Battles of New York

35. July 20, 1758-One of the many skirmishes for which the Half-way Brook is noted

37. July 27, 1758--This massacre is probably the most important event which took place at Half-way Brook

73. June 1, 1779-Forts at Verplank's Point and Stony Point captured by British

78. Sept. 30, 1779-Sullivan's Expedition ends with destruction of Indian villages

79. Summer 1779-Raids at Schoharie, Canajoharie, Stone Arabia and Fort Plain

93. Oct. 16, 1780-Sir John Johnson appears at Schoharie, start of great raid on Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys

If we go back to those earlier days, before the white man coming, it is well to remember that permanent Indian habitations in the Mohawk Valley are of very recent date. North of Utica were some obscure hamlets of uncertain age and race, early or recent, but the valley itself otherwise had no settled occupation until the Mohawks came. It was a good hunting ground but not a choice fishing place, and so attracted few of the early aborigines. The first homes of the Mohawks, even, were far from the river, in strong fort, among the hills, They were then hostile to all the Indian, of New York and Canada, and, according to early tradition, often on the defensive and subject to raids. In fact it was a constant struggle far mere existence until they obtained guns. "F"

The Owonagungas settled above Albany, on a branch of the Hudson River, that runs towards Canada, about the year 1672. "D"

The Algonquins pressed them on the north and east, the Andastes or Minques on the south, the early Onondagas and Oneidas were often hostile on the west. They were beset with foes, but Hi-a-wat-hasa plan saved the situation.

As a whole the Iroquois family was large, but had many branches. In its eastward movement the Hurons; and Petuns - the "good Iroquois" of Champlain settled near the Georgian Bay. The Neutrals were on the north shore of Lake Erie, with their eastern boundary at Oak Orchard Creek in New York. The Eries were on the south shore of their lake, and south and west of Eighteen Mile Creek. At a later day the New York Iroquois overthrew all these.

East of the Neutrals were the Senecas and Cayaugas, who may have settled here in the 16th Century. In Jefferson county were the Onondagas of the same period, who built some forts in Onondaga county late in that century, and came there as a body before its close. The Oneidas were also near Ogdensburg, and the Mohawks at Montreal and lower down the river, all seeking the southern hills at the outbreak of the Huron-Algonquin War.

Following invasions of this kind from the north and west came a futile one from the Hudson on the east. As far north as Saratoga that river belonged to the Mahikans on both sides, the Mohawks dwelling west of Albany county. At Albany the Mahikans had a strong fort east of the river-a safe position-and there had been combats undescribed. "F"

With this change of territory jealousies and conflicts came about, and Hi-a-wat-ha planned a union which would insure peace. He failed to persuade his own people, the Onondagas, but De-kan-a-wi-da, the great Mohawk chief, came to his aid and the league was formed. A grand council was to meet yearly for the adjustment of difficulties, every chief in the formative council having a successor in this. The representation was unequal, but each nation had but one vote. These civil chiefs were elected by the women of their clan as they still are. The women could also take initial steps for their removal. General affairs were left to the grand council; local affairs to local bodies. Arbitration was sometimes employed, and then there might be united action in peace or war. The great object of the Konosioni, however, was to insure peace.

"Hiawatha" the chief, of whom the Great Spirit was an ancestor, was the founder of the confederacy of the Five Nations. He devoted his long life to the good of his people and finally was borne in the flesh to the Happy Hunting Ground. The writer is indebted to As-quo-sont-wah, a member of the Onondaga Tribe, an authority on Local Lore, and well known among the white men as Edward Winslow Paige, for an account of the tradition which fixes the home of Hiawatha at Schonowo (Schenectady). Mr. Paige owns the lot at the west end of Union St, on the banks of the Brenekill, upon which the castle and the residence stood. He points out to visitors the existing traces of Indian occupation. "T"

The deep depression through which the Mohawk River runs is one of the remarkable topographical and geological features of the State. At a point two hundred miles from the ocean, where the river is but three hundred feet above sea level, the land rises to the south and the north so rapidly that at a distance of twelve or fourteen miles there are hills three thousand feet high; so that in reality the Mohawk River flows at the bottom of a canyon two thousand or more feet deep and twenty-five miles wide. The immediate valley, however, is very narrow, being nearly closed at two points. This narrow valley that has been cut through the Appalachian Chain by the erosive power of ice and water is of such easy grade that it has always been a highway from the ocean to the interior. The Indians used it time out of mind in war and peace, and the white man saw its advantages and used it for purposes of trade and exploration.

Permanent settlers would have occupied it much sooner, if they had not been held back by the fierce and warlike Mohawks, whose heritage it was, and who looked with no favor upon the white settler. Traders were welcome enough to pass through and to visit their villages, in fact they soon became necessary to supply the many new and artificial wants that the Indians acquired from the white man. But when it came to permanent settlement that was a far different matter, and so for a hundred years they held back the white man, who looked with longing eyes upon the fair flat meadows and noble forests along the river of the Mohawks.

But in the early years of the eighteenth century the Mohawks had become weakened and demoralized by intercourse with unscrupulous white men. They were an astute and intellectual race of savages, but they were no match for the land speculators these wealthy and influential gentlemen of the Province, whose ambition it was to own the earth. Thus it came about that by the year 1770 the Mohawks had parted with all of their land except a few acres around their two villages. Some great tracts they had sold for a low duffies, and strouds and barrel, of beer, and more or less rum, but the most of their beautiful land was taken from them by ways that were dark and tricks that were vain. When they began to led realize this, they were naturally exasperated, and were in a state of mind that made them exceedingly dangerous to the settlers who had by this time occupied the entire length of the valley. The rest of the Iroquois fearing like fate, had insisted that a boundary line should be established, beyond which no white man would dare to go.

In answer to this persistent demand, a great council met at Fort Stanwix, to which thousands came from all the Cantons of the Confederacy, and over which Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, presided. There the usual prolix and interminable talk, in all of which could be discovered the smothered wrath of the Indians against the whites.

But a treaty was finally concluded, a solemn treaty, establishing a line that was to be inviolate forever, binding on the white man and Indian alike. This line defined the western boundary of the Colony of New York; west of that line was the "Territory of the Six Nations". This "Old Boundary line" ran from a point near Deposit, up the Unadilla River to its source, and on a straight line to Fort Bull, near Oneida Lake. It was known as the "Old Treaty Line of 1768", and four years afterward, when Tryon County was formed, it's western bounds were the same. It was conceded and won understood by the colonial government that to the west of this line no settlements could be made, But notwithstanding this solemn agreement, the restless and irresponsible settlers along the border soon began to trespass on the lands west of this line. They hunted and fished; they cut timber and even cleared land and planted crop This increased the animosity of the Indians, and it was only Sir William Johnson's firm and conciliatory policy that kept them from open war.

1. In the year 1609, Champlain determined to accompany his Algonquin Indian friends to the country of the Iroquois in central New York , with which nation the savages of in St. Lawrence were at war. The principal throughfare used a this time to reach the Iroquois lay up the Richelieu River to that magnificent lake that now has the name of its discoverer, Champlain, then southward up Lake George, and across country to the Mohawk Valley. "E"

Champlain's invasion, in 1609, was a raid on the Mohawk Valley in intention, but he met the enemy on the way, fought, conquered and retired. Indians rarely followed up a successful blow. I place the meeting at Ticonderoga from the latitude mentioned, the falls observed, and the probability that the Mohawks came from the direction of Whitehall.

The points of interest, however, are the difference between early and late Indian warfare. On the way, sixty Indians had their places assigned them. A spot was cleared and sticks were produced, one for each man. This rod was tuck in the ground and he stood by it, with his friends around at their stations. Then all dispersed but soon returned, each by his stick as before. This was repeated till fixed in mind. This feature was seen in later combats. Men stood by the sticks they had placed They might advance; they must not retreat, though they often did.

In this case, too, as soon as the foes met, preliminaries were arranged by the leaders of both sides. At the appointed hour they fought openly, in orderly ranks; sometimes having arrow proof helmets, armor and shields. The use of guns soon changed the mode of warfare, as it did the results of this fight. But the Mohawks were quick to learn. As soon as they could, they bought guns at any price, became expert marksmen, and with these gained power, though feeble before. "F"

2. Champlain's inroad of 1615 was in the Oneida country, the key to the Mohawk Valley from the west, the Oneida boundary being then at Little Falls. From the hills which he climbed with his Hurons, all Oneida Lake can be seen with its encircling plains, as well as the upper Mohawk Valley stretching eastward. I have often stood by the shallow pond-now almost dry-where the strong fort extended into the water, and seen the remaining corn pits around. The original Oneida stone and village were but five miles southwest, but a great boulder, fifteen feet long, still lies near the center of the later fort, the oldest now existing of the many Oneida stones. The first has been broken up and removed.

The fort of 1615 defended the valley from invasion on the west, and the Huron host was driven back. The land route followed led from Lake Ontario, across Oneida River and Chittenango Creek, and up the steep hillside to Nichol's pond. A conquering hero, Champlain marched over the forest trail. A helpless man he was borne back. The course of history was changed. "F"

Champlain took a roundabout way through Huronia to Lake Ontario at the Bay of Quinte. Here the party crossed the lake to the month of the Salmon River in Oswego County, where they hid their canoes and began an overland march to the outlet of Oneida Lake. A few miles south of this lake they came upon a fortified town of the Iroquois, situated, in all probability, on Nichol's Pond. Here Champlain proceeded to initiate his foes into the European methods of Warfare. Constructing a small tower, he caused it to be moved forward to the palisade surrounding the Iroquois stronghold, then, ordering a number of archers to mount the structure, he opened fire on the enemy. But the Hurons, unused to such maneuvers, lost their heads and rushed out into the open to carry the place by assault. By this time they fell an easy prey to the weapons of the besiegers, and after a three hour struggle were obliged to retreat. The Hurons, with that change of front so characteristic of the Indians, now became disheartened as they had formerly been eager, and refused to renew the attack unless they received the support of a band of allies they were expecting. For five days they remained in the vicinity of the Iroquois fort, then, seeing no sign of the expected reinforcements, they withdrew, and turned their steps to the spot where they had left their canoes. Oct. 10, 1615. "E"

This was the errand that brought the wily Frenchman (Champlain) to the foot of Lake Ontario in the early fall of 1615, when, accompanied by at least 2500 Indian warriors, he crossed over from the vicinity of Kingston in a southeasterly course to Galloup and Stony islands, and from there proceeded to near the mouth of Stony Creek in the present town of Henderson, where the canoes were concealed in the woods. Champlain then proceeded southward along the shore about ten miles, and then struck inland, threading the forests and crossing the outlet of Oneida Lake, and after a march of four days entered the Iroquois country, where a battle was fought with unfortunate results to Champlain and his allied savages. "S"

3. This action, about 1600, removed one danger from the Mohawk Valley, but did not protect it on the north, east or south. Naturally the Dutch were on good terms with the Mahikans or Loups,who owned the land between the Mohawk and the Hudson River. So when the Mahikans asked aid of the Dutch commander at Fort Orange, in 1625, he gladly consented to go with them, with six men.

A league on the way they met the foe, and the allies were defeated and four of the Dutch slain. This was the only fight between the Mohawks and Dutch. They said they never had harmed the Dutch; why should they meddle with them? The Mahikans soon sold the lands and moved, but racial antipathy remained. "F"

It is beyond question that Tryon county suffered more of the horrors of the Revolutionary War than any section of the Thirteen Colonies. This is apparent to the most casual student of history of that time; but the reasons will not be obvious unless we consider the peculiar topography of the Mohawk Valley, its remoteness as a frontier, its settlers, the great influence of the Johnson family, and the presence of the Mohawk Indians. These were the factors that made the many raids that laid waste to Tryon County, so cruel, unavoidable, and easy of accomplishment. "L"

These savage warriors, with their hapless victims, (Jouges, Couture and Goupil) duly landed where now stands that handsome hostelry, Fort William, Henry Hotel and straightway plunged into the dusky woods and followed the ancient war trail. This trail led from Lake George to the bend in the Hudson a few miles west of Glens Falls, thence southwestward till it struck the Mohawk in the vicinity of Amsterdam. (Chapter III)

As has already been intimated, Schuylerville or rather Old Saratoga, owes its historic importance to its geographical location. In colonial days it was regarded by military men as an important strategic position. From this point important lateral trails diverged from the main one, which ran like a great trunk line up and down the Hudson Valley. These lateral trails started here because at this point two large streams empty into the Hudson; the Battenkill or (Di-an-on-de-howe, in Indian) from the east, and the Fish Creek from the west The one afforded easy access to the Connecticut valley while the other offered ready passage from the north and east over into the valley of the Mohawk. In short, here was a sort of Indian four corners.

