Fun Times at Fort Stanwyx - Oriskany

 Fun Fact: Fun Times at Fort Stanwyx--Oriskany

The British plan for the invasion of 1777 included not only Burgoyne's thrust from the north down to the Hudson River and to Albany--which ended badly at Saratoga--and an advance by Howe from New York to Albany, but also a conquest of the Mohawk Valley by troops under Barry St. Leger. Controlling the Mohawk Valley and the Hudson River Valley would deny the patriot armies necessary both food and transportation routes.

Burgoyne had Lieutenant Colonel St. Leger temporarily promoted to the rank of brigadier general to lead the attack from the west. 

Although St. Leger had experience in the French and Indian wars, he had never commanded Indian auxiliaries--which made up a sizeable portion of his invasion force--about a thousand Indians. Mohawk leader Thayendanegea, Joseph Brant, had already refused overtures from a former friend and patriot leader, General Nicholas Herkimer, to join the patriots. In fact, Herkimer tried to have Brant killed at the conclusion of the tete-a-tete. In addition to the British regulars, German auxiliaries, and Indians, St. Leger's force also included Canadian militia, and irregulars under John Johnson (Johnson's Greens) and John Butler (Butler's Rangers).

The first objective in the Mohawk Valley was Fort Stanwyx. The fort stood in the portage between Wood Creek and the Mohawk River. Colonel Peter Gansevoort had been sent to Fort Stanwyx to strengthen the fort and protect against any British advance up the valley. Fortunately for Gansevoort, he had a spy among St. Leger's Indians who kept him informed of St. Leger's progress. General Herkimer was also gathering volunteers thirty miles east of Fort Stanwyx at Fort Dayton. 

While St. Leger had word of over 600 defenders at Fort Stanwyx, he was unaware of Herkimer's activities. Hostilities arrived at Fort Stanwyx when girl picking berries were ambushed. Two of them were tomahawked and scalped while the third escaped with a musket ball in her shoulder.

When the siege began the defenders numbered about 850 and the attackers numbered around 3,000. Herkimer was still assembling his force of about 800 men, which consisted mostly of irregulars with little discipline. While Herkimer marched, the siege at Stanwyx went on with artillery fire and snipers on both sides. At one point, the patriots were able to slay a particularly deadly sniper by inducing him to fire at a dummy. They then destroyed the sniper and the tree he was in with a cannon blast of grapeshot.

Molly Brant, Joseph's sister, sent word to him that Herkimer was leading a column to Stanwyx. St. Leger sent Brant and 800 Indians with a few of Johnson's Greens and Butler's Rangers to prepare an ambush about six miles from Stanwyx where the road passed through a deep ravine thick with trees and brush near Oriskany. Loyalists, British and German troops, and Canadians brought Brant's force to a thousand.

Herkimer's Indian scouts passed through the ravine without detecting the ambush but once they reached the bridge at the far end they turned back, sensing something amiss. Attackers rose from concealment to slay them with arrows and tomahawks. None of the scouts escaped. Herkimer's column fell into the trap. 

Brant shouted the war cry and musket fire filled the ravine. Herkimer's horse went down and he was hit below the left knee. Ignoring the wound, Herkimer retained command, ordering all his forces to charge up the ravine to where a few of his men had already taken cover in a defensible position. He arrived there with the help of his subordinates. A Colonel Cox came up to assume command only to be shot in the head by an enemy and collapse onto Herkimer. The general calmly filled his pipe with tobacco, lit up, and began issuing orders with his sword across his lap.

The battle became a vicious struggle, largely fought with tomahawk and knife. On the side of the patriots, Oneida chief Honyery and his wife Two Kettles Together fought in defense of Colonel Campbell, and Nat Foster and his veterans of Trenton and Princeton worked among the trees to inflict heavy casualties on the attackers. Herkimer was holding out and inflicting significant losses on Brant's Indians.

Meanwhile Colonel Willet inside Fort Stanwyx prepared to sally from the fort. When St. Leger sent more men to the fight at Brant's request, Willet made a sortie and captured several wagon loads of supplies from St. Leger's camp. Some of those sent to the fight were the rest of Johnson's Greens. The first ranks of the Greens turned their coats inside out to resemble some of the Americans from Fort Stanwyx. They thus got very close to some of Herkimer's men before the ruse was discovered.

St. Leger called for his reinforcements to return when Willet raided his camp. Brant couldn't carry on the battle and send back the reinforcements. He had to break off the battle and retreat. 

Herkimer had lost a significant portion of his force and could not continue to Fort Stanwyx. He had suffered casualties of killed, captured, and wounded of 50%. He withdrew to Fort Dayton with all his wounded. 

Butler's Rangers and Johnson's Green's suffered badly at Oriskany, but the Indian losses were the greatest. 

Although Herkimer's relief force had not relieved the siege, it had caused significant losses to the besiegers and seriously weakened the will of the Indian auxiliaries to remain. Herkimer's leg became infected and had to be amputated. The operation did not go well, and Herkimer died as a result on August 16, 1777.

--The foregoing was summarized from chapters 1-12 of Michael O. Logusz's With Musket and Tomahawk, Volume II, The Mohawk Valley Campaign in the Wilderness War of 1777. I highly recommend it. I liked it even better than the fine Volume I on the Saratoga Campaign.

Next Time: Fun at Fort Stanwyx--Psychological Warfare

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I had some great time writing this week in Book 6 of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. You might notice that I haven't settled on a title yet. In fact, I don't have a clue what it's going to be called. I usually have a few title ideas before I even start writing--and may change it during the process. At some point the title will manifest itself like a vision on the road or a bright Bat- Signal in the sky--or it won't, and I'll be forced to decree a title by creator's fiat. So let it be written. So let it be done.

New beasties are on the verge of making an appearance. They've already left sign--it says, "Caution, Danger Ahead."

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