which they ascended to reach the
Oneida Carry
The Oneida Carry was an important link in the main 18th century trade route between the Atlantic seaboard of North America and interior of the continent. From Schenectady, near Albany, New York on the Hudson River, cargo would be carried upstream ...
in
Rome, New York
Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which l ...
. They began to
besiege Fort Stanwix, a
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
post guarding the portage.
[Nickerson (1967), pp. 195–199]
Prelude
Tryon County's
Committee of Safety head
Nicholas Herkimer
Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer (also known as Nikolaus Herchheimer; – August 16, 1777) was an American military officer who fought during the Revolutionary War. He died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany.
Early life and career
Herki ...
was warned of a possible British attack along the
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk ...
, and he issued a proclamation on July 17 warning of possible military activity and urging the people to respond if needed.
[Glatthaar (2006), pp. 159–160] Oneida allies warned him on July 30 that the British were just four days from Fort Stanwix, and he put out a call-to-arms. The force raised totaled 800 from the
Tryon County militia composed primarily of poorly trained farmers who were chiefly of
Palatine German descent. They set out on August 4 and camped near the Oneida village of Oriska on August 5. A number of the militia dropped out of the column due to their lack of conditioning, but Herkimer's forces were augmented by a company of 60 to 100 Oneida warriors led by Han Yerry, a strong supporter of the Patriot cause.
[Glatthaar (2006), p. 160] That evening, Herkimer sent three men toward the fort with messages for the fort's commander Colonel
Peter Gansevoort
Peter Gansevoort (July 17, 1749 – July 2, 1812) was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also th ...
. Gansevoort was to signal the receipt of the message with three cannon shots and then
sortie
A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining supp ...
to meet the approaching column.
The couriers, however, had difficulty getting through British lines, and they did not deliver the message until late the next morning, after the battle was already underway.
[ Glatthaar (2006), p. 161]
St. Leger learned on August 5 that Herkimer and his relief expedition were on their way from a messenger that
Molly Brant
Molly Brant ( – April 16, 1796), also known as Mary Brant, Konwatsi'tsiaienni, and Degonwadonti, was a Mohawk leader in British New York and Upper Canada in the era of the American Revolution. Living in the Province of New York, she was the c ...
had sent to her brother
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. Perhaps ...
, the
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
* Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people
* Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...
leader who led a portion of St. Leger's "Indian" contingent.
[Glatthaar (2006), p. 163] St. Leger 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 Loyalist Rangers. Many of the Indians were armed with muskets, while others carried only tomahawks and spears.
[Glatthaar (2006), p. 164]
Battle
Herkimer held a war council on the morning of August 6. He wanted to wait because he had not heard the expected signal from the fort, but his captains pressed him to continue, accusing him of being a
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
because his brother was serving under St. Leger.
[Nickerson (1967), p. 202] He was stung by the accusations and relented, ordering the column to march on toward Stanwix.
[Nickerson (1967), p. 203]
About six miles (9.6 km) from the fort, the road dipped more than 50 feet (15 m) into a marshy ravine with a stream at the bottom that was about three feet wide.
Seneca chiefs
Sayenqueraghta and
Cornplanter
John Abeel III (born between 1732 and 1746–February 18, 1836), known as Gaiänt'wakê (''Gyantwachia'' – "the planter") or Kaiiontwa'kon (''Kaintwakon'' – "By What One Plants") in the Seneca language and thus generally known as Cornplant ...
chose this place to set up an ambush;
[Watt (2002), p. 135] the King's Royal Yorkers waited behind a nearby rise and 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 attack the extended column.
[Nickerson (1967), p. 205] At about 10 am, Herkimer's column descended into the ravine, crossed the stream, and began ascending the other side with Herkimer on horseback near the front.
Contrary to the plan, the Indians lying in wait opened fire on the rear of the column, taking the Patriots completely by surprise. Colonel Ebenezer Cox was leading the 1st Regiment (Canajoharie district), and he was shot off his horse and killed in the first volley. Herkimer turned his horse to see the action and was struck by a ball that shattered his leg and killed the horse.