Two trails led from the north of Champlain valley into the Mohawk Valley. One started at Ticonderoga, passed through Lake George, thence across country, passing the Hudson not far west of Glens Falls, thence through the town of Moreno and Wilton tuning west through the pass south of Mount McGregor at Stile's Tavern, over near Lake Desolation, southwest through Galway, thence into the Mohawk Valley a little west of Amsterdam. This was called the Kayaderosseras trail. The other started at Whitehall, thence to Fort Edward and down the Hudson to Schuylerville, up Fish Creek to Saratoga Lake, thence up the Kayaderosseras River to the Morningkill thence over a carry into Ballston Lake, over another carry into Eel Creek, and down this into the Mohawk river. This was called the Saratoga trail.

This region was frequently seen and traversed by the white man years before the name Saratoga appeared in printer's ink, or official correspondence. For years prior to 1666, bands from the five Nations or Iroquois, had harassed the French settlements in Canada, at Montreal , Three Rivers and Quebec, murdering and carrying the settlers into captivity. Finally a full regiment of French soldiers was sent to their defense. The French governor Samuel de Rend Sieur de Courcelle, impatient of delay after they came, started out with a force of 600 men and a number of Algonquin Indians as guides to wreck vengeance on the hated savages. Equipped with snow shoes and provisions loaded on toboggans, drawn by mastiff dogs, they started from Quebec on Oct. 29, 1665. They slowly and laboriously made their way south over frozen lakes and wilderness of snow till they arrived at the Hudson about Feb. 1, 1666. Their Indians, failing on account of too much "fire water", missed the Kayaderosseras trail, their intended route, and took the Saratoga trail instead. This brought them down to the mouth of the Fish Creek at Schuylerville up which they went to Saratoga Lake and so on. The 9th of February they discovered to their chagrin that instead of being near the Mohawk castles, or palisaded forts, they were within two miles of the Dutch trading post at Schenectady. Here they fell into an ambush set by the Mohawk Indians and lost eleven men. The Indians fled and gave the alarm. Nearly exhausted from cold and exposure, but receiving some timely succor from the Dutch, they abandoned the enterprise, and hastily retreated by the way they came, down through Old Saratoga and up the Hudson a Lake Champlain. That trip of some 700 miles over a frozen desert, void of human habitation, in the teeth of bowling blizzards and biting cold, was an achievement never excelled before that day. "K"

Names are here confused. The Oneida was then the Onondaga River, some applying the name to Oneida Lake also, Onondaga being better known as Salt Lake. Chittenargo Creek had become the Onondaga boundary, and might be named by some from this. It was also Tuscarora Creek, as leading to that people, and Canaseraga from one of their tours. For them Sir William Johnson had built a fort on the eastern bank, protecting Canaseraga village. I have twice examined the spot, and it was the one chosen by Col. Romer for the proposed Onondaga fort of 1700. This was never built. "F"

4. The most ancient fortification on this island (Long Island) is one on Fort Neck, which was garrisoned by the Indians in 1653, and taken from them by the English, under the command of Capt. John Underhill, during that year. The storming of this fort was the only battle between the English and Indians on this Island. On the subject of this fortification, or these fortifications, for there were more than one of them, Samuel Jones Esq., of Oyster Bay South, on this island addresses a letter to John Pintard Esq., Secretary of the New York Historical Society, enclosing the following memoranda, written by him in the year 1812, (See collection of N.Y.H.S. Vol. 3)

"When this part of Long Island was first settled by the Europeans they found two fortifications in the neighborhood, upon a neck of land, ever since called from that circumstance, Fort Neck. One of them, the remains of which are yet very conspicuous, is on the southernmost point of land on the neck, adjoining the salt meadow. It is nearly, if not exactly square, each side of which is about thirty yards in length. The breastwork or parapet is of earth; and there is a ditch on the outside which appears to have been about six feet wide. The other was on the southernmost point of the Salt Meadow, adjoining the Bay, and consisted of palisades set in the meadow, The tide has worn away the meadow where the fort stood, and the place is now part of the bay and covered with water; but my father has often told me, that in his memory, part of the palisades were standing."

5. Kingston was settled by the Dutch as early as 1663, as appears from an account of troubles between white settlers and the Indians there, and was called Wilywyck-literally Wild Witch, or Indian Witch. The Dutch built a redoubt upon the bank of the creek, near the ancient landing place. The creek was called Redoubt Kill, or Creek and is now known by the corrupted name of Rondout Creek. The Esopus Indians then occupied then occupied the beautiful flats extending from the creek northward nearly to the present town of Saugerties, and becoming dissatisfied with their white neighbors, resolved to destroy them. For this purpose they fell upon the settlement while the men were abroad in the fields, and killed or carried off sixty-five persons. The survivors retreated to the redoubt and he Indians began to erect a stockade near it. A message was sent to Nieu Amsterdam (New York), and Governor Stuyvesant immediately forwarded a body of troops under Martin Crygier, who drove the Indians back to the mountains. During the summer, parties of the Dutch made inroads among the hill fastnesses, destroyed the Indian villages and forts, laid wasted and burned their fields and stores of maize, killed many of their warriors, released twenty-two of the Dutch captives, and captured eleven of the enemy. "A"

7. The following year (1666) deTracy led his band of 1300 men up the Richelieu River, across, Lake Champlain to the Iroquois Country. The Mohawks fled at his approach. Never before had they seen such a powerful array coming down from the north; indeed, it is doubtful if they thought that such a large number of men dwelt in Canada. And as they retreated the French advanced, taking town after town until they reached Andaraque (near modern Fort Hunter), where deTracy issued a proclamation, taking possession of the country in the name of his sovereign. This done, he marched his men back to Quebec with the satisfaction of having taught the savages a lesson they would remember for some time.

6.-7. In DeCoucelle's expedition, Jan. 1666, Indians went only a guides, and DeTracy in Oct had but a hundred Indians with his 1200 Frenchmen. These could hardly be called Indian raids. The latter force, however, destroyed several Mohawk forts, and took formal possession of the land for the King of France. The effect was great and the whole Iroquois League asked for peace.

8.The settlement of Old Saratoga destroyed in King William's war of 1689. "E"

9. Thus it happened that there was a purely Indian raid when 300 Mohicans from New England attacked the Mohawk town of Gandawague, early on the morning of Aug. 18, 1669. The attack was furious, but the fort was strong. Men and women startled from sleep, manned the walls and made sallies till timely aid put the raiders to flight. The Mohawks pursued in canoes and soon had the lead. There foes made an entrenched camp when night came on. It was too strong for assault, and the Mohawks placed an ambush on the trail beyond. Next morning the Mahican vanguard fell into this, but at the camp the fighting lasted all day. In the night the invaders escaped. The place is mentioned in the Schenectady land grant as "Kinquariones, Where the Last Battel was between the Mohawks and the North (River) Indians". It was on the north side of the Mohawk, just above Hoffman's Ferry, and was mainly a hand to hand fight. "Y"

Knowing that the Mohawks suffered greatly by the French and Canadian invasion of 1666, the Mohicans attacked Kahaniaga in Aug. 1669, intent upon recovering their old lands. Chief Kryn and his Mohawk warriors successfully defended Kahaniaga against the Mohicans under Chicataubet. War parties came from the other three Mohawk villages and the Mohicans retreated down the valley to Touareuna (near present Hoffmans Ferry), where they were completely defeated with great losses in one of the bloodiest and most terrific Indian battles of the east. This conflict lasted two days.

10. A French colony had settled in what now is called Pompey, about fourteen miles south of Syracuse, and for three years it prospered, and many converts from the Onondaga tribe were made to the Catholic faith. A company of Spaniards, having been informed of a lake whose bottom was covered with brilliant scales like silver, arrived there, and in a short time the animosities of the respective adventurers caused them to accuse each other to the Indians of foul designs upon the tribes. The Onondagas believed both parties, and determined to rid themselves of such troublesome neighbors. Assisted by the Oneidas and Cayugas, they fell upon the colony on All Saint's day, 1669, and every Frenchman and Spaniard was massacred. "A"

Their forces (the Iroquois) having assembled, they paddled down the Mohawk River in their bark canoes, passed the little frontier village of Schenectady and landed at Eel Place Creek the first of August, 1689. They had decided upon the Saratoga trail. A flotilla of about 250 canoes filled with 1300 plumed and painted warriors the fiercest in the new world. Their descent upon the settlements about Montreal was a thunderbolt out of a clear sky, so unlooked for was it. This was the most dreadful blow sustained, the most terrible event recorded in Canadian history.

12-13. Major Pieter Schuyler with 120 whites and 60 river Indians (Catskills and Schagticokes) left on June 26, 1691. "We continued at Saratoga; foul weather, where we were joined by 15 Mohawks commanded by one Schayavanhoendere." These Mohawks came over the Saratoga trail from Schenectady and were from a party of 95 or more, which later joined the expedition at Ticonderoga. Pieter Schuyler followed the tracks of his brother of the year before, fought and won two battles in one day, Aug. 1st, killed many of the enemy, paralyzed the plans of Frontenac for that year, and returned with a goodly number of prisoners and much glory, and what was of much more consequence at that time, they had won for their fighting qualities, the high esteem and firm allegiance of the Iroquois. The French account of these actions declares that Schuyler's party was practically annihilated. Schuyler reports 37 of his men captured or killed, and 25 wounded out of a force of 260.

11-14-16. In fact he (deTracy), undertook three separate punitive expeditions; the first in 1690, which ended in the massacre and capture of Schenectady; the second in February, 1693, when a large force of French and Indians penetrated the Mohawk country, destroyed the villages and took numerous captives, In 1696 Frontenac undertook an expedition in person against the Onondagas, burnt their villages and destroyed their cornfields, but otherwise inflicted little damage upon them."E"

14. In the burning of Schenectady in 1690 there were 96 Indians with the 114 Frenchmen, and four Indians and seventeen Frenchmen lost their lives, mostly in retreat. I have nothing new to add to its very barbaric features. In Jan. 1693, Frontenac sent 425 Frenchmen and 200 Indians against the Mohawks, and was much displeased when the latter would not kill their prisoners, most of whom escaped. The picturesque and politic old count could be as cruel as any savage. Three Mohawk villages were burned in this raid, but the French nearly starved in the retreat.

15. Count Frontenac, determined to strike a blow in retaliation upon the Mohawk Indians who bad assisted in the attack, accord.ing, in January, 1693, sent a force of six hundred and twenty-five men, including Indians, who passed down over the old trail that led from Lake George to the head of the Hudson above Glens Falls, and from thence through Wilton, Greenfield, and along the brow of the Kay-aderos-se-ra range to the Mohawk Valley. On its return march over this trail, the war party was followed by Maj. Peter Schuyler and his forces, who overtook it in the town of Greenfield or Wilton in Saratoga County. Near the old Indian Pass over the Palmerstown range, on the border of Wilton, almost if not quite in sight of Saratoga Springs, in the month of February 1693, a battle was fought, or rather a series of engagements took place, in which the French loss amounted in all to thirty-three killed and twenty-six wounded.

Fitz John Winthrop leads an unsuccessful raid on Canada July-Aug. 1690, went as far north as Whitehall. Capt. Johannes Schuyler obtained permission to advance and with 40 whites and 100 Indians surprised La Prarie, south of Montreal, killed a number of inhabitants, and took many prisoners. "K"

Early Canadian inroads were mainly by Lake Champlain, sometimes including Lake George, but the progress of trade and settlement brought changes. Till after 1700 the Mohawks had little use for the river above Canajoharie, much preferring the old trail thence over the hills westward. This varied slightly at times, but then led direct to a later Oneida, near Munnaville on Oneida Creek, and then to Onondaga on Butternut Creek. Thence it went over the hills westward, to Skaneateles, Owasco and Cayuga Lakes. It had long been traveled by horses.

From this path Col. Romer, in his survey of 1700, diverged on his return, and took a small side trail to examine the Oneida portage at Rome. This done, he resumed the main trail. With the rounding of Oswego, a little later, the portage became a place of importance. Forts were built and roads made. Trade at once followed the waterways.

