The attack on German Flatts (September 17, 1778) was a raid on the frontier settlement of
German Flatts, New York
German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 12,263 at the 2020 census down from 13,258 at the 2010 census.
The town is in the southern part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, ...
(which then also encompassed what is now
Herkimer Herkimer may refer to:
People:
* Johan Jost Herkimer (1732–1795), United Empire Loyalist, brother of Nicholas Herkimer
* John Herkimer (1773–1848), American lawyer and politician from New York
* Lawrence Herkimer (1925–2015), American innov ...
) during 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. The attack was made by a mixed force of
Loyalist
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 Cr ...
s and
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
under the overall command of
Mohawk
Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
*Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people
*Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...
leader
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...
, and resulted in the destruction of houses, barns, and crops, and the taking of livestock for the raiders' use. The settlers, warned by the heroic run of
Adam Helmer, took refuge in local forts but were too militarily weak to stop the raiders.
Brant's attack was one of a series executed under his command or that of Loyalist and
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People, fictional characters and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
:
:* Seneca the Elder (c. 54 BC – c. AD 39), a Roman rhetorician, writer and father ...
leaders against communities on what was then the frontier of western
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
and northern
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. New York authorities responded by ordering an expedition that
destroyed
Destroyed may refer to:
* ''Destroyed'' (Sloppy Seconds album), a 1989 album by Sloppy Seconds
* ''Destroyed'' (Moby album), a 2011 album by Moby
See also
* Destruction (disambiguation)
* Ruined (disambiguation)
Ruins are the remains of man-m ...
Brant's forward operating bases in Iroquois territory.
Background
With the failure of British General
John Burgoyne
General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...
's
campaign to the Hudson after the
Battles of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The seco ...
in October 1777, 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
in upstate
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
became a frontier war. British leaders in the
Province of Quebec
Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...
supported
Loyalist
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 Cr ...
and Native American partisan fighters with supplies and armaments. During the winter of 1777–78 Brant and other British-allied Indians developed plans to attack frontier settlements in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. In February 1778 Brant established a base of operations at
Onaquaga
Onaquaga (also spelled many other ways) was a large Iroquois village, located on both sides of the Susquehanna River near present-day Windsor, New York. During the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army destroyed it and nearby Unadi ...
(present-day
Windsor, New York
Windsor is a town in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 5,804 at the 2020 census.
The town is on the southern border of the county and is east of Binghamton. The town includes the village of Windsor, located on the Sus ...
). He recruited a mix of Iroquois and Loyalists estimated to number between two and three hundred by the time he began his campaign in late May.
[Graymont, p. 165] One of his objectives was to acquire provisions for his forces and those of
John Butler John Butler may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American banjo performer; may have been used by a number of performers
* John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist
* John Butler (author) (born 1937), ...
, who was planning operations in the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
valley. His first expedition was a
raid on Cobleskill, and he raided other frontier communities throughout the summer.

When he raided settlements at
Springfield and Andrustown (present-day
Jordanville) in July, Brant left the survivors with warnings that German Flatts would soon also be attacked. The settlement of German Flatts (now known as
Herkimer Herkimer may refer to:
People:
* Johan Jost Herkimer (1732–1795), United Empire Loyalist, brother of Nicholas Herkimer
* John Herkimer (1773–1848), American lawyer and politician from New York
* Lawrence Herkimer (1925–2015), American innov ...
due to a survey error in 1788 that reversed the names of Herkimer and what is now
German Flatts
German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 12,263 at the 2020 census down from 13,258 at the 2010 census.
The town is in the southern part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, a ...
on the south bank 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 (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...
) was founded in 1723 by
Palatine German immigrants. The district was defended by a local militia regiment under the command of Colonel
Peter Bellinger. There were two main forts,
Fort Dayton
Fort Dayton was an American Revolutionary War fort located on the north side of the Mohawk River at West Canada Creek, in what is now Herkimer, New York. A fort had previously been built on the same site during the French and Indian War.
It shou ...
and
Fort Herkimer
Fort Herkimer was a colonial fort located on the south side of the Mohawk River, opposite the mouth of its tributary West Canada Creek, in German Flatts, New York, United States.
It should not be confused with Fort Dayton, which was located on the ...
, on either side of the Mohawk.
[
]
Prelude
Although Brant had planned on raiding German Flatts sooner than September, the absence of John Butler delayed his plans. Butler had returned to Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great L ...
after his attack on the Wyoming Valley communities in July, sending Captain William Caldwell to Unaquaga to recruit men for the unit known as Butler's Rangers
Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. T ...