[Glatthaar (2006), p. 166] Several of his officers carried him to a beech tree and 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.
[Nickerson (1967), p. 207]
The trap had been sprung too early, and portions of the column had not yet entered the ravine.
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.
[Nickerson (1967), p. 206] 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 still fighting 30 minutes into the battle.
Some of the attackers who were not armed with muskets waited for the flash of an opponent's musket fire before rushing to attack with the tomahawk.
[Nickerson (1967), p. 208] Mohawk warrior Louis Atayataronghta was fighting with Herkimer's men, and he shot one of the enemies whose fire had been devastatingly accurate, noting that "every time he rises up he kills one of our men".
[Glatthaar (2006), p. 167]
Herkimer's men eventually rallied, fighting their way out of the ravine to the crest to its west. John Johnson was concerned about the militia's tenacity, so he returned to the British camp and requested some reinforcements from St. Leger, returning with 70 men.
[Watt (2002), p. 174] A thunderstorm caused a one-hour break in the fighting,
during which Herkimer regrouped his militia on the higher ground. He instructed his men to fight in pairs; while one man fired and reloaded, the other waited and then only fired if attacked. They were to keep at least one weapon loaded at all times to reduce the effectiveness of the tomahawk attacks.
Ranger
John Butler took time during the thunderstorm to question some of the captives, and thus learned about the three-cannon signal. Johnson and his reinforcements arrived, and Butler convinced them to turn their coats inside out to disguise themselves as a relief party coming from the fort.
[Watt (2002), pp. 179–180] When the fighting restarted, Johnson and the rest of his Royal Yorkers joined the battle, but Patriot Captain Jacob Gardinier recognized the face of a Loyalist neighbor. Close combat continued for some time, often hand-to-hand between men who were neighbors.
[Glatthaar (2006), p. 168]
Sortie from Fort Stanwix
Herkimer's messengers reached the fort at around 11 a.m., and Colonel Gansevoort organized the requested sortie. Lieutenant Colonel
Marinus Willett
Colonel Marinus Willett (July 31, 1740 – August 22, 1830) was an American military officer, politician and merchant who served as the mayor of New York City from 1807 to 1808. Willett is best known for his actions during the American Revolu ...
led 250 men from the fort and raided the nearly deserted enemy camps to the south, driving away the few British and Indians left in them (including women) and taking four prisoners along the way.
[Glatthaar (2006), p. 171] They collected blankets and other personal possessions from the Indian camps, and they also raided John Johnson's camp, taking his letters and other writings.
[Nickerson (1967), p. 210][Watt (2002), p. 196]
One of the Indians guarding the camps ran to the battlefield to alert fellow warriors that their camps were being raided.
[Watt (2002), p. 185] They disengaged with cries of "''Oonah, oonah!''", the
Seneca signal to retire, and headed for the camps to protect their women and possessions. This forced the smaller number of German and Loyalist combatants to also withdraw.
Aftermath
Patriots
Herkimer was seriously wounded and many of his captains were killed, and the battered remnant retreated to
Fort Dayton. His men carried him from the battlefield and his leg was amputated, but the operation went poorly and he died on August 16.
[Glatthaar (2006), p. 169] The Indians retrieved most of their dead by the following day, but many dead and wounded Patriots were left on the field.
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
's relief column marched through several weeks later, and the men were moved by the stench and grisly scene.
[ Watt (2002), p. 263]
General
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.
Born in Alb ...
learned of the retreat from Oriskany and immediately organized additional relief to be sent to the area. Arnold's relief column arrived at Fort Stanwix on August 21, and he sent messengers into the British camp who convinced the British and Indian besiegers that his force was much larger than it actually was.
[Glatthaar (2006), pp. 174–5] They abandoned their siege and withdrew.
Loyalists
Butler was promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...
for his role in the battle, and he was authorized to raise a regiment that became known as
Butler's Rangers.
[Bowler (2000)] After the siege was lifted, some Loyalists returned to Quebec while others joined Burgoyne's campaign on the Hudson, including numerous warriors from various tribes.