In 1671 Fort Frontenac had been founded at Kingston, Canada, but a greater Menace to the Mohawk Valley was the building of La' Presentation at Ogdensburg in 1749. Could the English have gone there earlier they might have blocked the way to Fort Fronlease; the Oswegatchie River already furnished some access to the Mohawk. With his keen military eye Abbe Picquet saw his opportunity. M. DuQuesne said of him that he "was worth more than ten regiments", and he was. A mission in name, it was actually a fort, and a troublesome one at that. This fort was occupied till the end of the old French war, and became an important military base. Expeditions went thence southward, and often there were more captives than warriors there. Trails ran thence to all puts of the Mohawk, but often the old route to and from LaFamme or Salmon river, on Lake Ontario, was preferred. "F"

The many outrages from Canada at last compelled the colonists of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey to unite for an invasion of Canada. A fleet was to attack Quebec, while a formidable army of 1500 was to reduce Montreal. This force rendezvoused at Albany and got under way the fore part of June, 1709. The main body had been proceeded by a force of 300 Dutchmen from Albany and vicinity under Col. Peter Schuyler First this pioneer force built a stockade fort at Stillwater, which Schuyler called Fort Ingoldsby, after the governor; then they moved up to Saratoga and built a similar fort on the east side of the river, evidently to guard the ford which crossed just north of the island over which the bridge and highway to Greenwich now pass.

The next was built at the Great Carrying place (Fort Edward) ,which he named Fort Nicholson and the next at the forks of Wood Creek, which he called at first Queen's Fort, but later, Fort Ann in honor of the reigning English sovereign.

Moreover Col. Schuyler and his pioneers built the "First Military Road", of which we have record in this country. This road began here at Old Saratoga, at the ford no doubt, on the east side of the river and ran up that side of the stream to Fort Edward, thence to Wood creek. It had to be cut most of the way through the primeval forest. The road to Fort Edward has no doubt been practically the same ever since. In 1711 another campaign was organized for the conquest of

Canada, and selected the Lake George mute instead of the Fort Ann and Whitehall. Fort Ann and Fort Nicholson were burned and the expedition retreated to Albany. "F"

18. In early March 1744, Lieut. Herbin at the head of a party of 30 French and Indians struck a blow near Saratoga. They fell upon a detachment of 25 on their way to Albany, killed 6 of them, captured 4 and the remaining fifteen threw away their muskets and took flight. "A"

19. Fort Saratoga built in 1721 (Sept. & Oct.) rebuilt in 1745. Destroyed Nov. 28, 1745 by French and Indians under deCourte- manche and Niverville. In March 1746 Fort Saratoga was rebuilt and named Fort Clinton "K"

20. In 1732 John Henry Lydius purchased from the Indians a large section of the land covering the Great Carrying Place, constructed a Block House and sawmill, and established a Colony which he named Fort Lydius. His settlement was destroyed by the French and Indians on their way to the massacre of Saratoga in 1745. "A"

21. About Oct. 23, 1746 a scouting party of 33 Indians and Frenchmen, under M. Repentigny attacked a wagon train with provisions for the fort between Saratoga and Waterford. "A"

22. From Fort St. Frederic, M. de la Come St. Luc with 20 Frenchmen and 201 Indians of various tribes started against Fort Clinton, June 20, 1747, and attacked the fort on June 23, 1747. Fort Clinton was destroyed by its garrison Oct. 5, 1947. "K"

25. The French pursued the retreating English vigorously, and about noon they were seen approaching in considerable force and regular order, aiming directly toward the center of the British encampment. When within one hundred rods of the breast-works, in the open valley in front of the elevation on which Fort George was afterward built, Dieskau halted and disposed his Indians and Canadians upon the right and left flanks. The regular troops under the immediate command of the baron, attacked the English center, but, having only small arms the effect was trifling. The English reserved their fire until the Indians and Canadians were close upon them, when with sue aim they poured upon them a valley of musket-balls which mowed them down like grass before the scythe. At the same moment a bomb-shell was thrown among them by a howitzer, while two field pieces showered upon them a quantity of grapeshot. The savage allies, and almost as savage colonists greatly terrified, broke and fled to the swamps in the neighborhood. The regulars maintained their ground for some time, but, abandoned by their companions, and terribly galled by the steady fire from the breast-works, at length gave way, and Dieskau attempted a retreat.

26. A raiding party of French and Indians burned houses in Ulster County on Feb. 23, 1756.

27. Thus in March, 1756, M. deLery, with 300 men, came from La Presentation to the Salmon River-not Black-and followed the route later used by the Rome and Watertown railroad, from Pulaski to Fort Bull. That fort he carried by assault, killing all but five of the inmates. He had 256 Frenchmen and 103 Indians, but the latter were of little use. The fort was pillaged and ammunition destroyed by throwing it in the water, where boys still find balls and bullets. The little army went no further.

I have already referred to the building of Fort Newport in 1756. This fort however, for some reason was never occupied. In the inclement weather of March, in the same year that the French under DeLery destroyed Fort Bull after a severe battle, the masonry was blown up and the cannon and cannon balls thrown into the moat surrounding the fort. The brilliant manner in which the sortie was accomplished in the dead of winter was marred by the massacre of the garrison which had bravely refused to surrender.

In 1756 the English forts at the Wood Creek portage of the Mohawk were captured and burned by the French.

28. The summer of 1756 several bloody affrays took place between Fort Edward and Lake George.

30. At Sabbath Day Point in 1756, a small provincial force, pressed by a party of French and Indians, and unable to escape across the lake, made a desperate resistance, and defeated the enemy with considerable slaughter. "A"

31. In March 1757, Chevalier Pierre Francois deVaudreuil, with 1500 French and Indians, made a night attack over the ice against Fort William Henry. It was unsuccessful though they burned everything outside the fort.

32. Montcalm, in Aug. 1757, invested the fort with 6000 men and 2000 Indians. The works were held by 2300 men under Col. Monroe. Finally on Aug. 9, Monroe surrendered to Montcalm, who promised a safe retreat to Fort Edward. They were scarcely outside the wall before the Indians set upon them and massacred a large number of defenseless men, women and children, and carried others into captivity. The fort was never rebuilt.

This village (Palatine Village, "Herkimer") was destroyed by the Canadian French on the 12th of Nov. 1757. Gen. M. deBelletre, with a detachment of 300 Marines, Canadians and Indians, arrived after great fatigue in the vicinity of the Oneida Castle, to which place he sent four warriors, doubtless to make interest with that people, by promising not to war on them and possibly to obtain food. for which they were much straitened. From thence he journeyed to the river Corlear-Mohawk, at the carrying place where it is said he had "the satisfaction of examining five abandoned English forts". He means sites of forts, and doubtless referred to those of Forts Bull and William, and one as intimated elsewhere, as having been commenced between those two forts; but what other two he meant, is not easy to determine, unless it were those destroyed at Oswego. "G"

The settlers had erected five blockhouses to guard the settlement of sixty houses on the north side of the river. (German Flats westward)

A party of 300 French marines, Canadians and Indians commanded by M. de Belletre, marched down the Black river trail to destroy the German Flats frontier settlement. They encamped about opposite Utica on Nov. 11, 1757, and the next day the raiders moved on the first blockhouse, which surrendered after brisk firing on both sides. The other four blockhouses surrendered. Many of the people fled to the ford and to Fort Herkimer across which 100 escaped. Forty men, women and children were killed or murdered and 150 were carried captive to Canada. The greater part of the German Flats farm buildings were burned in this raid and the farm stock killed or driven off. "Y"

34. April 30, 1758, the south side settlement of Palatine (Herkimer) was invaded. "G"

35. July 20, 1758, occurred one of the many skirmishes for which the "Half-way Brook" is noted.

36. The English attack Fort Ticonderoga July 6, 1758, capture the fort on July 26, 1758.

37. East side of Lake George. On July 27, 1757 an English scouting party of 300 lost almost half their number in killed and wounded when attacked by the Indians.

39. About a mile north of Fort Ann is the site of a severe battle between the English and French and Indians in August 1758. "Q"

41. On the south bank of the Mohawk nearly opposite the mouth of West Canada Creek and a half mile from the village of Herkimer, was Fort Kouari, variously known as Hareniger or Herkimer. Fort Herkimer was attacked and captured by French and Indians under Belletre in 1757. (Nov. 12?)

41. The next year M. deBelletre came by the same route, examined several abandoned forts, crossed the river, came near the Palatine village- now Herkimer-and, Nov. 12, took this and five small forts in succession, his most effective weapon being the Indian warwhoop. All feared that Fort Kouari (Bear) or Herkimer, though near, was not taken. The Oneidas had warned the Palatines and some took refuge there. Unfortunately all did not. Severe as the blow was, even the French said the leaders report was exaggerated beyond all reason. This was the last important raid on the valley in the old French war. The forts were soon rebuilt, others added and the French flag no longer waved over Canada. "F"

43. Ogdensburg is near the site of the old French fort generally known as Fort Oswegatchie, but on their (French) maps, as early as 1740 it is called Fort la Presentation, and sometimes La Gallette. This fort was garrisoned by the French during a put of the Seven Years' War, but was taken by the English in 1760, while they were descending the St. Lawrence to attack Montreal. "A"

For more than two hundred years the great deep-worn war paths or traveling trails of the Indian Nations ran to and from its banks. And whether the fleet, moccasined warriors went westward over the Sacandaga trail to the big bend of the Hudson and so on to the Iroquois strongholds, or whether they came to the "Great Carrying Place", at what is now Fort Edward, through Lake Champlain and Wood Creek, or chose the trip through Lake St. Sacrament art the site of the future Glens Falls, down to Albany, or the west, all must cross this stream, ((Hudson) which thus became as familiar to the Adirondack and Iroquois Confederacies, as the alphabet is to us of today. This knowledge so gained was made ample use of in later times in many a bloody ambush, surprise or savage foray. After the defeat of Dieskaw in 1755, and the building of Fort William Henry at Lake George and Fort Edward at the "Great Carrying Place" and "Half-way Brook" became a point of strategic importance, and as a halting place and rendezvous for the passing troops and the convoys of supplies between the two forts, it was noted throughout the northern colonies, as long as the French and Indian War lasted. There was a blockhouse situated on the north side of the brook, and to the west of the plank road leading to the head of Lake George.

It was but natural then that in any war they would seek for revenge against the settlers. If there had been no Revolution, and if there had been no Johnson or Butler, it is probable that the settlers of Tryon County would have been involved in an Indian War, which would, however, have lacked the added horrors of the fratricidal, strife, which were such cruel and disgraceful features of the Revolutionary struggle.

Other enemies that threatened Tryon County came from beyond the lakes. Indians and the French of Canada, and last British troops and Tory Rangers. The Mohawk Valley was the easy road into the heart of New York. This had been so clearly recognized by the Government of the Colony that when Queen Anne's Palatines came to be located, they were pushed up to the most western point in the valley, with the avowed purpose of making them a barrier, a buffer, a protection for Albany and New York. That they were such a protection, and that they took the full force of the frontier strife, was abundantly proved in the French Wars and in the Revolution.

If hostile they formed an important military base westward and on the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers. Canada was now a British province, furnishing another base. Fort Niagara and Fort Oswego were specially troublesome to the Mohawk Valley, and Fort Carleton, a new and strong work, built in '78 was well placed for sudden raids. Its ruins are conspicuous on Burk Island, just below Cape Vincent. The wilderness ad now been well explored, and many trails led thence to all parts of the valley, even Saratoga was accessible from this fort.

Another danger as serious as any, came from the foes in their own household; those whom they called Tories, known to themselves and their admirers as "United Empire Loyalists." About these men much has been said. They were loathed and feared and abhorred by their patriot neighbors, and they have been defended and praised and admired by writers in Canada and even in New York. It suffices for us to know that in cruelty and in deeds of ruthless destruction, they exceeded the Mohawks.

Such then was the situation in the Mohawk Valley when the first rumblings of war were heard. Tryon County extended north of the river a few miles; to the south, it included Cherry Valley, Harpersfield, Newton, Martin and other small outlying settlements east of the old Treaty Line of 1768; but the most thickly settled parts of its five districts of Mohawk Palatine, Canajoharie, Kingsland and German Flats lay immediately on the river along the highways that ran upon its banks. This section of Tryon County was quite thickly settled by a sturdy liberty loving people-Germans, Hollanders, Swiss, English, Scotch. They were mostly farmers, with a few mechanics, doctors, trader's and clergymen.

