page_title: Battle of Oriskany
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Oriskany / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: An image I snapped of Herkimer monument at the Oriskany battlefield.
context_page_description: The Battle of Oriskany was one of the bloodiest battles in the American Revolutionary War and a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign. On August 6, 1777, a party of Loyalists and several hundred Indian allies ambushed an American military party that was marching to relieve the siege of Fort Stanwix. This was one of the few battles in which the majority of the participants were Americans; Patriots and allied Oneidas fought against Loyalists and allied Iroquois in the absence of British regular soldiers. There was also a detachment of Hessians in the British force, as well as Western Indians including members of the Mississauga people.
  The Patriot relief force came up the Mohawk Valley under the command of General Nicholas Herkimer and numbered about 800 men of the Tryon County militia plus a party of approximately 60 Oneida warriors. British commander Barry St. Leger authorized an intercepting force consisting of a Hanau Jäger detachment, Sir John Johnson's King's Royal Regiment of New York, Indian allies from the Six Nations, particularly Mohawks and Senecas and other tribes to the north and west, and Indian Department Rangers, totaling at least 450 men.
context_section_description: Herkimer held a war council on the morning of August 6. He wanted to wait because he had not heard the expected signal from the fort, but his captains pressed him to continue, accusing him of being a Tory because his brother was serving under St. Leger. He was stung by the accusations and relented, ordering the column to march on toward Stanwix.
  About six miles (9.6 km) from the fort, the road dipped more than 50 feet (15 m) into a marshy ravine with a stream at the bottom that was about three feet wide. Seneca chiefs Sayenqueraghta and Cornplanter chose this place to set up an ambush; the King's Royal Yorkers waited behind a nearby rise and the Indians concealed themselves on both sides of the ravine. The plan was for the Yorkers to stop the head of the column, after which the Indians would attack the extended column. At about 10 am, Herkimer's column descended into the ravine, crossed the stream, and began ascending the other side with Herkimer on horseback near the front.
  Contrary to the plan, the Indians lying in wait opened fire on the rear of the column, apparently unable to contain themselves any longer and taking the column completely by surprise. Colonel Ebenezer Cox was leading the 1st Regiment (Canajoharie district), and he was shot off his horse and killed in the first volley. Herkimer turned his horse to see the action and was struck by a ball that shattered his leg and killed the horse. Several of his officers carried him to a beech tree and urged him to retire from further danger. He defiantly replied, "I will face the enemy", and calmly sat leaning against the tree smoking a pipe and giving directions and words of encouragement to the men nearby.
  The trap had been sprung too early and portions of the column had not yet entered the ravine. Most of these men panicked and fled; some of the attacking Indians pursued them, resulting in a string of dead and wounded that extended for several miles. Between the loss of the column rear and those killed or wounded in the initial volleys, only about one half of Herkimer's men were likely still fighting 30 minutes into the battle. Some of the attackers who were not armed with muskets waited for the flash of an opponent's musket fire before rushing to attack with the tomahawk. Mohawk warrior Louis Atayataronghta was fighting with Herkimer's men, and he shot one of the enemies whose fire had been devastatingly accurate, noting that "every time he rises up he kills one of our men".
  Herkimer's men eventually rallied, fighting their way out of the ravine to the crest just to its west. John Johnson was concerned about the militia's tenacity, so he returned to the British camp and requested some reinforcements from St. Leger, returning with 70 men. A thunderstorm caused a one-hour break in the fighting, during which Herkimer regrouped his militia on the higher ground. He instructed his men to fight in pairs; while one man fired and reloaded, the other waited and then only fired if attacked. They were to keep at least one weapon loaded at all times to reduce the effectiveness of the tomahawk attacks.
  Ranger John Butler took time during the thunderstorm to question some of the captives, and thus learned about the three-cannon signal. Johnson and his reinforcements arrived, and Butler convinced them to turn their coats inside out to disguise themselves as a relief party coming from the fort. When the fighting restarted, Johnson and the rest of his Royal Yorkers joined the battle, but Patriot Captain Jacob Gardinier recognized the face of a Loyalist neighbor. Close combat continued for some time, often hand-to-hand between men who were neighbors.
caption: Monument marking the location of the tree to which Herkimer was taken
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