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 The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, one of the bloodiest engagements of the war. The park is northwest of the Village of Oriskany on NY Route 69 and is southeast of the

City of Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. An

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

, with plaques at the base commemorating the battle and its participants, is the central feature of the site. The battlefield is on the south side of 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 f ...

. The terrain consists of small rises, divided by ravines, above Mohawk River bottomlands.

Battle

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

militia General Nicholas Herkimer, leading a relief column to the besieged

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 ...

, was ambushed in a ravine by Iroquois chief Joseph Brant, leading a mixed group of

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

and

Tories 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 ...

. Herkimer had his ambushed militia fight in pairs behind cover. One militiaman fired, while he was reloading the other militiaman covered him. This tactic was effective due to the Iroquois warriors tactics of charging the enemy after they fired. After sustaining high casualties in the number of native War Chiefs, and a heavy downpour the British forces withdrew, leaving the Tryon County militia in possession of the field. The occupants at the fort used the reduction in the force before them as an opportunity to sally out and sack the British camp. Herkimer died of his wounds days later. Oriskany is known as the bloodiest battle of the American Revolution. In respects to the number of combatants, casualties sustained and the fact that many of the combatants had friends and relatives on the opposing side. See Battle of Oriskany for more details.

Commemoration

A monument at the site stands above a small rise that many of the ambushed Americans found their way to, and where Herkimer, wounded, rallied and directed the American forces. Plaques on the monument depict Herkimer and list many of the American participants in the battle. The monument was dedicated in 1884. The site was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1962. and It is a

New York State Historic Site The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) is a state agency within the New York State Executive Department Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law § 3.03. "The office of parks, recreation a ...

Activities and services

Visitor center and museum, scenic views, picnic area, hiking, tours, and re-enactments.

Photos

Image:OriskanyBattlefieldMonument PanelCombat 2007.jpg, Combat Image:OriskanyBattlefieldMonument PanelText 2007.jpg, Text description Image:OriskanyBattlefieldMonument PanelHerkimerDirecting 2007.jpg, Herkimer directing the battle Image:OriskanyBattlefieldMonument PanelTryonParticipantsListed 2007.jpg, Tryon militia participants Image:OriskanyBattlefield PlaqueB 2007.jpg, Plaque before Mohawk River bottomlands Image:OriskanyBattlefield PlaqueA 2007.jpg, Plaque at rally site

References

External links