They differed, as we have seen, about the question of the hour, and this brought disruption into many families but the majority were outspoken in their support of the Patriot cause, and it is well to remember, and to repeat with emphasis, that as early as August, 1774, there was formed in the Palatine District a Committee of Safety, which passed a set of resolutions not exceeded in any of the Thirteen Colonies for force, bravery and devotion to liberty. They were determined they said , "to be free or die." That is was no empty boast was abundantly proved by the results of the war, for at its close there were two thousand widows and orphan children; twelve hundred desolated farms and the smoldering ruins of hundreds of houses, barns, mills and churches. Truly Tryon County had been the buffer that saved Albany, New York and New England.

This first meeting of the Tryon County Committee of Safety antedated by a whole year Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. There were few committees formed at an earlier date and few which passed such stirring resolutions and none formed anywhere whose members so actually took their lives in their hands as did these brave patriots of Tryon County. The loss and suffering they endured is but little known to the general historian; the justice and the credit they deserve has been long withheld, and the graves of most of them are unknown and unmarked. "L"

The Revolutionary war brought another series of raids, very different and yet with a similar mingling of white and red men. The Iroquois had extended southward and westward, and generally favored the royal cause. The presents came from that side and they always had an eye to the main chance. Why should they not? So the most that could be hoped for was their neutrality.

A few rods west of the church was the large stone mansion of the Herkimer family, which was stockaded and called Fort Herkimer. Herkimer village occupies the site of old Fort Herkimer, erected in the early art of the Seven Years War, and known as Fort Dayton during the revolution. "A"

44. Crown Point remained in the quiet possession of the British from 1759 until 1775, when it was surprised and taken by a small body of provincials called "Green Mountain Boys", under Col. Seth Warner. He attempted its capture on the same day that Delaplace surrendered Fort Ticonderoga to Ethan Allen, but was thwarted and driven back by a storm. That was on the 10th of May. The attempt was renewed on the 12th, with success, and the garrison, consisting of only a sergeant and eleven men, were made prisoners without firing a shot. "A"

45. At Sabbath Day Point a party of American militia of Saratoga county had a severe battle with Tories and Indians in 1776. Both were scouting parties, and came upon each other unexpectedly. The Americans repulsed the enemy, and killed and wounded about forty. "A"

46. Aug. 27, 1776, battle of Long Island and escape the next day the American army across the East River to New York. "A"

48. Oct. 11, 1776, battle of Valcour Island, (naval engagement on Lake Champlain.) "A"

50. The next day the whole fleet anchored in Peekskill Bay, and at one o'clock, five hundred men in eight flat-boats, under the command of Col. Bird, landed at Lent's Cove, on the south side of the bay. They had four pieces of light artillery, drawn by the sailors. Gen. M'Dougall retreated to Gallows Hill and vicinity, giving directions for destroying such stores as could not be removed. At the same time, he sent a dispatch to Lt. Col. Willett, at Fort Constitution, to leave a subaltern's command there, and hasten to his assistance. The British held possession of the town until the next day, when a detachment advanced toward the Highlands. These were attacked by Col. Willett, and a smart skirmish ensued. The detachment retreated back to the main body of the enemy, and in the evening, favored by the light of the moon, they all embarked and sailed down the river. Their object, the destruction of the stores was partially accomplished, but not by their own hands. They had nine of their number killed in the skirmish with Willett, and four at the verge of the creek, while attempting to burn some boats. The Americans had one man killed by a cannon shot. Two or three houses were burned, and about forty sheep, furnished by the Tories were carried off. "A"

51. The first important inroad was connected with Burgoyne's campaign. Though well planned this was too poorly equipped for success, though the battle of Oriskany was a terrible blow to all Tryon County. Bravely fought, it brought sorrow to many homes.

Next to this lack of means, his Indian allies were a source of weakness rather than of strength to St. Leger. He intended coming direct from Salmon river to Fort Stanwix, which would have saved time, and he would have found the fort much weaker. But his 250 Mississages were uncontrollable, and he had to go to Oswego to maintain order. There many Mohawks and Senecas joined him.

When this vanguard reached the fort the Indians outnumbered the rest, and he had no trust in their tender mercies. In his last summons to the fort he said he would be powerless to restrain them then or in the valley beyond, if once enraged. They were dangerous allies as others had found. They outnumbered the royal troops and in the ambush at Oriskany they suffered severely. They caused his swift retreat and pillaged his stores.

It is quite possible, had he followed the route proposed or passed the fort and swept down the valley, the expedition might have been successful, but he dared not leave such a work in his rear, though not planning to return. The onward march would have pleased Sir John Johnson well. "T"

The Battle of Oriskany, Aug. 6, 1777, has already been so fully treated that a passing notice is sufficient now. The alert or raid was to have swept the valley from end to end, but was checked at the outset. Its success would have been disastrous. "Y"

52. Capt. McDonald was a noted Scotch Tory, who resided for some time on the Charlotte and had been very active and effective in the Royal cause. Aug. 9, 1777 he appeared on the Schoharie River above Breakabeen with a force of men and "marched up and down the road."

Much evidence points to the year 1777 as the correct date, rather than 1778, the one given by both Campbell and Stone. Each side overestimated the strength of the other. Instead of two hundred men coming from Albany, there was but a very small company. McDonald's force had been incorrectly reported as three hundred. Adam Crysler has been in communication with McDonald for weeks and was a party to his invasion - a brief engagement followed in which some lives were lost, after which the invaders withdrew and went to Oswego.

55. Kingston (or Esopus), being the capital of the state when Sir Henry Clinton gained possession of the forts in the Hudson Highlands, was marked by the conqueror for special vengeance. Having demolished the chevaux-de-frise at Fort Montgomery, the British fleet proceeded up the Hudson; the massive iron chain was not yet stretched across the river at West Point. All impediments being removed, a flying squadron of light frigates, under Sir James Wallace, bearing three thousand six hundred men, under the command of Gen. Vaughan sailed up the river. They were instructed to scatter desolation in their track, and well did they perform their mission. Every vessel upon the river was burned or otherwise destroyed; the houses of known Whigs, such as Henry Livingston, at Poughkeepsie were fired upon from the ships; and small parties, landing from the vessels, desolated neighborhoods with fire and sword. They penetrated as far northward as Kingston, where they landed on the 13th of Oct. The frigates were anchored a little above the present landing on Kingston Point, and a portion of the invaders debarked in the cove north of the steamboat wharf. Another division, in small boats, proceeded to the mouth of Esopus; (now Rondout) Creek, and landed at a place a little northeast of Rondout village, called Ponkhocken Point. The people at the creek fled, affrightened, to Marbletown, seven miles southwest of Kingston, and their houses were destroyed. The two divisions then marched toward the village, one by the upper road and the other by the Esopus Creek Road. Almost every house was laid in ashes, and a large quantity of provisions and stores situated there and at the landing were destroyed. The town then contained between three and four thousand inhabitants, many of whom were wealthy, and most of the houses were built of stone. "A"

57. Sir Henry Clinton, in the meanwhile, made his way toward Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery, with much difficulty, for upon a narrow bank was a strong abatis. This was overcome after much hard fighting, and at about four o'clock both forts were invested by the enemy. Sir Henry Clinton sent a flag, with a summons for both garrisons to surrender prisoners of war within five minutes, or they would all be put to the sword. Lt. Col. Livingston was sent by Gov. Clinton to receive the flag, and to inform the enemy that the Americans were determined to defend the forts to the last. The action was immediately renewed with great vigor on both sides. The British vessels under Commodore Hothain approached within cannon shot of the forts, and opened a desultory fire upon them, and on some American vessels lying above the chevaux-de-frise. The battle continued until twilight, when the superior number of the assailants obliged the patriots at both forts to give way, and attempt a scattered retreat or escape. It was a cloudy evening, and the darkness came on suddenly. This favored the Americans in their flight, and a large proportion of those who escaped the slaughter of the battle made their way to the neighboring mountains in safety. The brothers who commanded the forts escaped. Gen. James Clinton was severely wounded in the thigh by a bayonet, but escaped to the mountains and reached his residence in Orange county, sixteen miles distant, the next day, where he was joined by his brother George, and about two hundred survivors of the battle. "A"

60. In 1778, British and Tories raided Manheim, a German settlement north of Little Falls, carrying off a dozen prisoners.

62. Brant's first hostile movement of consequences, after his return to Oghkwaga, was the destruction of a small settlement at Springfield, at the head of Otsego Lake, ten miles west of Cherry Valley. It was in the month of May 1778. Every house was burned but one, into which the women and children were collected and kept unharmed. The absence of Tories in that expedition and the freedom to act as he pleased on the part of Brant, may account for this humanity. Several men were made captive, and, with considerable property, were carried off to Oghkwaga. "A"

62. In June of this summer (1778), Brant came up with a party, and burned Springfield, carrying away several prisoners. He collected the women and children together into one house, and there left them uninjured-an example which was not always followed by his allies. "B"

63. There was at this time, a little settlement, consisting of only nineteen families, on the Cobleskill Creek, ten miles west of Schoharie Though they had erected no fortifications, they had prepared for defense, by organizing a company of militia, and procuring arms and ammunition. About the middle of May 1778.?, it was reported at a meeting of the militia, that some straggling Indians had been seen in the neighborhood, and a scout of three men, one of whom was suspected of being secretly a royalist, was sent out into the forest. On the return of the scout, they met two Indians near the settlement, who accosting them in friendly terms, and pretending to be hunting, were suffered to pass. The Indians took a circuitous route, and in a short time met them again. The suspected individual had now disappeared, having taken a different path from the settlement. The Indians still pretending friendship one of them familiarly took the musket from one of the men, a knocking out the flint, handed it back The other attempted the same thing but his adversary perceiving his intention, shot him. His companion fled and the men returned to the settlement.

This circumstance, together with a rumor that a large body of Indians were on the march for Schoharie, excited fears that this hill. settlement would be the first object of their revenge. They immediately dispatched a messenger to Schoharie with the intelligence, and directed him to ask for assistance. A part of a company of continental soldiers, under command of Capt. Patrick, was sent the same day to Cobleskill. The next morning a party of Indians were seen to cross the creek and return again to the woods. A small detachment of men were sent in pursuit. These men were soon driven back by a superior force. Capt. Patrick then marched the whole of his little band, and 15 volunteers of the militia, to their support. The Indians were driven back, but soon made a stand, and after firing again retreated. They continued to retreat, disputing the ground at every at every step, evidently increasing in number, until the conflict became exceedingly fierce. Capt. Patrick was at first wounded, and afterward killed, when his men sought safety in flight. The Indians immediately pursued them, and at the same instant the main body, which had been concealed in the thickets, rushed forth, and with deafening yells poured a shower of rifle balls upon the fugitives; their number, as afterward ascertained, was about 300.

The death of Capt. Patrick alone saved his men from entire destruction; in a few moments more they would have been surrounded, and their retreat cut off. The inhabitants of the settlement, as soon as they saw the fugitives emerging from the woods, pursued by the Indians, fled in the opposite direction, and all arrived safe at Schoharie; their escape was favored by the desperate resistance of seven of the soldiers, who, taking possession of a house, fired from the windows, and checked the pursuit of the enemy. The Indians at length succeeded in setting the house on fire, and six of its brave defenders perished in the flames; the other was afterward found a few rods distant, much burned and horribly mutilated, a roll of continental money was put in his hand, as if in derision of the cause which he supported. The enemy set fire to the buildings in the vicinity, and after burying the dead, and mangling the dead bodies of the soldiers, retired without pursuing the fugitives further.

Of the 45 who went out, 21 escaped, 22 were killed, and 2 taken prisoners. The Indians suffered severely, according to the account of the prisoners who afterward returned. They were accompanied by a few Tories, and commanded by a Tory, who took this method to obtain revenge for an unsuccessful attempt to arrest him the previous year; he afterward returned to his former home upon the Charlotte River, and was killed by the celebrated Murphy, who was one of a party sent to bring him into the fort. "B"

63. There was an engagement on the 2nd of July 1778, on the upper branch of the Cobleskill, between a party of regular troops and Schoharie militia, 52 in number, and an 1ndian force of 450 strong. The Americans, commanded by Capt. Christian Brown, were overpowered. Fourteen were killed, 8 wounded, 2 were missing and the remainder escaped. The dwellings were burned, and the horses and cattle, which the victors could not take with them were slaughtered in the fields. "A"

63. The year before this the Indians had suffered severely at Oriskany. Stung by the defeat of their purpose in the upper Mohawk and urged on by the British and by Tory leaders, they became very active in 1778. Cobleskill was the first settlement to suffer. During the next five months Springfield, Wyoming, German Flats and Cherry Valley were laid in ruins.

