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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
as “Johnson’s Greens,” and was active and bitter in liis hostility throughout the war.1 Through
the influence of the Johnsons, all of the Five Nations, with the exception of a portion of the Oneidas
and Tuscaroras,2 were attached to the British interests, and were liberally aided by arms and pro¬
visions in their frequent incursions into the frontier settlements under the Butlers and Brant.3
In the summer and fall of 1777, this co., in common with the whole northern and western fron¬
tier, was the scene of great alarm and of stirring military events, produced by the expedition of
Burgoyne. Gen. St. Leger, at the bead of a large body of tories and Indians, was dispatched by
the way of Oswego to reduce the rebel posts and settlements on the Mohawk and join the main
army at Albany. On the 3d of Aug. they laid siege to Fort Schuyler, upon the site of the present
village of Rome. The militia of Montgomery co. were called out, and, under Gen. Herkimer,
marched to the relief of the fort. On the way the bloody battle of Oriskany was fought, in which
200 of the brave patriots of the co. were killed and as many more carried into Indian captivity.4
In tho latter part of the same month, Genls. Arnold and Learned, at the head of 900 troops, marched
up the river, and St. Leger hastily abandoned the siege and fled.5 The destruction of the valley
was thus averted, and for several months the inhabitants were allowed to remain undisturbed, save
by small scalping parties, that hung round the unprotected frontiers and cut off the defenseless
inhabitants.
In the spring of 1778, Gen. La Fayette, accompanied by Gen. Schuyler and Col. Duane, went to
Johnstown and held a conference with a body of Indians, which resulted in a treaty of considerable
subsequent benefit to the settlers.' In the following summer the horrible butcheries at Wyoming,
Harpersfield, German Flats, and Cherry Yalley were perpetrated; and in the summer of 1779 the
army of Gen. Clinton marched from this co. to join Gen. Sullivan’s expedition against the chief
villages and farming grounds of the Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. On the 21st of May, 1780,
Sir John Johnson, at the head of 500 Indians and tories, suddenly made his appearance at Johnson
Hall. He arrived about sunset on Sunday, and, dividing bis force into two parties, at daylight the
next morning he made a simultaneous attack upon Tribes Hill and Caughnawaga. Several persons
were killed and others taken prisoners, and every building upon the route, except those belonging
to tories, was burned. The militia began to collect in considerable numbers, and toward night Sir
John hastily retreated, and safely reached Canada by the way of the wilderness w. of the Adiron¬
dack Mts.6 Near the last of the July succeeding, the militia of the co. were employed to convey a
provision train sent to the relief of Fort Schuyler; and on the 2d of Aug., while they were absent,
.Brant, at the head of 500 Indians and tories, made an attack upon the settlements in the neighbor¬
hood of Fort Plain. Fifty-three dwellings were burned, 16 persons slain, and 60 women and chil¬
dren carried into captivity. Upon the approach of the militia from Johnstown and Schenectady,
the party retreated. On the 15th of the following Oct. a large party of tories, Indians, and Cana¬
dians, under Sir John Johnson, Brant, and Cornplanter, made their appearance in the Mohawk
Yalley, at the mouth of Schoharie Creek, after having laid waste the Schoharie settlements above.
From this point they marched up the valley, burning the houses, destroying the property, and
murdering or taking prisoners all that they met; The militia under Gen. Robert Yan Rensselaer
hastily came together and marched to attack the invaders. On the 18th of Oct., Col. Brown, who
commanded a small stockade fort at Stone Arabia, acting under the order of Yan Rensselaer,
marched out with 150 men to attack the enemy; but, receiving no support from the main army, the
little detachment was soon routed, with the loss of the commander and 30 to 40 men killed. Sir
John halted at Fox’s Mills, about 8 mi. above Fort Hunter, in the town of St. Johnsville, and
erected a temporary breastwork. At a late hour in the day he was attacked by a detachment under
Col. Dubois, and the Indians under his command were defeated.7 The Americans, under Yan
Rensselaer, fell back 3 mi. and encamped; and the next morning, upon marching forward to renew
the attack, they found that the enemy had fled.8 Sir John finally succeeded in making his escape,
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until the close of the war, when the Indians were called upon,
as vanquished enemies, to confirm the surrender of most of
their lands as an atonement for their hostility.
4 There was scarcely a hamlet in the valley that did not lose
one or more of its inhabitants.
6 For further particulars concerning these transactions, see
page 316.
6 The principal object of this incursion was to obtain the
silver plate which had been buried by Sir John on his first hasty
flight from Johnson Hall. The plate was recovered and carried
to Canada in the knapsacks of 60 men.
1 This engagement is known as the battle of “Klocks Field.”
8 Du Bois had nearly gained the victory, when Van Bensselaer
came up and gave orders not to renew the battle until the signal
should be given from headquarters. The forces of the former
were under arms all night, momentarily expecting thg promised |
1
Annals of Tryon Co.; Simms’s Hist. Schoharie Co.; Hough’s
Hist. St. Law. Co.; Dunlap’s Hist, of N. Y.; Benton’s Hist. Herk.
2
Co.
3
About 150 Oneidas and 200 Tuscaroras joined the British.—
4
Annals of Tryon Co.
5
8 The Americans made several efforts to attach the Six Nations
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to their interests, or at least to induce them to remain neutral.
In the winter of 1776-77, Col. Harper was sent to ascertain the
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object of the assembling of a large body of Indians at Oquago, on
the Susquehanna. In the succeeding June, Brant, with a party
of Indians, made a levy upon the settlers of the Unadilla; and
many fled to a place of safety. Gen. Herkimer, at the head of
380 militia, marched to meet him; and on the 27th of June,
1777, a conference was held between the general and the chief, but
8
without producing any definite results. All efforts to propitiate
the Six Nations were then abandoned, and all conferences ceased
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