Raid on Unadilla and Onaquaga The Raid on Unadilla and Onaquaga was a series of military operations by Continental Army forces and New York militia against the Iroquois towns of Unadilla and Onaquaga in what is now upstate New York . In early October 1778 , more than 250 men under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Butler of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment descended on the two towns ( which had been abandoned because of their advance ) and destroyed them , razing most of the buildings and taking or destroying provisions . The raid was executed in retaliation for a series of raids on frontier communities led by Mohawk chief Joseph Brant and British - supported Loyalists during the spring and summer of 1778 . Unadilla was located in what is now the Village of Unadilla , Town of Unadilla , Otsego County , and Onaquaga was located in what is now the Town of Windsor , Broome County . Background . With the failure of British General John Burgoyne ' s campaign to the Hudson after the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777 , the American Revolutionary War in upstate New York became a frontier war . British leaders in the Province of Quebec supported Loyalist and Native American partisan fighters with supplies and armaments . During the winter of 1777 – 78 Mohawk leader Joseph Brant and other British - allied Indians developed plans to attack frontier settlements in New York and Pennsylvania . In February 1778 Brant established a base of operations at Onaquaga ( present - day Windsor , New York ) . He recruited a mix of Iroquois and Loyalists estimated to number between two and three hundred by the time he began his campaign in May . One of his objectives was to acquire provisions for his forces and those of John Butler , who was planning operations in the Susquehanna River valley . Brant began his campaign in late May with a raid on Cobleskill , and raided other frontier communities throughout the summer . The frontier settlers ' response to the raids was generally with impotence . The local militia were supported by some Continental Army regiments stationed in the area , but these forces generally could not muster in time to catch the raiders before they disappeared . New York Governor George Clinton and militia commander Abraham Ten Broeck considered operations against the principal bases in the Iroquois territory used by the raiders , Onaquaga and Unadilla , early in the campaign , but it was not until an attack by Brant on the settlement of German Flatts ( present - day Herkimer ) on September 17 that an expedition was organized . In response to calls from Governor Clinton , General George Washington authorized the use of Continental Army forces , assigning the operation to Lieutenant Colonel William Butler ( no relation to the Loyalist Butlers ) of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment . On September 20 Butler sent scouts to investigate conditions at the two towns . They returned with reports that Unadilla had a population of 300 and Onaquaga 400 . Expedition . On October 2 Butler led a force of 267 men ( 214 Continentals and 53 state militia ) from Fort Schoharie up the Schoharie valley toward the two villages . Late in the day on October 6 the force reached the Unadilla area . Butler sent scouting parties out to take prisoners from outlying farms . As the force cautiously advanced toward the town , one of the scouts returned with a prisoner who reported that the community had been abandoned , with most of the inhabitants fleeing to Onaquaga . Butler detached some of his men to destroy the town while he marched with the rest toward Onaquaga . They reached the town late on October 8 , and found it abandoned also , apparently in great haste . Butler and his men spent the next two days destroying the towns . Butler described Unadilla as " the finest Indian town I ever saw ; on the both sides of the River there was about 40 good houses , Square logs , Shingles & stone Chimneys , good Floors , glass windows & c . " All the homes were burned , as was the town ' s saw and grist mill , which was the only one in the area . Butler reported taking 49 horses and 52 head of cattle , and destroyed 4 , 000 bushels of grain . Operations were complicated by heavy rains that raised the water levels of the Susquehanna ; Butler ' s men had to build rafts to cross some of the river ' s tributaries to reach parts of the town . By October 16 the expedition returned to Schoharie . Aftermath . While the raid was taking place , Brant and his force had been raiding frontier settlements in the upper Delaware River valley . The Indians in his force were especially upset at the destruction of the two towns , a sentiment echoed by Seneca warriors who joined with Brant in the ruins of Unadilla a few days later . This anger contributed to the severity of the actions when a joint British - Seneca - Mohawk force attacked Cherry Valley , and were reported to massacre 30 noncombatants . The severity of the frontier war in 1778 led to calls by the Continental Congress for a response . In 1779 General Washington organized a major Continental Army expedition into the Iroquois lands . Led by Generals John Sullivan and James Clinton , the Sullivan Expedition destroyed villages and crops , driving most of the British - supporting Iroquois out of their lands . Despite its apparent success , the frontier war continued with renewed vigor in the following years .