On this day in 1777, American forces inside Fort Schuyler hold out against a British siege. Help was on the way! Unfortunately, those reinforcements would be ambushed by Loyalist and Indian forces before they ever arrived at Fort Schuyler.
The resulting Battle of Oriskany has been called one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution. When it finally drew to a close, Americans had possession of the battlefield. But they had paid a horribly steep price for it.
These events occurred during British General John Burgoyne’s ill-fated Saratoga campaign. Early in July, the British had captured Fort Ticonderoga. Now, British Lt. Colonel Barry St. Leger was marching to rendezvous with Burgoyne. St. Leger was then leading a large group of British, Loyalists, and Canadians. He was also joined by a group of Seneca and Mohawk Indians.
Fort Schuyler was on St. Leger’s path. On August 2, St. Leger’s men surrounded the fort and demanded the Americans’ surrender. Needless to say, the offer was refused. A British siege began on August 3.
At first, St. Leger had no idea that reinforcements were coming to help the besieged Americans -- but they were! Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer was coming from Fort Dayton with a force of about 800 militia and 60 Oneida Indians.
The American rescue party unfortunately ran into a piece of bad luck: St. Leger discovered that Herkimer was en route, and he decided to plan a surprise attack on the American force. The British set a trap in a densely wooded, marshy area, near a ravine. Loyalist and Indian groups were to attack the Americans from all sides.
Herkimer and his men crossed the ravine at about 10 a.m. on August 6. Roughly 600 Americans had crossed when the Indians attacked. Much of the battle involved hand-to-hand combat, with the Indians relying on tomahawks, knives and spears. Herkimer was wounded early in the fight, but he continued to rally his men. And he got a little lucky when a thunderstorm struck about 45 minutes into the battle. Herkimer used the diversion to get his men up a hill. Unable to walk because of his wounded leg, he sat on his saddle under a tree, apparently leaning back and smoking a pipe while he directed his men!
How many leaders can pull off that kind of a stunt!?
Herkimer told his men to pair off and hide themselves among the trees. One man could protect the other whenever muskets needed to be reloaded.
In the meantime, the Americans who were still at Fort Schuyler sent help. Marinus Willett took his men and raided nearby Indian camps. When the Indians heard about the raids, they withdrew from the battle, abandoning the Loyalists in the field. The Loyalists were unable to continue without Indian assistance; they soon retreated.
The battlefield was a horrible scene. One Indian chief later said: “It was here that I saw the most dead bodies than I have ever seen. The blood shed made a stream running down on the sloping ground.” Indeed, of the 800 Americans who had fought in the battle, only 150 escaped serious injury. The battle later proved fatal to Herkimer. His leg had to be amputated, and he later died of complications from that surgery.
The British soon ended their siege of Fort Schuyler. But the final lifting of that siege is a story for another day! Stay tuned.
P.S. The terms Fort Schuyler and Fort Stanwix can sometimes be used interchangeably, but Fort Schuyler was the name of the Fort during much of the Revolution.
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Gentle reminder: History posts are copyright © 2013-2016 by Tara Ross.
Permalink: http://www.taraross.com/2016/08/thi...-of-ft-schuyler-the-bloody-battle-of-oriskany
@AZZMAN75 @PredVol @Eyes4Vols @stonewall_jackson @tcavol
The resulting Battle of Oriskany has been called one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution. When it finally drew to a close, Americans had possession of the battlefield. But they had paid a horribly steep price for it.
These events occurred during British General John Burgoyne’s ill-fated Saratoga campaign. Early in July, the British had captured Fort Ticonderoga. Now, British Lt. Colonel Barry St. Leger was marching to rendezvous with Burgoyne. St. Leger was then leading a large group of British, Loyalists, and Canadians. He was also joined by a group of Seneca and Mohawk Indians.
Fort Schuyler was on St. Leger’s path. On August 2, St. Leger’s men surrounded the fort and demanded the Americans’ surrender. Needless to say, the offer was refused. A British siege began on August 3.
At first, St. Leger had no idea that reinforcements were coming to help the besieged Americans -- but they were! Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer was coming from Fort Dayton with a force of about 800 militia and 60 Oneida Indians.
The American rescue party unfortunately ran into a piece of bad luck: St. Leger discovered that Herkimer was en route, and he decided to plan a surprise attack on the American force. The British set a trap in a densely wooded, marshy area, near a ravine. Loyalist and Indian groups were to attack the Americans from all sides.
Herkimer and his men crossed the ravine at about 10 a.m. on August 6. Roughly 600 Americans had crossed when the Indians attacked. Much of the battle involved hand-to-hand combat, with the Indians relying on tomahawks, knives and spears. Herkimer was wounded early in the fight, but he continued to rally his men. And he got a little lucky when a thunderstorm struck about 45 minutes into the battle. Herkimer used the diversion to get his men up a hill. Unable to walk because of his wounded leg, he sat on his saddle under a tree, apparently leaning back and smoking a pipe while he directed his men!
How many leaders can pull off that kind of a stunt!?
Herkimer told his men to pair off and hide themselves among the trees. One man could protect the other whenever muskets needed to be reloaded.
In the meantime, the Americans who were still at Fort Schuyler sent help. Marinus Willett took his men and raided nearby Indian camps. When the Indians heard about the raids, they withdrew from the battle, abandoning the Loyalists in the field. The Loyalists were unable to continue without Indian assistance; they soon retreated.
The battlefield was a horrible scene. One Indian chief later said: “It was here that I saw the most dead bodies than I have ever seen. The blood shed made a stream running down on the sloping ground.” Indeed, of the 800 Americans who had fought in the battle, only 150 escaped serious injury. The battle later proved fatal to Herkimer. His leg had to be amputated, and he later died of complications from that surgery.
The British soon ended their siege of Fort Schuyler. But the final lifting of that siege is a story for another day! Stay tuned.
P.S. The terms Fort Schuyler and Fort Stanwix can sometimes be used interchangeably, but Fort Schuyler was the name of the Fort during much of the Revolution.
-------------
Gentle reminder: History posts are copyright © 2013-2016 by Tara Ross.
Permalink: http://www.taraross.com/2016/08/thi...-of-ft-schuyler-the-bloody-battle-of-oriskany
@AZZMAN75 @PredVol @Eyes4Vols @stonewall_jackson @tcavol