64. In July 1778, a secluded hamlet called Andrustown, situated about six miles southeast of the German Flats and composed of seven families was destroyed by a party of savages under Brant.

They owned a thousand acres among the hills and pleasant valleys toward the Otsego Lake. "A"

65. Brant, with 300 Tories and 150 Indians, reached the border settlement (German Flats) early in the evening. It was a dark and rainy night, he lay concealed in a ravine near Shoemaker's (where Walter Butler was captured the year before) until daylight, when his warriors were called to duty, and soon swept, like a fierce wind, over the plain. Aug. or Sept. 1778. "A"

65. The raid on German Flats in Aug. 1778, is commonly ascribed to Brant, who was nearby and probably took some part in it. Maj. Cochran called his force 300 loyalists and 152 Indians. The former often wore the Indian garb to inspire fear, and were even more cruel than those they represented. The Canadian Archives, however, say that Garnett , with 40 men, destroyed the place. There was no fighting but the land was left desolate.

65. Sometime in the summer of 1778 (Sept.), the enemy made an incursion into the western part of the county and destroyed the settlement of German Flats. This fine, fertile section of the country was laid waste. About one hundred houses were burned, a few persons were killed or taken but most of the inhabitants escaped. "B"

65. The Indians and Tories found employment in the destruction of Wyoming and Cherry Valley; the valley of the Mohawk, with the exception of an incursion into the German Flats, was unmolested during the summer of 1778. "B"

67. Gen. Grey, with some light infantry and other troops, was sent, at night, to approach Tappan on the west, while a corps from Kuyphausen's division was to approach from the east, and thus, surround and capture not only the sleepers in Baylor's camp, but a body of militia, under Wayne, who were stationed near. Some deserters from the enemy gave the militia timely warning; but Baylor's troops who lay unarmed in barns, were not appraised of the proximity of the enemy. At midnight, Grey approached silently, cut off a sergeant's patrol of twelve men without noise, and completely surprised the troop of horse. Unarmed, and in the power of the enemy, they asked for quarter, but this was inhumanly refused by Grey, who like Tryon, was a famous marauder during the war. On this occasion he gave special orders not to grant any quarter. Many of the soldiers were bayoneted in cold blood. Out of one hundred and four persons, sixty-seven were killed or wounded. Col. Baylor was wounded and made prisoner, and seventy homes were butchered. "A"

70. The next spring Indians from the Susquehanna raided the south side of the valley, and others from Canada assailed Stone Arabia on the north. These were small affairs. 1779.

71. With the destruction of Cherry Valley all hostile movements ceased in Tryon county, and were not resumed until the following spring, when an expedition was sent against the Onondagas by Gen. Clinton. In April he dispatched a portion of the regiments of Cols. Gansevoort and VanSchaick, under the latter officer, against the Onondagas. The party consisted of 558 strong men. Van Schaick was instructed to burn their castle and villages in the Onondaga Valley, destroy all their cattle and other effects, and take as many prisoners as possible. He was further instructed to treat the women that might fall into his hands with all the respect due to chastity. The expedition went down Wood Creek and Oneida Lake and thence up the Oswego River to the point on Onondaga Lake where Salina is now. A thick fog concealed their movements and they had approached to within four or five miles of the valley before they sere discovered. As soon as the first village was attacked, the alarm spread to the others. The people fled to the forests, leaving everything, even their arms behind them. Three villages, consisting of about fifty houses, were destroyed, twelve Indians were killed, and thirty-three were made prisoners. A large quantity of provisions, consisting chiefly of beans and corn, were consumed. The council-house or castle, was not burned, but the swivel in it was spiked. All the horses and cattle in the vicinity were slaughtered; and when the work of destruction was ended, the expedition returned to Fort Schuyler, after an absence of only six days, and without the loss of a man. "A"

72. Following the raid on the Onondaga village, three hundred braves were immediately sent upon the warpath, charged with the vengeance of the nation. Guided by a Tory, they came down fiercely upon the settlement at Cobleskill, murdering, plundering, and burning. The militia turned out to repulse them, but, being led into an ambuscade, a number of them were killed . They fought desperately, and while the militia was thus contending, and beating back the savages, the people fled in safety to Schoharie. Seven of the militia took post in a strong house, which the savages set fire to, and these brave young men all perished in the flames. The whole settlement was then plundered and burned. The patriots lost twenty-two killed and forty-two who were made prisoners. "A"

76. After the Battle of Newtown the work of Sullivan's expedition was that of destruction, The following places were destroyed on 31st. Aug., Middletown, having eight houses, three miles above Newtown; Kanawaholla, with 20 houses, near Elmira; Runonvea, with 30 or 40 houses near Big Flats. Sheoquaga, or Catherine's Town, on the site of the village of Havana, was burned on Sept 1st, 40 houses all well built on Sept. 3rd. a place known as Peach Orchard on the lake shore about 12 miles from Catherine's Town. The next day, Condawhaw, now North Hector, was burned. The following day the troops destroyed Kendaia, or Appletown, a place a few miles north of Condawhaw, 20 houses. On Sept. 7th. Kanedesaga, capitol of the Seneca Nation. Site of present Geneva. In 1756, Sir William Johnson, built a stockaded fort at this place. Col. Harper went about 8 miles down the Seneca River and destroyed Skoi-aso, a place of 18 houses, on the site of Waterloo, Maj. Parr, went 7 miles up the west side of Seneca Lake and destroyed Shenanwaga, a town of 20 houses on Sept 10th he reached Kanandaigua a town of 23 "elegant houses" some of them framed. The next day a march of 14 miles to Haneyaye, 20 houses at the foot of Honeoye Lake, village of Honeoye. Kanaghsaws, also called Adjuton, was reached on the 13th., 18 houses near Conesus Lake and about a mile northwest of Conesus Center. Gathtsegwarohare, a place of 25 houses mostly new, on the east side of Canaseroga Creek, about 2 miles above its junction with the Genesee. It was surrounded by corn fields so extensive it took 2000 men six hours to destroy them. Sept. 15th. arrived at Little Beards Town, or Great Genesee Castle, or Chenanidoanes, 128 houses "most of which were large and elegant" near Cuylersvffle in the town of Leicester. After the destruction of this place, Sullivan began his homeward march.

Col. Butler was detached to pass along the east shore of Cayuga Lake, Sept. 21, he destroyed Choham, a small town at the foot of the lake. The next day he burned Gewauga, now the village of Union Springs. Sept. 22, he reached Cayuga Castle with 15 large, square loghouses on the east shore of the lake. One mile south of the Castle was Upper Cayuga, 14 houses, and a mill. To the northeast was East Cayuga, or Old Town, 13 houses. Chonodote, 14 houses on the east shore, now Aurora, was destroyed on the 24th. Here were great orchards, 1500 peach trees, and many apple trees. On the 21st. Col. Dearborn, was detached to lay waste to the country on the west side of Lake Cayuga, He burned six small towns. One in Fayette, four miles from the lake; a second a mile north of Canoga Creek; a third on the south bank of Cayuga Creek, one half mile northeast of Canoga village; the fourth a mile south of the last place; the fifth in the northeast comer of the town of Romulus; and the sixth three miles from the head of the lake on Cayuga inlet. Forty Indian villages had been burned, 200,000 bushels of corn destroyed, the sands of fruit trees cut or girdled, all gardens laid waste, and all horses and cattle and hogs killed. "R"

78. Sullivan's expedition was made up of three brigades, the first consisting of four New Jersey regiments under the command of Gen. William Maxwell. The New Jersey troops marched from Elizabethtown, N. J. to Easton, where they were joined by Gen. Enochs Poor's brigade made up of three New Hampshire and one Massachusetts regiment. The New Hampshire troops marched from Soldier's Fortune on the Hudson, about six miles above Peekskill, to Easton, crossing the Hudson at Fishkill and marching from Newburg to the New Jersey line, passing thru New Windsor, Bethleham, Bloominggrove Church, Chester, Warwick and Hardiston, a distance of 38 miles. All the places named are in the county of Orange. From Hardiston the troops crossed into New Jersey, and marched to Easton, fifty-eight miles, further on.

On Aug. 9, 1779, the dam was cut and Clinton embarked an his passage down river. Ouleout, a Scotch Tory settlement on the east side of the Susquehanna, five miles above the present village of Unadilla; Conihunto, an Indian town 14 miles below Unadilla on the west side of the river. Unadilla, at the junction of the Unadilla and Susquehanna Rivers, Onoquaga, an Indian town situated on both sides of the river about 20 miles below Unadilla, Shawhiangto, a Tuscarora village near the present village of Windsor, Broome county; Ingaren, a Tuscarora hamlet where is now the village of Great Bend; Otsiningo, sometimes called Zeringe, near the site of the present village of Chenango; Chenango, on the Cherrango River, 4 miles north of Binghamton; Choconut, on the south side of the Susquehanna, at the site of the present village of Vestal, in Broome county; Owegy, or Owagea, on the Oswego Creek about a mile above its mouth, and Mauckatawangum, near Barton.

79. While this expedition was in progress, scalping parties appeared at the different points in the lower section of the Mohawk, and the settlements were menaced with the fate of Cherry Valley.

On the south side of the Mohawk a party fell upon the Canajoharie settlement, took three prisoners, captured some horses, and drove the People to Fort Plain. On the same day another party attacked a small settlement at Stone Arabia, burned some houses, and killed several people. A party of Senecas appeared at Schoharie on the same day, drove the people to the fort plundered the houses, and carried away two men prisoners. These simultaneous attacks were part of a plan for cutting off the settlement in detail. The Indians on the south of the Mohawk were from the Seneca country, and those on the, north from Canada, both, doubtless, advanced parties of larger forces. "A"

80. On Sept. 5 1779 the Continental troops capture the British stronghold at Lloyd's Neck. "D"

81. The British post of Fort George, at South Bay, on Smith's Manor was captured by the American forces under Maj. Tallmadge, on Nov. 23, 1779. The American forces also destroyed the British stores at Coram, on the same day. "D"

In May 1780, Capt. Crawford, with 3 officers and 71 Indians, left Fort Carleton for the Mohawk river in high spirits, and was joined by 105 soldiers. The Onondagas and Cayugas, however, refused to go anywhere but to Fort Stanwix and the party returned.

That month Brant brought in ten prisoners and four scalps, and the Canadian Archives add: "They have been bringing prisoners and scalps all winter." We are left to conjecture the reason for bringing in the latter. Incursions never ceased, but parties were usually small, mere scalp hunters.

Col. Stone thought the burning of the Oneida fort and village was early in this year, but could get no date. Under that of Aug. 11, at Niagara, the Archives speak of "Brant's success on the Mohawk; destroyed the Oneida village and fort; recently destroyed a rich settlement and two small forts, about 100 houses, etc. Brant thinks it the finest opportunity to destroy Fort Stanwix."

87. Nothing more was heard of the enemy until Sunday night the 21st. of May, 1780, when Sir John Johnson, at the head of about five hundred troops, British, Indians and Tories, entered Johnstown settlements from the expected northern route.

87. About midnight on Sunday, 21 of May, 1780, Sir John, with a force of 500 Tories and Indians, who had penetrated the country from Crown Point to the Sacandaga River, appeared at Johnson Hall without being seen by any but his friends. His forces were divided into two detachments, and between midnight and dawn he began to devastate the settlement by burning every building, except those which belonged to Tories. One division was sent around an easterly course, so as to strike the Mohawk at Tribes Hill, below Caughnawaga (Fonda), whence it was ordered to proceed up the valley, destroy Caughnawaga, and form a junction with the other division at the mouth of the Cayudutta Creek. This march was performed; many buildings were burned and several lives were sacrificed. Sir John, in the meanwhile, at the head of one division, proceeded through the village of Johnstown unobserved by the sentinels at the small picketed fort there, and before daylight was at the hall, once his own, where he secured two prisoners. "A"

Towards sunset with his prisoners slaves and much booty, he directed his course inwards the Sacandaga.

He kept upon the Indian paths through the wilderness west of the Adirondack Mountains, an escaped. "A"

87. A raid had already taken place in May, 1780 Sir John Johnson coming to his old home by way of Lake Champlain, with 500 men, perhaps one-fourth Indians. The usual barbarities followed, though the baronet showed some slight consideration for a very few old friends. At this time Jacob Sammons was made a prisoner, and had a pathetic tale to tell after his escape Later he became an efficient officer in the valley warfare. He died in Syracuse, Nov. 2, 1815, and I have often seen his grave. His son was in the War of 1812, and a later descendant served in our Civil War".