. By early September it was clear that Butler was not returning to the area, so Brant and Caldwell launched the expedition with the men they had. The exact composition of the force that left Unadilla is unclear. Sources generally agree that 152 Iroquois, principally Mohawk
Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
*Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people
*Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...
, were in the force, but that the Loyalists (in either Caldwell's Ranger company or in Brant's company of volunteers) numbered between 200 and 300.[Barr, p. 151]
Because of warnings received earlier that Brant was planning an attack, Colonel Bellinger had been sending out scouts in the direction of Unadilla to gather intelligence. On September 16 Brant's company overwhelmed a scouting party of nine, killing a few and scattering the rest. One of the survivors was Adam Helmer, who ran ahead of the advancing force to warn German Flatts. Colonel Bellinger sounded the call to arms of his regiment and sent an urgent request to Colonel Jacob Klock for the assistance of his regiment, while the settlers took refuge in the forts.
Raid
Caldwell, Brant, and their men arrived at German Flatts not long after Helmer's warning, on the evening of September 16, and began their attack the next morning.[Halsey, p. 226] Because the settlers had taken refuge in the forts, there was no significant opportunity for the raiders to take prisoners or scalps. They demonstrated before the forts, but lacked heavy weapons with which to properly assault them.[ They instead rampaged through the communities on both sides of the Mohawk, destroying 63 homes, a similar number of barns, three grist mills, and one saw mill. They drove off a large number of horses, cattle, and sheep, killing those they could not take with them. The only buildings left standing were the forts, a barn, the church, and the homes of the minister and a few Loyalists. More than 700 people were made homeless by their destruction. Because of Helmer's warning only three Americans were killed. Captain Caldwell wrote that his men "would have in all probability killed most of the inhabitants of German Flatts had they not been apprised of our coming by one of the scouts getting in and warning of our approach, and perhaps got to their forts".][Graymont, p. 179]
Aftermath
Klock's regiment did not arrive until after the raiders had left. The militia pursued the raiders, but were unable to catch up with them. Some friendly 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 nati ...
and Tuscaroras
The Tuscarora (in Tuscarora ''Skarù:ręˀ'') are an indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands in Canada and the United States. They are an Iroquoian Native American and First Nations people. The Tuscarora Nation, a federally recognize ...
, however, capitalized on Brant's absence from Unadilla to raid that town, freeing prisoners that Brant had taken while en route to German Flatts.[
The Americans launched retaliatory raids in early October that destroyed Unadilla and Onaquaga. Brant and John Butler's son ]Walter
Walter may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...
organized a retaliatory expedition against Cherry Valley, which was the scene of a massacre in November. This action and others by Brant and Butler contributed to the decision by the Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...
to authorize a major Continental Army expedition into Iroquois territory. Commanded by Generals John Sullivan and James Clinton
Major general (United States), Major-General James Clinton (August 9, 1736 – September 22, 1812) was a Continental Army officer and politician who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
During the war he, along with John Sullivan (ge ...
, the 1779 expedition systematically destroyed the villages of Iroquois tribes fighting for the British, but did little to stop the frontier war. The German Flatts area in particular was the subject of repeated raids.
Walter D. Edmonds
Walter "Wat" Dumaux Edmonds (July 15, 1903 – January 24, 1998) was an American writer best known for historical novels. One of them, ''Drums Along the Mohawk'' (1936), was adapted as a Technicolor feature film in 1939, directed by John Ford and s ...
' 1936 novel ''Drums Along the Mohawk
''Drums Along the Mohawk'' is a 1939 American historical drama film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author Walter D. Edmonds. The film stars Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert, was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, and direct ...
'' recounts the story of Adam Helmer's run and gives an overview of the German settlements along the river. It was adapted as a film by the same name, directed by John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
and released in 1939.[Rollins and O'Connor, pp. 45–53]
Notes
References
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*
Further reading
*
External links
Hamilton Child, "History of German Flatts, New York"
''Gazetteer and Business Directory Of Herkimer County, N. Y. For 1869-70'', Syracuse, NY: 1869, hosted at Rays-Place
{{authority control
1778 in the United States
Conflicts in 1778
German Flatts (1778)
German Flatts (1778)
German Flatts (1778)
German Flatts (1778)
Herkimer County, New York
Native American history of New York (state)
German Flatts
German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 12,263 at the 2020 census down from 13,258 at the 2010 census.
The town is in the southern part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, a ...
1778 in New York (state)