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The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle of Oriskany (8/6/1777) - Apr. 14th, 2004
National Park Service ^

Posted on 04/14/2004 12:00:05 AM PDT by SAMWolf



Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


...................................................................................... ...........................................

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

Welcome to "Warrior Wednesday"

Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.

To read previous Foxhole threads or
to add the Foxhole to your sidebar,
click on the books below.

Setting the Stage


With the outbreak of hostilities in 1775, it became clear that New York was vital to military victory. If the British could defeat the Rebel forces in New York, they would control trade between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes and divide the colonies. They also would be able to feed their troops from the bounty of the Mohawk Valley, the "bread basket" of the Revolutionary War.


The British Northern Campaign of 1777.


In 1777, the British conceived an ambitious plan for the conquest of New York. This plan called for a three prong attack into the heart of the colony with all three invading forces meeting in Albany. The first army, led by General John Burgoyne, was to invade New York moving south from Canada through the Lake Champlain–Hudson River corridor to Albany. The second force, to be commanded by General William Howe, was to move north up the Hudson River Valley from New York City to Albany. The third and final British troops, commanded by General Barry St. Leger, were to move down Lake Ontario from Canada to Oswego, New York and hook eastward through the Mohawk Valley towards Albany.

This plan was dependent on coordination between the armies and the anticipated rallying to arms of the large Tory population the British believed existed in New York. Rebel leaders in New York prepared to defend the state and reinforced the Mohawk Valley. At the ravine of Oriskany in August 1777, the two sides clashed for control of New York.

Growing Tensions in Central New York




The tensions that existed between the people of central New York during the colonial era are well documented. While Swedish scientist Peter Kalm was on a botanical expedition in 1749-1750, he wrote about the relationship between the English and Dutch colonists who first settled the area:

The hatred which the English bear against the people at Albany is very great, but that of the Albanians (the Dutch colonists) against the English is carried to a ten times higher degree. This hatred has subsisted ever since the English conquered this section, and is not yet extinguished, though they could never have gotten larger advantages under the Dutch government than they have obtained under that of the English. ...They are so to speak permeated with hatred toward the English, whom they ridicule and slander at every opportunity.



In the 1757, Thomas Butler, member of an English family that held large amounts of land in New York, corresponded with Sir William Johnson, another great English landholder and Superintendent of Indian Affairs:

I have often Said and do Yet That if any Troubles Shou'd arise between the Six Nations and us it will in Great Manner Or intirely be owing to bad ignorant people of a difrant Extraction from the English that makes themselves too busey in telling idle Stories. I fear we have too many of those who Speak the Indian Tongue More or less and dont Consider the Consequence of Saying we are Dutch and they are English that they had a fight Together last winter in Schenectady. the Dutch there beat the English. The quarrell was because they wou'd not allow the English To be Masters and take from them all they had. that the English wanted to drive them about like dogs, this Story I imagin proceeded from a small dispute between the battoe Men and Soldars last fall, and the English are Severe on the people at albany taking from them what they pleas breaking open their doors when they will, had forced Capt. Herkemer out of his House.


Sketch of Oriskany Battlefield, 1848


Sir William Johnson was aware of other tensions between the English and German settlers, including prominent German immigrant Johan Jost Herkimer (or Hercheimer) with whose family Johnson's family had often quarreled. He worried about the alarming sale by the Germans of large quantities of rum to the Iroquois Confederacy and the wedge it was driving between the British authorities and the Six Nations, when he wrote to James Abercromby in 1758:

I believe Sir I have the Honour of your Concurrance in Opinion that for the present at least, it will be both Politick and prudent not to indulge the Indians with a Trade at the German Flats. In a Message I have just sent to the Six Nations, part of which is on this Subject, I have told them that you do not incline, to trust the Lives and properties of His Majestys Subjects to the Assurances of those, who late Experience shows are either not able or not willing to fulfill them, and that at Albany and Schenectady they are welcome to come and trade.

I have many Reasons to believe, and many Informations to strengthen, that some Germans are interfering with the Indians in a way that will be very prejudicial, and may perhaps be fatal to His Majestys Service.



Joseph Brant, 1786.
Painted by Gilbert Stuart.