Receiving timely notice of this, from his (Sir John's) tory friends in Albany, he hastily assembled a large number of his tenants and others, and prepared for a retreat, which he successfully accomplished, taking to the woods and avoiding the route of Lake Champlain, from fear of falling into the hands of the Continentals, supposed to be assembled in that direction, he struck deeper into the woods, by way of the head waters of the Hudson and descended the Raquette River to Canada.

In August following, Maj. Ross and Walter Butler came from Canada by the way of Sacandaga to Johnstown, with 607 men - 477 British and Tories, and 130 Indians. They encamped on the elevated ground a little to the north of Johnson Hall. "B"

89. This place (Fort Plain) was included in the Canajoharie settlement, and in 1780 felt severely the vengeance of the Tories and Indians, inflicted in return for the terrible desolation wrought by an army under Sullivan, the previous year, in the Indian country west of the white settlements. The whole region on the south side of the Mohawk, for several miles in this vicinity, was laid waste. The approach of the dreaded Thayendanegea along the Canajoharie Creek, with about 500 Indiana and Tories, to attack the settlements at Fort Plain, was announced to the people, then engaged in their harvest fields by a woman who fired a cannon at the Fort, Aug. 2, 1780. Fifly-three dwellings and as many barns were burned 16 slain, and between 50 and 60 chiefly women and children made captive. "A"

90. As early as Aug. 1780, Crysler, according to his own official report, led a party of Oquaga Indians into "Vroman's land took five scalps, two prisoners and burnt some houses and barns". The upper settlement had not recovered from this blow when in Oct. of the same year the main incursion of all this period was made.

91. A party of Tories and Indians in 1780 joined in an expedition to destroy the mills, (Ellis's at Little Falls) and thus cut the supply of flour for the Whig garrisons. They made a stealthy descent, under the cover of the night. The mill was garrisoned by about a dozen men but so sudden and unexpected was the attack, that only a few shots were exchanged, and one man killed, before its defenders fled for safety. "A"

On the 24th, many of the homeless Oneidas came to Niagara, about 500 being then on the royal side. Under date of Aug. 14, beside Brant's attack on Oneida town, there follows, "his proceedings on the Mohawk River, where they burned 100 houses, 2 mills, 1 church and 2 forts; took 300 cattle, 200 horses, besides sheep, etc.; and 45 prisoners and killed." The raiders sometimes ate all the cattle.

At this time 100 Oneida warriors joined Brant in his raid. That chief also burned 20 houses in Schoharie and near Norman's Kill, taking and killing 12 persons. He had shrewdly circulated rumors that he would attack Fort Stanwix, and it was reinforced. When his foes were assembled there, he passed around them and fell on the defenseless settlements near Canajoharie and Fort Plain. Capt. Nellis took Plitt in this raid and also those Oneidas, though a few of the latter still adhere to the Americans. These were placed near Schenectady, and Brant planned to destroy them but failed to do so. "F"

"Sir,-I here send you an account of the fate of our district. On the second day of this inst., Joseph Brant, at the head of about four or five hundred Indians and Tories, broke in upon the settlements, laid the best part of the district in ashes, and killed sixteen of the inhabitants that we have found; took between fifty and sixty prisoners, mostly women and children, twelve of whom they have sent back. They have killed and drove away with them upwards of three hundred head of cattle and horses; have burnt fifty-three dwelling houses, beside some out houses, and as many barns, one very elegant church, and one grist-mill, and two small forts that the women fled out of. They have burnt all the inhabitant's weapons and implements for husbandry, so that they are left in a miserable condition. They have nothing left to support themselves, but what grain they had growing, and that they cannot get saved for want of tools to work with, and very few to be got here. (Part of a letter from Col. Samuel Clyde to Gov. George Clinton.)

In Aug. 1780 a party of seventy-three Indians and five Tories, commanded by Brant, suddenly swept down the valley and attacked the Upper Fort. "W"

92. Carleton's Raid was undertaken in the autumn of 1780 in accordance with the policy of the British to harass and devastate the colonies at every possible point. Maj. Carleton, with a considerable force of Regulars, Tories and Indians, set out from Canada and proceeded up Lake Champlain to Crown Point and Ticonderoga. He captured and burned Fort Ann and sent out marauding parties in the direction of Fort Edward. He marched across country to the head of Lake George, took possession of Fort George, and captured and burned Fort Amherst, which stood near Half-Way Brook,' just outside the City of Glens Falls. A portion of his force had been dispatched to advance through the wilderness and attack Schenectady but they contented themselves with the devastating the settlement of Ballston."

93. Oct. 17, 1780, Sir John Johnson and Brant, with one thousand British, Indians and Tories attacked the Middle Fort. "W"

93 In the fall of 1780 the enemy, about 800 strong, under Sir John Johnson, made preparations for destroying the Schoharie and the Mohawk Valleys. The forces consisting of British regulars, loyalists, and Tories, assembled on the Tioga, and marched thence up along the eastern branch of the Susquehanna, and crossed thence to Schoharie. Col. Harper, with a small body of troops annoyed them on their march, watched their movements, and gave notice of their approach. On the 16th of Oct., they encamped four miles from the Upper Fort. "B"

93. The plan agreed upon by the invaders was to proceed along the Charlotte River, the east branch of the Susquehanna, to."it's source, thence across to the head of the Schoharie, sweep all the settlements along it's course to it's junction with the Mohawk.

93. Having executed his mission in Schoharie so far as he found it practicable, Sir John Johnson encamped for the night near Harman Sidneys, the present residence of John C. Van Vechten, nearly six miles north of the Lower Fort. - In the morning Col. Johnson sank his mortar and shells in a morass, and directed his course to Fort Hunter.

93. A more formidable raid came early in Oct., from the west. Sir John Johnson left Oswego with 500 troops and some Indians , and was on the Onondaga River-now Oneida-on the 6th, Capt. Nellis joined him there. At Unadilla, Cornplanter was waiting, with a large body of Senecas and others, eager to avenge the desolation of Sullivan's campaign in '79. Thoroughly did they do this, suddenly entering the Schoharie valley from the south. Beside other devastation Sir John said they destroyed, in this and the Mohawk Valley, 600,000 bushels of grain. Their conduct was highly praised. The Senecas were then the most barbarous of the Five Nations, and had seen most of their own villages burned and the crops destroyed the year before. Naturally they were ready for thorough work, but the forts escaped.

It was in this raid that Col. Brown fell at Stone Arabia with many of his men. He occupied Fort Paris and sallied forth to attack the raiders, but his 150 men were too few. Nearly a third were killed, the rest escaped by flight. An inscribed boulder marks the spot. Oct. 19, 1780.

Collecting a few loyalists and leaving desolation behind, Sir John was now in full retreat up the Mohawk Valley, closely pursued. The battle at Klocks Field followed (At the eastern boundary of St. Johnsville). A little more dash and promptness on the part of his pursuers would have overwhelmed him, but many reverses had taught caution. The golden moment passed, and he went off triumphant to his boats. "F"

Near this Sir John had moored his boats, which Capt. Vrooman was sent to destroy. Ill luck attended him. According to the records of Fort Stanwix and others, he was surprised and captured on the way, so that the boats were unharmed. A more popular story is that he occupied the fort and destroyed some boats, but was surprised there by Johnson, and his party made prisoners. The destruction of boats came later. "F"

David Ogden's account of his own capture by raiders in March 1781, shows characteristic Indian humor. It was an old Indian custom to leave some record of results. The snow was three feet deep, and Brant took the shoe buckles of his sixteen prisoners, arranging them in pairs by the path to show the number. Winter was no hindrance to attacks, and they soon met a band of 50 loyalists and 100 Indians. The squaws feasted them on succotash. At the burned Oneida village they dug unhusked corn from the snow, and prepared it for the long journey to Niagara. "F"

94. The day after the destruction of Schoharie, a party of 18 Indians and 3 Tories, led by Seths Henry and Philip Crysler, killed and scalped Michael Marckley and his niece, Catherine. Oct. 18, 1780. "M"

96. On the 2nd. of March, 1781, Brant attacked wood choppers at Fort Schuyler, retreated southwest from Utica. "D"

In May 1781, Fort Starmix, being almost ruined, was burned and evacuated, leaving Fort Herkimer and Fort Dayton on the frontier. Col. Willett was in command in the valley, and made his head quarters at Fort Rensselaer, a quaint building still standing in the village of Canajoharie.

Following the attack on Currytown in June, by a large Indian party, came their defeat by Willett, with great loss to the Indians. Affairs were now more hopeful, though an attack on Palatine soon followed, with others at German Flats. The many fortified houses, after called forts, enabled many to maintain a hold on their lands, in the face of constant attacks. "F"

During the early part of the summer of 1781, a constant warfare was carried on in the vicinity of the forts; small parties of Indians hovered about Fort Plain, and cut off every soldier or inhabitant who was so careless as to stray beyond its walls. "B"

99. On the 9th. of July, 1781 nearly 500 Indians, and a few Loyalists, commanded by a Tory named Doxtader, attacked the settlement of Currytown, murdered several of the inhabitants, and carried others away prisoners. The house of Henry Lewis was picked and used for a fort. The settlers, unsuspicious of danger, were generally at work in their fields, when the enemy fell upon them. It was toward noon when they emerged stealthily from the forest, and with torch and tomahawk commenced the work of destruction. "A"

101. About the first of September, 1781, a party of twenty or thirty of the enemy, mostly Indians, by whom I have not been able to learn, entered the lower part of the Cobleskill settlement which took in that part of the town now known as Cobleskill village or The Churches. - The enemy then disappeared pursing the usual southwest route to Niagara. "D"

102. The great raid of '81 was that of Ross and Butler in October, with 700 men, of whom 130 were Indians. It was organized at Fort Carleton, but Maj. Ross said the "promised succor of the Indians is a mere illusion; they us the refuse of different tribes with no leader."

The route was from Fort Carleton to Oswego by water; thence to Oneida and Chittenango Creek as usual. The boats were left at the old Canaseraga fort under guard. The party passed Fort Rensselaer unobserved, reaching and destroying Warrensburg near Schoharie Creek, where both sides of the Mohawk were ravaged.

Col. Willett reached Fort Hunter next morning, but the raiders were then at Johnstown, whither he followed. It was a varied contest there as regards success, but he followed up the final retreat. A party was then sent to Canaseraga to destroy the boats, but failed to do this, though the retreat in that direction was cut off. Thus the raiders fled up West Canada Creek, the nearest route to Fort Carleton, though difficult. For up this valley, on the west side Capt Walter N Butler was killed by an Oneida Indian. Brought up in the valley he had been one of its worst enemies. Others fell, but most of the raiders escaped. Col. Willett returned down the creek to Fort Dayton near its mouth, and thence to headquarters.

The guard remained with the boats for a reasonable time, but at Fort Carleton, Nov 22 Maj. Ross wrote of the "safe arrival of the parties and prisoners left at Canaseraga; destruction of old bateaux left there; they had merely been patched up for the expedition; the good ones are all at the Island and Niagara." He also spoke of "the humanity of the expedition, nor did the Indians hurt a woman or child." They bad little time for this, but his opinion of them had improved.

