Revolution!

Brett and I arranged to have a day off together today so we could try to do a little day trip traveling while we're still in the area.

There's a ton of great stuff within a day's drive that we never felt we could afford to do, but knowing that it's either spend the $40 on gas now or $600 on a pair of plane tickets in another week, it's hard not to take advantage of our proximity. I'd really love to go to Boston or Philadelphia, but those may be too much for us to do right now with moving costs and the necessity of getting everything packed up.


Today we drove up to Rome to visit the battlefield at Oriskany where General Herkimer's Tryon County militia and Oneida Indian allies were ambushed on their way to aid the rebel soldiers besieged in Fort Stanwix. Most of the militia soldiers were fighting very close to their farms and families; Herkimer himself lived less than thirty miles from the site of the ambush. The story of the battle reads like a movie script: General Herkimer and his soldiers march through the early August heat to try to raise the siege on Fort Stanwix. They are about six miles from their destination where they expect to fight Barry St Leger and his forces: a mixed bag of British soldiers, Hessian mercenaries, Iroqouis allies lead by Joseph Brant, and Loyalist rangers including Herkimer's own brother, Johan Jost. They come to a marshy ravine with a small stream running through the bottom. Tired and thirsty, some of the poorly seasoned troops break ranks to run to the stream to drink. As they put down their muskets and kneel on the bank, a group of Iroquois attack from the forests around them. Stories say that the stream ran red with blood by the end of the battle.

Joseph Brant, the Iroquois commander, lead a group of Loyalists and Iroquois to set the trap, intending to catch all the rebels in the ravine where the military road crossed the stream. Though the trap was sprung prematurely, what followed was the bloodiest battle of the Revolution. General Herkimer was wounded in the leg by a shot that killed his horse. His men tried to insist he leave the field of battle but he refused saying, "I will face the enemy." He sat down under a tree, smoked a pipe, and directed the battle. A rainstorm forced a delay during which both sides regrouped. Herkimer changed tactics to limit the effectiveness of the Iroquois skirmishers and wound up in possession of the field, but with heavier losses. The British claimed victory, but were thoroughly demoralized when, upon returning to their camp outside Fort Stanwix, they found the soldiers of the fort had raided their camp and taken or destroyed supplies, maps, letters and strategic plans.

The wounded Herkimer was taken back to his farm, but a delay in treating his wound and a botched amputation took his life ten days later. But his march had given the defenders hope and demoralized the British forces. A short while later, Benedict Arnold marched to lift the siege and the greatly exaggerated rumors of the size of his force eroded the Iroquois support. Without the Indians, the British didn't stand a chance and retreated without a battle.

It was the first real confrontation where American forces engaged each other, Rebel against Loyalist and the extremely high percentage of casualties on both sides made Oriskany the bloodiest battle of the Revolution.



So why all the fighting right here?

Fort Stanwix was built during the French and Indian war to protect the strategically important portage route from the Hudson River and the Atlantic to Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes. The Fort was a sleek, super modern fort for its time, a collection of hills and angles that all come together to be a pretty bad ass position to defend.



Brett and I actually went to the fort first, but it was an afterthought to the battlefield. We were pleasantly surprised at how much well funded information there was at the site, which is technically a National Park.

We got their in time for a guided tour that filled us in on some of the information we didn't know.



We had a great time poking around the reconstructed fort.




Defending the Sovereignty of the Colonies from those nancy British redcoats!



The spiky things are a French invention apparently. I think Paul and Steve could have a couple of these whipped up in no time to defend the 1850 farm from Ioway Indian attack.



Can you guess who took all the good pictures?