After the French and Indian War had ended, Great Britain sought to gain stronger control of the colonies and started to impose taxes on the colonists to reduce Britain's enormous national debt incurred while fighting the war. Rival groups, because of ethnic, religious, or economic differences, began to align themselves politically. In general, those who became Rebels were fighting for the right of self-governance and freedom from British control. Those who chose to be Tories, on the other hand, were fighting to maintain their ties with Great Britain and the British King. There were also cases where people simply preferred to keep things the way they were, and fought to maintain the status quo, so were Tories by default. The explosive mixture of old grudges with the political and philosophical arguments of the revolutionary era turned New York into a powder keg.

Once hostilities broke out in 1775, New Yorkers were forced to choose sides. Upon the death of Sir William Johnson in 1774, his son John inherited a 200,000 acre estate and, in later years, also became Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Sir John Johnson chose to be loyal to Great Britain and gathered ammunition and raised a militia group called the "King's Royal Regiment of New York."


General Nicholas Herkimer


Nicholas Herkimer, son of Johan Jost Herkimer, a wealthy German-American trader and owner of 2,000 acres of land, chose the Rebel cause. In 1776 Nicholas Herkimer was made a Brigadier General in the New York State militia and charged with defending the state against Tories and Indians. Herkimer and General Philip Schuyler, with their Rebel militia, forced Johnson's militia to disarm and disband. Johnson fled for Canada, fearful that he would be arrested for his Tory beliefs. Ironically, Nicholas Herkimer's brother, Han Yost Herkimer, chose the Tory cause and became a Captain in the Indian Department; the Herkimers were one of many families split by New York's civil war.

One apparent exception to the rivalries in colonial New York appeared to be the Iroquois Confederacy. For 500 years the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy had mutually supported and protected one another. However, continued European settlement along the New York frontier had generated tensions between the Confederacy and European settlers. In 1768, in an attempt to set a boundary line to solve this chronic problem, the British convened a meeting at Fort Stanwix, which had been abandoned following the French and Indian War and was in disrepair. As many as 3,000 delegates from the Iroquois, Shawnee, and Delaware Nations met with the representatives of the King of Great Britain. Instead of resolving tensions, the boundary line divided the Iroquois Confederacy into factions, some opposed and others allied with the King and Great Britain.


Colonel John Butler


At the outbreak of the American Revolution, the Iroquois Confederacy had to decide whether to support one side or the other as a single confederacy or whether to allow each of the six member nations to decide individually. The Onondaga Nation was the keeper of the Central Council Fire, the symbol of the Iroquois Confederacy's 500 years of unity. Although they urged continued unity and neutrality, the six tribes could not agree on a single course of action. The Central Council Fire was then extinguished due to deaths of sachems and chiefs caused by disease. Iroquois unity was irrevocably broken. British and Rebel diplomats courted the favor of the individual tribes, hoping to get them to support their side or remain neutral. The Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca Nations chose to support Great Britain. Although originally neutral, by July 1777, the Oneida and Tuscarora Nations would support the Rebels. There were many individuals who did not choose to accept the decision of their respective nations, so both Tories and Rebels counted among their forces members of all six nations.


Joseph Brandt
(Thayendanegea)


Mohawk Joseph Brant, or Thayendanega, was a relative of Sir John Johnson. His sister, Mary (Molly) Brant, became the common law wife of Sir William Johnson after the death of John's mother. British educated and a member of the Anglican Church, Joseph Brant supported the Tory cause and eventually received a British Officer's commission as a captain. Just 37 days before the Battle of Oriskany, General Herkimer and Rebel militia troops went to investigate claims that Joseph Brant was attempting to raise Tory troops for an impending attack on the Mohawk Valley. On June 29 and 30, 1777 Herkimer met with Brant and unsuccessfully attempted to persuade him to stay neutral during the war. By August 1777, sides had been chosen, the participants were armed, and the stage was set for the first major battle between Tories and Rebels.



TOPICS: VetsCoR
KEYWORDS: americanrevolution; england; freeperfoxhole; johnbutler; josephbrant; mohawk; newyork; nicholasherkimer; oneida; oriskany; revolutionarywar; veterans; warriorwednesday
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To: Professional Engineer
PE,

Have you seen my poem Columbia Crew? It was a runner up in a contest. I did not win the big prize, but the poem was publish. If you wish, I will post it on my poetry thread The Dragon Flies' Lair. FReepmail me if you would like me to post it.
61 posted on 04/14/2004 12:13:19 PM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: colorado tanker
"Crazy! I mean like so many positive waves ...