In the popular mind the two boat expeditions are confused, and so a strong belief was there that Sir John's treasure was sunk in the boats, that I have seen coffer dams built to raise or search some of them. This was a little below the old fort. Not long since treasure seekers often dug by night in the adjacent fields, looking for Sir John's money. "F"

101. On the 24th of Oct. 1781, Maj. Ross and Walter Butler at the head of about one thousand troops consisting of regulars, Indians and Tories, approached the settlement (Johnstown) so stealthily that they reached Warren Bush (not far from the place where Sir Peter Warren made his first settlement,' and the place of residence of Sir William Johnson on his arrival in America) without their approach being suspected. The settlement was broken into so suddenly that the people had no chance for escape. Many were killed and their houses plundered and destroyed. As soon as Col. Willett, then stationed at Fort Rensselaer, was informed of this incursion, he marched with about 400 men, for Fort Hunter, on the Mohawk. Col. Rowley, of Mass. with a part of his force, consisting of Tryon County Militia, was sent round to fall upon the enemy in the rear, while Willett should attack them in front. The belligerents met a short distance above Johnson Hall, and a battle immediately ensued. The militia under Willett soon gave way, and fled in great confusion to the stone church in the village; and the enemy would have had an easy victory - had not Rowley emerged from the woods at that moment, and fallen upon their rear. It was then four o'clock in the afternoon, and the fight was kept up with bravery on both sides until dark, when the enemy retreated, or rather fled in great disorder, to the woods. During the engagement and while Rowley was keeping the enemy at bay Willett succeeded in rallying the militia, who returned to the fight. The Americans lost about forty killed and wounded. The enemy had about the same number killed, and fifty made prisoners. "A"

101. On the afternoon of Oct. 24, 1781, a body of the enemy, consisting of nearly seven hundred British and Royalist troops and Indians, under Maj. Ross, who was accompanied in the expedition by Maj. Walter Butler, of Cherry Valley memory, entered the Mohawk river settlements, making their first appearance in Currytown. Passing through that ill-starred place, which had been pretty effectually destroyed the preceding July, they avoided the little fort and did not fire the buildings then standing, from fear of frustrating part of their enterprise. "A"

102. Col. Willett moved from Fort Plain with about 300 levies. On the 22 of Aug. he determined to attack the enemy in their camp. He detached 100 men under Col. Harper to make a circuit through the woods and fall upon the enemy's rear while he should attack them in front. A short distance from the Hall, Col. Willett was met by Ross with all his force, and his men on the first fire gave way and retreated. Willett endeavored to rally them at the Hall, but failed. At the village he succeeded in stopping them. Here he was joined to by 200 militia just arrived. The detachment under Harper gained the rear, and now opened fire upon the enemy. The attack was now renewed by Col. Willett, and the enemy was finally driven from their ground with loss. Thirteen Americans and seventeen British and Indians were killed. "B"

"I have had the pleasure of exploring West Canada Creek with Mr. Pierpont White, of Utica, N. Y., seeking the point between what new Ohio City and Russia, above the junction with the Black River, where the action is believed to have occurred. There are two possible fords which may have been used but local opinion inclines, and I believe it to be correct, to the ford known to local fishermen as Hess's Rift. To a certain degree, dams and reservoirs have changed the look of West Canada Creek since the Revolution. It is a mistake to think of it only as a creek. It is a deep brown flood-like, "Is here rolling rapidly".

The action referred to above was on the West Canada Creek where Walter Butler was slain. Sometimes called Butler's Ford.

This was the last important raid in the valley. Great or small they accomplished no great end, and were usually scenes of useless bloodshed and destruction. In early days DeTracy's inroad did bring peace, and the siege of Fort Stanwix was part of a great and shrewd plan. Yet the Americans' attack on the Onondaga towns had decidedly barbarous features, and Sullivan's campaign might have rivaled any Indian raid in the Mohawk Valley, had not the Indians kept out of sight. The ravaged fields and burned towns were alike in kind. No wonder the Senecas called Washington, Ha-no-da-ga-ne-ara, (Town Destroyer), still the name of every president of the United States. "F"

105. About the first of November, 1781, a party of the enemy under Joseph Brant, and Capt. Adam Crysler, a former resident of that vicinity, entered Vrooman's Land in the early morning, near the residence of Peter Vrooman. "D"

106. Late in 1781 a small party of Tories from New Rhinebeck, whose fields and dwellings had frequently been drawn upon by the militia and citizens of Cobleskill, retaliated by entering the latter settlement at an opportune time and burning buildings, driving away cattle, taking prisoners and killing at least one person. As late as July 26, 1782, Tories and Indians made an attack upon the inhabitants of Fox's Creek.

107. In June 1782, an Indian War party came to little Falls and attacked and burned Daniel Petrie's mill and dwelling. Petrie was killed and several soldiers and farmers in the mill were captured and taken to Canada.

109. On the morning of July 26th 1782 the Tory captain, Adam Crysler, accompanied by his brother William, appeared at Foxes Creek Valley. They had tarried the preceding night, as was believed, at the dwelling of a Tory in the vicinity, whose family and property were left unmolested. Early in the morning the destructives approached the house of Jacob Zimmer, which was one of the first stone dwellings in the Schoharie county. "D"

110. A number of families had early settled along the Westkill, a stream flowing into the Cobleskill, and when the war broke out were living in quiet enjoyment of the fruits of their arduous labor. Three times the settlement was visited by small hands of the enemy. On one occasion all the members of the Hynds family were carried away, and it was several days before the other inhabitants knew of it.

There is no absolute proof that in the later incursions scalps and prisoners were paid for at so much a head, but that there was an object in taking and bringing them in cannot be denied. With the early Indian, scalps were the only evidence of his prowess. The French and English colonists commercialized the custom by their offers. Taught by them the Indians thought less of the honorable trophy than of the goods it would buy. He hunted scalps as he hunted beaver.

Col. Frazer wrote to Gov. Haldimand, asking "that a stop be put to the conduct of the Indians in keeping prisoners. Their brutal behavior, if known, would create more enemies than he could collect of useful allies among the Indians". This was a great disadvantage. Besides all this they were enormously expensive, a feature often mentioned. They were now excellent judges of goods and ornaments, and demanded and had the very best.

It is of interest to know how many Indians were employed in this local warfare. In August, 1783, Capt. Dalton reported, in round numbers, the New York Iroquois who fought on the British side as 300 Mohawks, 150 Oneidas, 230 Cayugas, 200 Onondagas, 400 Senecas and 200 Tuscaroras. Some of the estimates are too high, but that of the Senecas is too low. The total seems fair, but does not include the western and Canadian Indians. These, with the Senecas, were the most savage of all. The latter were mostly employed against Pennsylvania.

Usually from 500 to 1000 Indians were in the field, and Col. Guy Johnson said he alone secured the services of 1500 warriors. It was not uncommon to have 500 in the Mohawk Valley or neighborhood. In July, '82, Brant started for that region with an infantry company and 460 Indians. Of this, little is known beyond the significant words of Maj. Ross, that Brant was "doubtful of success because of the divided state of the Indians." Most were held fast only by liberal pay.

Aiding more or less in these raids were the Loyalist companies mentioned in the Canadian Archives, and the Royal Highland Emigrants, King's Royal Regiment of New York, Sir John Johnson's Battalions, Royal Americans and Royal Yorkers, King's Loyal Americans, Peter's Corps and Jessup's, and of Rangers, Butler's, King's McAlpin's, Rogers, and Fraser's, some of these sharing in the valley warfare.

In all the wanton cruelty shown by white and red men alike, better things sometimes appeared on which I have no time to dwell now. Unfortunately these were exceptional, for the warfare was of a primitive type. It was war to the knife. We have fallen on better times, in a favored land, but all share not our peace. Let us be thankful for the good land given us; for the fair and peaceful valley in which we meet today, but in which, also, men of many nations have fought. It is well to recall the past, but in doing this, let us be thankful that we do not live in the good old days. "F"

From 1775 to 1783, Long Island and the Champlain, Hudson and Mohawk Valleys furnished the battlefields for the 92 recorded conflicts that occurred in the State. Twenty-seven of these conflicts took place in 1777 and twenty-one in 1776. The entire eight year period was one of continuous conflict for these valleys New York furnished the greater number of battlefields for both the French and Indian War as well as the Revolution.

The treaty of Tawasentha in 1618, between the Dutch and Iroquois at Normans Kill, near Albany, in effect permitted the Dutch to acquire land title from the Mohican and River Tribes of Indians, who were subject tribes of the Iroquois. As time passed from this first Indian treaty as made by the Dutch, it was assumed by the English, and was ratified 39 times between 1618 and 1779, when General Sullivan's raid broke the strength of the Confederacy. "X"

These conditions held for 179 years our early settlements to Long Island, The Mohawk, Champlain and Hudson River valleys, while the ancestral homes of the Iroquois occupies the balance of the present area of the State and this occupation provides the chief reason why the New York State's part in the colonial and Revolutionary is not better known. "X"

Albany (1617) next to Jamestown, Va. (1607) and St. Augustine, Fla. (1566), is the oldest settlement in the Union. If the 13 Colonies only are included, and if Jamestown is thrown out, as deserted in 1676, it may perhaps be called the oldest with a continuous life though its actual settlement (1623) as a residence is later than Plymouth, Mass. (1620).

FORT AMHERST: was on the south bank of the Half-way Brook and a few rods east of the old military road. Local tradition has it that the block house on the opposite side of the brook, was then rebuilt, enlarged and strengthened. Fort Amherst used as a fortified camp in 1757-58. The fort was erected in 1759. It was occupied by the forces of Baron Riedesel in the Burgoyne Campaign of 1777 It was burned in 1780 in the Carleton Raid at the time of the Northern Invasion.

FORT AMSTERDAM: The fort was built of Holland brick, and was finished in 1635. It stood on high ground, southeast of the Bowling Green, and was capacious enough to contain the governor's house, a small church, and to accommodate three hundred soldiers. On its surrender to the English, it was called Fort James; during the Dutch occupation again, in 1673, it was called Fort William Hendrick; then again Fort James; on the accession of William and Mary, it was called Fort Orange; and finally it was named Fort George, when Anne, who married Prince George of Denmark, ascended the English throne. It retained that time until it was demolished in 1790-91.

FORT ANN: erected by Gen. Nicholson in 1757, two years after the construction of Fort Edward.

FORT BLUNDER: name for a time of Fort Montgomery, one mile north of Rouse's Point.

BURNET'S FORT: A small fort built by Gov. Burnet at Oswego in 1727. From that time until 1755, the English had undisturbed possession of Burnet's Fort, and kept it garrisoned by a Lieutenant and twenty-five men.

FORT CANAJOHARIE: on the south bank of the Mohawk River nearly opposite the mouth of East Canada Creek. French and Indian War post, 1756-1760. Was built to protect the river ford at this point.

FORT CARILLON: the first fort built on the promontory which so perfectly commands the southern extremity of Lake Champlain, was erected by the French in 1151 to prevent the English from entering Canada.

FORT CHAMBLY: at the foot of the Falls of Chambly, in the present valley of Chambly, by Capt. De Chambly of Carignan-Salieries Regiment in 1644. A French fort built as a base for their expeditions against the Iroquois.

FORT CLINTON: was Fort Saratoga, as it was rebuilt a year after the Saratoga Massacre of Nov. 16, 1745. Was abandoned in the fall of 1747.

FORT CLINTON: situated on the west bank of the Hudson nearly opposite Anthony's Nose and south of Fort Montgomery.

FORT CLYDE: It was a military post situated on the farm of Henry H. Nellis, still owned by his descendants, in Freysbush. It was on elevated ground, affording a fine prospect, and was about three miles southeast of Fort Plain, as the road then ran. It was not unlike the original plan of Fort Plain, being a palisaded enclosure with block-house corners. It has one or two cannon, and is believed to have been built about 1777.

COCK HILL FORT: on the east bank of the Hudson at the mouth of the Harlem River.

FORT CROWN POINT: originally an English trading station but about 1731, the French erected a fort, called Fort St. Frederic. The French held this fort until 1759, when the garrison, with that of Fort Ticonderoga, retreated down the lake. The English rebuilt the fort in 1759-60. In 1773 the barracks took fire and the magazine exploded, partially demolishing the fortifications.

FORT DAYTON: built in 1776, by Col. Elias Dayton and named in his honor. It was in the present village of Herkimer.

FORT DUBOISE: a block-house similar to the one called Fort Plain, was erected that spring, 17??, near the dwelling of Jacob Shafer in Cobleskill, about a half mile east of Cobleskill village. This block-house was erected by Capt. Duboise of Catskill, and called Fort Duboise. It was surrounded by a deep moat, which was partially filled with water from a brook running near.

FORT EDWARD: the first fortification to be established on the present site of the village of Fort Edward, at the Hudson River east of the Great Carrying Place was Fort Nicholson. It was built by Col. Peter Schuyler, the commander of the vanguard of Nicholson's Expedition against Crown Point in 1709. Upon the retreat of Nicholson's Army from Lake Champlain, it was abandoned.

FORT FREY: palisaded and garrisoned by British troops during Queen Anne's War, 1701-1713. Present Fort Frey was erected in 1739 and was a British army post during the early part of the French and Indian War of 1754-60.

FORT GERMANTOWN: built on Hansclever Patent in Herkimer county, perhaps the same as Fort New Petersburg. The farthest white settlement in 1764.