[Watt (2002), p. 269]
Indians
Brant and Seneca chief
Sayenqueraghta proposed the next day to continue the fighting by pursuing the Patriots downriver toward
German Flatts, New York
German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,258 at the 2010 census.
The town is in the southern part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, across from the village of Herkimer ...
, but St. Leger turned them down.
[Kelsay (1984), p. 208] This battle marked the beginning of a war among the tribes in the Iroquois Confederacy, as it was the first time that they had fought against one other. The Mohawks, Senecas, Cayugas, and Onondagas were allied with the British, as were some Oneidas, and the Iroquois in St. Leger's camp met in council and decided to send the Patriot-allied Oneidas a bloody hatchet.
Brant's Mohawks raided and burned the Oneida settlement of Oriska later in the siege. In retaliation, the Oneidas plundered the Mohawk strongholds of Tiononderoge and Canajoharie. They later raided the Fort Hunter Mohawks, prompting most of the remaining Mohawks in central New York to flee to Quebec.
[Glatthaar (2006), p. 177]
Brant's Indians were said to have tortured and even eaten some of their prisoners.
[Stone (1865), pp. 459–460] but some modern historians debate this.
[Watt (2002), p. 197]
Winners and losers
The battle was one of the bloodiest of the war, based on the percentage of casualties suffered. About half of Herkimer's force were killed or wounded, as were about 15-percent of the British force.
St. Leger claimed the battle as a victory, as he had stopped the American relief column, but the Americans maintained control of the battlefield after the withdrawal of the opposing Indians.
The British victory was tempered by the discontentment of the Indians after the battle. When they joined the expedition, they expected that the British forces would do most of the fighting, but they were the dominant fighters in this action, and some suffered the loss of their personal belongings taken during the American sortie from the fort. This blow to their morale contributed to the eventual failure of St. Leger's expedition.
[ Nickerson (1967), p. 211]
Legacy
In an interview many years afterwards,
Governor Blacksnake recalled how he "thought at that time the Blood Shed a Stream running down on the ground."
[ Watt (2002), p. 177]
A monument was erected in 1884 to commemorate the battle at 43° 10.6′N 75° 22.2′W, and much of the battlefield is now preserved in the
Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site
Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site is a historic site in Oneida County, New York, United States that marks the Battle of Oriskany, fought in 1777 during the American Revolution, one of the bloodiest engagements of the war.
The park is north ...
. The site was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1962,
[ NHL summary listing] and added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1966.
NRHP
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
The town of
Herkimer, New York
Herkimer is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States, southeast of Utica. It is named after Nicholas Herkimer. The population was 10,175 at the 2010 census.
The town contains a village also called Herkimer. Herkimer County Community ...
and
Herkimer County, New York
Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named ...
were named in Herkimer's honor. The battle was honored by the name of aircraft carrier , launched in 1945, now an artificial reef, and also by the issuance of a postage stamp in 1977.
[Battle of Oriskany bicentennial stamp, 1977 https://i.unisquare.com/img/main/1/1/3/097ac61a555fa89132cd6562u.jpeg ]
See also
*
American Revolutionary War § British northern strategy fails. Places 'Battle of Oriskany' in overall sequence and strategic context.
*
Adam Helmer
Adam Frederick Helmer ( 1754 – April 9, 1830), also known as John Adam Frederick Helmer and Hans Adam Friedrich Helmer, was an American Revolutionary War hero among those of the Mohawk Valley and surrounding regions of New York State. He wa ...
, one of Herkimer's messengers
*
Sampson Sammons Colonel Sampson Sammons (December 24, 1722October 17, 1796) was an American officer in the American Revolutionary War. He is notable for being the target of the first shot fired by the British in the American Revolution west of the Hudson River.
Li ...
, a Colonel
*
USS ''Oriskany
Footnotes
References
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Further reading
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External links
The King's Royal Regiment of New York
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Oriskany
1777 in New York (state)
Oriskany
Oriskany
Oriskany
Oriskany
Conflicts in 1777
Oneida County, New York
Oriskany[