LOL. At least now I know what you all are talking about!

62 posted on 04/14/2004 3:29:34 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
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To: Johnny Gage
Afternoon Johnny.

The helicopter made famous in the Iranian Hostage Rescue attempt.

63 posted on 04/14/2004 4:13:26 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)
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To: colorado tanker
LOL! Now she'll know what we're talking about. :-)

I just ride 'em, I don't know what makes them work.
64 posted on 04/14/2004 4:14:29 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)
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To: colorado tanker
LOL! If it was bad and it happened in world history, it was Bush's fault

65 posted on 04/14/2004 4:15:29 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)
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To: bentfeather
Post it here Feather!
66 posted on 04/14/2004 4:16:01 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)
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To: SAMWolf
Woof, woof, woof!
67 posted on 04/14/2004 4:29:08 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: SAMWolf; Professional Engineer; snippy_about_it; Matthew Paul; PhilDragoo; radu; Colonel_Flagg
Columbia Crew

Columbia Crew

Their dream will live

they gave their all

they were tall

Now in halls

lighting the skies... they fly

They are looking in

at the edge of time

standing on the rim

seeing the beauty

of the cosmos with

angel eyes...

Standing in the midst

of the mighty

White fleet of heaven's

angelic messengers

Yes they are tall...yes,

Gone too, soon...


bentfeather
a/k/a LMH
Copyright © 2/2003
All Rights Reserved

Touch the Chariot of Fire
*The Shuttle pictured here is not the Columbia.


68 posted on 04/14/2004 4:38:48 PM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: bentfeather
Thanks Feather, One of your best. :-)
69 posted on 04/14/2004 4:51:48 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)
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To: colorado tanker
That's my other dog impression.
70 posted on 04/14/2004 4:52:32 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)
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To: SAMWolf
Thank You Sam.
71 posted on 04/14/2004 4:52:41 PM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: bentfeather
I remember when you wrote this feather. I'm glad you won the prize for it and had it published. Thanks for posting it here at the Foxhole.
72 posted on 04/14/2004 4:55:31 PM PDT by snippy_about_it (Fall in --> The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul.)
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To: snippy_about_it; All
Thanks snippy, I did not win the prize for this poem.

I won for My Dragon Fly and Me, (Book Contract).

Columbia Crew, could have won second prize in another contest in 2003. It was a semifinalist, and the prize would have been $10,000. Alas, it was not a winner.
73 posted on 04/14/2004 5:01:28 PM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: bentfeather
Just more incentive to keep trying.
74 posted on 04/14/2004 5:04:24 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)
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To: bentfeather
Thanks miss Feather. I saw the smoke trails that day. The realization was terrible.

I was inside voting when she passed over. I didn't realize at the time, that the landing had been delayed one orbit. I've been hooked on space since I was 4, so I would have been watching the skies.

The beginning of my Space Geekhood. Me looking at Apollo 11 moonrocks.

I was able to see a shuttle once, back in 1983. I was in basic training. We were assembling from the afternoon Retreat ceremony, when she came over the base atop the 747. We broke ranks to run for a better view. Very cool!

75 posted on 04/14/2004 6:57:11 PM PDT by Professional Engineer (Descendant of a bunch of dead white guys..........who conquered the world.)
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To: colorado tanker
Well, the important question about the New York campaigns is when will President Washington admit he made mistakes and apologize to the American people for losing New York City to the British?

LOL. No worries. It was Bush's fault.

76 posted on 04/14/2004 7:23:41 PM PDT by Samwise (The day may come when the courage of men fails...but it is not this day....This day we fight!)
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To: Professional Engineer
Your're a Space Geek?? How come I'm the last to find out?
77 posted on 04/14/2004 8:04:44 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)
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To: Samwise
Hi Samwise! Feeling better, we need you on the mend.
78 posted on 04/14/2004 8:05:22 PM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)
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To: SAMWolf; Professional Engineer
Your're a Space Geek?? How come I'm the last to find out?

Sam, he Profile page tells all! LOL

79 posted on 04/14/2004 8:41:24 PM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: colorado tanker
What's needed is bi-partisan commission to look into the matter. That American people deserve to have the TRUTH told about this obvious dereliction of duty.
What did he know? and when did he know it?
80 posted on 04/14/2004 8:49:58 PM PDT by Valin (Hating people is like burning down your house to kill a rat)
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