Ambush at Oriskany, 1777
Neighbor Fought Neighbor in Bloody US Revolutionary War Battle
Sep 25, 2009
Oriskany was unique in its absence of British regulars. Virtually all of the combatants were American, and many were familiar with individuals on the other side.
The American force consisted mostly of militia from New York's Tryon County, with some local Native American scouts from the Oneida tribe.
In the "British" force were Tories loyal to the crown and warriors from the Iroquois confederacy. The loyalists were in many cases former neighbors and in a few instances even relatives of the Tryon County men. The revolution had caused a bitter feud in the County, with loyalists eventually being compelled to leave.
The Iroquois, meanwhile, were fighting former allies in the Oneida, who had been part of their confederacy for centuries. But as was the case in Tryon County, the war had caused a rift.
Familiarity bred little mercy in the battle, which took place near the Seneca village of Oriskana in New York's Mohawk Valley. The fighting was vicious, and the casualties in proportion to the forces involved were staggering.
Why the Battle of Oriskany Took Place
In the summer of 1777, Brevet Brigadier General Barry St. Leger led a force of 1,600 British, Hessians, Tory loyalists, Iroquois warriors and Canadian woodsmen in an incursion into the Mohawk Valley. Barring his path was Fort Stanwix, which was defended by 750 men under Col. Peter Gansevoort. The British began a siege of the fort on Aug. 3.
Colonists in Tryon County had received word of the British onslaught, and Brig. Gen. Nicholas Herkimer raised a relief force of 800 militia, mostly German immigrants. Setting out from Fort Dayton on Aug. 4, towing 15 wagons of supplies, the column made 22 miles in two days.
But on the morning of Aug. 6, while on a mountain path six miles from Fort Stanwix, Herkimer's force was ambushed.
St. Leger had dispatched a mixed 700-man force to head Herkimer off. Sir John Johnson was officially in command, but 500 Iroquois warriors under the brilliant Mohawk chieftain Joseph Brant made up the bulk of the detachment.
Ambush Catches Militia by Surprise
Although Iroquois at the rear of the column began the attack prematurely, the initial blow was devastating. The militia was thrown into confusion, and Herkimer was wounded.
Earlier, Herkimer, who had a brother serving under St. Leger, had been accused of cowardice by other officers because he favored caution in the approach to Stanwix. But after being shot in the leg, Herkimer continued to direct his men while propped up against a tree.
Maintaining cohesion was difficult for both sides, and the battle degenerated into a series of small isolated fights. The Oneida, too, battled ferociously in fighting that became hand to hand.
"All day long a fearful wilderness battle raged, with little groups of former neighbors and relatives often opposing each other, clawing, slashing and stabbing,' Bruce Lancaster wrote in The American Revolution.
One of Herkimer's orders was vital. Noticing that the Iroquois would wait for shots to be fired before rushing the militia, he instructed his men to fire in two-man relays, with one shooting and one loading. That way, there'd always be at least one musket ready to repel an individual tomahawk attack.
Rainstorm Aids Americans
A rainstorm caused a lull hours into the battle, and that gave Herkimer a chance to organize defenses on higher ground. But before long, the battle resumed with its former ferocity.
A group of Tories turned their coats inside out and approached the Americans, hoping the militia would mistake them for reinforcements and hold their fire. But the ruse failed when Capt. Jacob L. Gardeneir recognized them as Tories and led an attack that threw them back.
Gradually, the fighting slackened. The Iroquois were not conditioned to fight pitched battles against prepared positions, and they were beginning to sustain heavy losses. Then, three cannon shots were heard -- a signal from Fort Stanwix that scouts sent by Herkimer had reached the fort, and that a sortie was being planned.
It was executed in good order. Some 250 men under Lt. Col Marinus Willett had sallied out of the fort, driven off the guards at the Indian camp, and looted it without the loss of a man.
Iroquois Withdrawal Ends Battle
New of the sally demoralized the Iroquois, who had lost many warriors at Oriskany and were now stripped of valuable possessions. Brant gave the order to withdraw, and without his men, the Tories had little choice but to follow suit. After five hours, the fighting petered out, and the militia limped back home.
Casualty figures vary. Those on the American side range from 350 to 500 and those of the British are listed as low as 150 and as high as 275.
The British had reason to claim victory. They prevented Herkimer from relieving Fort Stanwix, and had ravaged his force. Herkimer died Aug. 16 after an operation to amputate his leg went poorly.
But St. Leger's expedition was ruined. His force was stripped of much of its striking power, both through casualties and increasing Iroquois desertions. And the siege of Fort Stanwix became futile.
When word came that another relief force -- this one under Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold -- was on the way, St. Leger lifted the siege on Aug. 22 and retreated back to Quebec.
Why Oriskany Was Important
Oriskany set off a chain reaction of events that eventually led to British defeat. St. Leger's expedition was part of a grand British plan designed to establish British control of New York. But he was unable to make the intended junction with an 8,000-man force under Gen. John Burgoyne, which was later destroyed at the battle of Saratoga.
Sources
The Battle of Oriskany, American Revolution.org
Davis, Paul K.; Besieged: 100 Great Sieges from Jericho to Sarajevo, Oxford University Press, 2003
Eisenhower, John S.D. and Wood, W.J.; Battles of the American Revolution, 1775-1781, Perseus Publishing, 2003
Lancaster, Bruce; The American Revolution, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987
Watt, Gavin K.: Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley: The St. Leger Expedition of 1777, Dundurn Group, 2002