FORT GEORGE: erected at the bead of Lake George by Gen. Amherst in 1759 as a base for his advance against Fort Ticonderoga. Was captured May 12, 1775 by Gen. Bernard Romans, who had originally enrolled as a member of Ethan Allen's expedition against Fort Ticonderoga. He left Allen's party at Pittsfield, Mass. and proceeded alone to Fort Edward where he enlisted sixteen men and went on to Fort George. Fort George, at this time was occupied by only a caretaker, whose chief duty was to assist in forwarding of express to and from Canada. The fort contained some stores, however, which Romans took possession of for the Continental Army. The fort was situated about a mile southeast from Fort William Henry, on a gently sloping bank from the lake.

FORT GEORGE: built about 1773 in the city of New York and the Bowling Green.

FORT GEORGE: upon the high west bank of the Harlem River, yet rough and wooded, were two breast-works. These the British afterward strengthened and called it Fort George. This was between 192nd. and 196th. streets.

FORT HARDY: was built in Aug. 1755, by Gen. Phinehas Lyman, at the mouth of Fish Creek, on the Hudson, now Schuylerville. It was named for Sir Chutes Hardy, Governor of New York and was intended primarily for a safety post for Johnson's Expedition which was then advancing against Crown Point.

FORT HARRISON: (1736) Is found on the 1779 Tryon map just west of Palatine Church. It was probably on the Harrison patent.

FORT HERKIMER: or Herkimer's. On the south bank of the Mohawk and a few rods east of the stone church. See Fort Kouari.

FORT HILL: (St. Johnsville) An old Indian fort palisaded during the French and Indian War. Crum Creek flows past the west end of the hill.

FORT HOUSE: was a fortified dwelling on the north side of West street in St. Johnsville.

FORT HUNTER: Here at the mouth of the Schoharie Creek, Gov. Hunter built the first fort west of Schenectady in 1711. It was the western frontier post until 1722, when Fort Oswego was built.

FORT INDEPENDENCE: on the east bank of the Hudson and just north of the Harlem River overlooking King's Bridge.

FORT INGOLDSBY: was built during Queen Anne's War in 1709 near the present village of Stillwater, on the Hudson, by Col Peter Schuyler. It was named in honor of the Lieut. Gov. of the Province, and was intended as a supply post in Nicholson's Expedition against the French in Canada.

FORT JOHNSON: the jail was palisaded, and, with several blockhouses built within the enclosure, it constituted the Johnstown fort-1780.

FORT KEYSER: was located about a mile south of Fort Paris at Stone Arabia, on the farm of Aurora Failing. It was a small stone dwelling, which had been stockaded and named after the family who formerly owned the place.

FORT KLOCK: built in 1750 by Johannes Klock, it was palisaded during the Revolution and formed a neighborhood defense and refuge in times of danger.

KNEISKERN'S DORF: Early in the year of 1781, a blockhouse was erected at Kneiskern's dorf on lands of Mr. Houck, near the present residence of George Taylor and picketed in.

FORT KOUARI: was built about a half-mile east of Fort Herkimer church. This fort was intended to serve as a storehouse for Fort Oswego which however, was captured by the French in 1756 . This fort was later called Fort Herkimer.

FORT La PRAIRIE: marked the site of a French settlement on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River, above the mouth of the Richelieu. An expedition against it was conducted by Capt. John Schuyler in August 1690, following the abandonment of Winthrop's expedition, as a retaliation for the massacre of Schenectady. The inhabitants were surprised as they were at work in the fields, but retreated to the fort with the loss of six killed and nineteen taken prisoners. One hundred fifty head of oxen were slaughtered and all the houses and barns outside the fort were burned. The following year, 1691 Schuyler's brother, Maj. Phillip Schuyler, surprised the fort again, captured it, killed many of its defenders, and withdrew to Albany.

FORT LA PRESENTATION: built by the French in 1749. Sometimes referred to as Fort Oswegatchie, present Ogdensburgh.

FORT LEWIS: (Currytown) Palisaded house of Henry Lewis, successfully defended when village was raided and burned by Doxstader in 1781.

FORT LYMAN: was built at the beginning of the Great Carrying Place in July 1755, by Gen. Phinehas Lyman, who commanded a body of provincial troops and Indians, forming part of Johnson's Army for the attack upon Fort St. Frederick. Johnson later changed the name to Fort Edward.

MAALWYCK: (Scotia) Karel Hansen Tell place, land extending from Hoffmans for seven miles on north side (1712). In July 1748, an Indian massacre took place here. Place is now known as Beukendall.

FORT MILLER: was built during Queen Anne's War, in 1709, at the rapids in the Hudson between Schuylerville and Fort Edward, by Col. Peter Schuyler, who commanded the vanguard of Nicholson's Expedition. It was designed to defend the landing at that point, and was thus an important link in the chain established to relay supplies for the expedition.

FORT MONTGOMERY: situated on the west bank of the Hudson nearly opposite Anthonys Nose.

FORT NIAGARA: La Salle, commenced construction of a crude fort in Jan. 1679. This fort was later destroyed by fire and in 1687 a second fort was built at the site by Denonville, royal governor of Canada. This was later abandoned. The present "Old Fort Niagara" was begun in 1726.

FORT FREDERICK, FORT ORANGE and FORT NASSAU: All names of the fort at Albany.

FORT NASSAU: was the first fort built on the present site of Albany, It was erected by Hendrick Christensen in 1614, on Castle Island, near the end of the Old Indian Carrying Place to the Mohawk at Schenectady. Castle Island was on the east side of the river below Rensselaer and was for a long time known as Patroon's Island. It has since been joined to the main land and has entirely lost its identity.

FORT PARIS: was built in the fall, winter and spring of 1776-77, one half mile north of the Stone Arabia churches, by order of the America, Revolutionary Army, and was named in honor of Isaac Paris, a leading local merchant and patriot, who was captured at the battle of Oriskany and murdered by the Indians. The fort Was of solid timber, two stories high, with the upper story projection beyond the first on all sides. It was never surrendered to the enemy, and remained standing until the early part of the nineteenth century, when it was taken down and removed.

FORT PLAIN: was built on the present Fort Hill in 1776, by Col. Dayton. It was a quandrangle of earth and log embrasures, with block-houses, mounting cannon, at opposite corners and a strong block-house in the center.

FORT PLANK: was situated on elevated ground, nearly our miles southwest of Fort Plain, and consisted of a small palisaded enclosure embracing a dwelling, which has for years been known as the Chauncey House Place, and is now owned by Ruben Failing, and occupied by his son Joseph. When fortified it was owned by a family named Plank, on which account it was thus named.

FORT PUTNAM: built by Kosciuszko in the spring of 1778. It was in the western environs of West Point.

RHEIMENSCHNEIDER FORT: (Reme Snyder's Bush-Manheim) was a fortified dwelling northeast of Little Falls.

FORT RICHELIEU: was the first fort built by the French to protect their settlements on the St. Lawrence from the expeditions of the Iroquois down Lake Champlain. It was erected at the mouth of the Richelieu River in 1641, by De Montagny, who succeeded Champlain as governor of New France, and was named after Cardinal Richelieu, then at the height of his power in France. It was later abandoned, but in 1664, was again rebuilt by the order of the Marquis de Tracey.

FORT SANASCRAGA: was built on Chittenango Creek by Sir Win. Johnson. It was here Sir John Johnson left his boats to devastate the valley and returned to them after the battle of Klock's field.

FORT SARATOGA: was built in 1709 on the Hudson, nearly opposite the mouth of Fish Creek, by Col. Peter Schuyler, who commanded the vanguard of Nicholson's Expedition , on the spot where he had built a block house in 1690, about which since that date, a little settlement had grown up. It was planned as one of the chain of supply posts in Nicholson's Expedition against the French.

SCHEIL FORT: was a fortified dwelling five miles north of Herkimer. Successfully defended in Aug. 1780, against the Indians and Tories.

FORT SCHLOSSER: (Niagara) was built in 1750 at the end of the portage above the falls.

FORT SCHUYLER: Built in 1758, (now Utica) by British Colonial army engineers, one of a chain of defenses which extended along the Albany-Oswego water route during the French and Indian War, 1754-1760.

FORT STANWIX: was erected in 1758 by Gen. John Stanwix. It had four bastions surrounded by a broad ditch, eighteen feet deep, with a covert way and glacis. In the center of the ditch was a row of perpendicular pickets and a horizontal row from the ramparts. In May 1781, Fort Stanwix, being almost ruined, was burned and evacuated.

FORT ST. ANNE: the fourth in a chain of French forts in the Champlain Valley, was built by Capt. de LaMothe on Isle LaMotte in 1665. It was the last outpost from which the French made their raids into the territory of the Iroquois and from which their expeditions for the massacres of Schenectady and Saratoga set out.

FORT ST. FREDERIC: The same year in which the French settled at Chimney Point, (1731) they built a strong fort upon the opposite shore, and called it Fort St. Frederic, in honor of Frederic Maurepas, the then Secretary of State. It was a starwork, in the form of a pentagon, with bastions at the angles, and sun rounded by a ditch walled in with stone. This fort was later called Crown Point.

FORT ST. JOHN: on the Richelieu River was occupied as a British post during the Revolutionary Period. It was besieged by Montgomery in his advance on Montreal in 1755, and surrendered to him on Nov. 3^rd.

FORT STONY POINT: its location was such that it seemed almost impregnable. Situated upon a huge rocky bluff, an island at high water, and always inaccessible dry-shod, except across a narrow causeway in the rear, it was strongly defended by outworks and a double row of abatis. Upon three sides of the rock were the waters of the Hudson, and on the fourth was a morass, deep and dangerous.

FORT ST. THERESA: was the third in the chain of forts in the Richelieu River Valley, erected in 1664 by order of Marquis deTracy, Viceroy of Canada, to offset the Iroquois. It was located nine miles south of the village of Chambly.

FORT TICONDEROGA: The French who first built a fort at Crown Point (Fort St. Frederic), established themselves upon this peninsula in 1755, and the next year they began the erection of a strong fortress, which they called Fort Carillon. The Indian name was generally applied to it, and by that only was it known from the close of the French and Indian war in 1763. Here in 1757, Montcalm assembled a force of 9000 men with which he captured Fort William Henry. In July the following year the English Gen. Abercrombie, unsuccessfully stormed Fort Carillon with 15,000 men, of whom 2000 were killed including Lord Howe. In 1759, Gen Amherst, invested the Fort with 12,000 men. The French, under Gen. Bourlamarque dismantled and abandoned both this Fort and Fort St. Frederick, and retired permanently to Canada. The fort was blown up by the French in their retreat, but only one bastion was wrecked and the rest of the fort was little hurt. Captured by Ethan Allen in May 1755. Upon Burgoyne's advance, Gen. St. Clair retreated without resistance. (1777).

FORT TRYON: on the east bank of the Hudson between Fort Washington and Cock Hill Fort.

FORT WAGNER: during the Revolution its owner Col. Peter Wagner erected a palisade around the house. Located about two miles west of Nelliston.

WEST POINT: On the 6th. of Oct. 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the Provincial Assembly of New York to erect such fortifications as they should deem best. They employed Bernard Romans, an English engineer (who at that time, held the same office in the British army), to construct the works; and Martelaer's Rock (now Constitution Island), opposite West Point was the chosen spot for the principal fortification. The fort was named Constitution, and the island has since borne that title. In the meanwhile, several officers examined various localities in the neighborhood, and all were in favor of erecting a strong fort on West Point. The principal redoubt, constructed chiefly of logs and earth, was completed before May, 1778, and named Fort Clinton. It was six hundred yards around within the walls The embankments were twenty-one feet at the base, and fourteen feet high. Within were barracks and huts for about six hundred men.

FORT WILLETT: was built in 1780, about four miles west of Fort Plain as a neighborhood refuge.

FORT WINDECKER: (Mindenville) was built in 1777 on the south side of the Mohawk as a neighborhood refuge.

FORT WILLIAM: This was a block house erected near the mouth of Otter Creek, witnessed part of the bitter strife between the settlers under the New Hampshire grants and those from New York .

FORT WILLIAM HENRY: Built at the head of Lake George by Gen. William Johnson in 1755, was named in honor of William Duke of Gloucester, grandson of George II and brother of George III.

FORT WINSLOW: was built in 1756 at Stillwater-on-the-Hudson, on the site of Fort Ingoldsby. It was named after Gen. John Wins low, who succeeded Gen. Johnson in command of Fort William Henry in 1756. Fort Winslow was designed as a supply station on the road northward from Albany.

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