Pirates! in...New York?

by Roseanna M. White

Captain Kidd in New York Harborpainting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1920

Who isn't a fan of a good pirate tale? But when we think of Colonial-era pirates, we usually imagine warm Caribbean waters and palm trees, white sand beaches with those ships looming in the harbor. We don't usually think of America's northeast--but we should. In the late 1600s, one of the most bustling pirate dens wasn't Port Royal or Tortuga. It was the City of New York.

Founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam, New York was already different from most of the other colonies. This city was founded on business principles, pure and simple. Though it was, for the time, a bastion of tolerance, it was not for any noble reason that the authorities of the city and state allowed an influx of diversity--it was because they knew it was good for business. The same reason they issued letters of marque to privateers and welcomed their stolen goods into the port, whether they came from ships that were enemies of England of not.

You'd be hard pressed to find any other place in the world that ended up with such a diverse, rich market. There were exotic items seized from "enemy" vessels that traded with the Orient. There were colorful cloths and spices and scads of other goods eagerly welcomed and paid for by New York's business-minded elite.

An elite that also welcomed the pirates themselves into their drawings rooms.

Many pirates were welcomed as citizens and considered high society in New York, including the legendary Captain Kidd. Men like Kidd were looked upon as being of obviously sound worth, since they risked their lives and their own ships to hunt down enemy vessels. The New York government even paid him 150 pounds for his services!

But of course, this couldn't last forever. Eventually King William heard disturbing rumors from his allies in the Orient that pirates were attacking their ships and then finding refuge in New York...further, he learned that the governor had encouraged this and excepted bribes--"protection money"--from the pirates in return for turning a blind eye when a haul wasn't exactly covered by the letters of marque.

The king's answer was simple--he replaced the old governor with a new one whose primary focus was to rid New York of pirates. The new governor, Bellomont, put together a company of ships to send pirate hunting in the Indian Ocean...led by none other than Captain Kidd. He was expected to keep meticulous records of this service he was providing, and in return would get to keep 10% of whatever he seized.

But this was a pirate, after all. His records were...spotty, at best. Likely in part because he didn't just seize other pirate vessels. He took every ship he could find, spawning even more stories of innocents being plundered. Then made a move both bold an foolhardy--he returned to New York harbor. He thought he could bluff his way out of trouble by claiming all his "prizes" were under French protection and therefore enemy ships.

He was wrong. Bellomont sent him to London to be tried--and eventually hanged, his property seized by the Crown.

Unless, of course, King William missed some. Legends hold that Kidd had squirreled some of his treasure away, unbeknownst to the king...and that it's still hidden somewhere in New York.

The Year Without a Summer

There's a lot of talk about global warming lately, but in 1816, the new nation of the United States would have done anything for a warm summer. That year, there was no summer.

The causes started the year before. On April 5th through the 15th, 1815, Mount Tambora erupted on an island in Indonesia. It was the largest eruption on the Earth since 180 AD and caused massive ash to be spurted into the atmosphere. That caused the temperature to cool all over the globe. If that wasn't bad enough, it came after four other volcanic eruptions in various places that added to the global catastrophe.

One of the hardest hit areas of the United States was New England in 1816. A dry red fog covered the sky and dimmed the sun. Frosts in New York and New England killed crops in May, and on June 4th, frosts were reported as far south as New Jersey. On June 6th, snow fell in Albany, New York. On June 9th, the ground in upstate New York froze solid, and the Shaker community reported having to replant their crops on June 12th. It didn't help because on July 7th and April 24th, all of Northeast United States again was plagued with a frost that froze the crops.

By Autumn, no crop was available to harvest in New England, and the price of food skyrocketed. The South was able to bring in some crops, but the frost over the summer had reached as far south as Pennsylvania. Even Thomas Jefferson, retired president living in Virginia, had his crops fail that year causing him to go into debt. There wasn't enough food for everyone. The poor suffered most from starvation and malnutrition, and many died.

1816 wasn't the coldest year in record history, but what made it so devastating was that it happened during the summer after crops were planted. There were many theories at the time to try to make sense of it including sun spots and a solar eclipse. It was only later they found out about the volcanos half way across the world.

Eileen Marguet wrote this poem about that fateful summer.

It didn't matter whether your farm was large or small.

It didn't matter if you had a farm at all.

Cause everyone was affected when water didn't run.

The snow and frost continued without the warming sun.

One day in June it got real hot and leaves began to show.

But after that it snowed again and wind and cold did blow.

The cows and horses had no grass, no grain to feed the chicks.

No hay to put aside that time, just dry and shriveled sticks.

The sheep were cold and hungry and many starved to death,

Still waiting for the warming sun to save their labored breath.

The kids were disappointed, no swimming, such a shame.

It was in 1816 that summer never came.

Drums Along the Mohawk, Reviewed by Pat Iacuzzi

Drums Along the Mohawk DVD Cover

Drums Along the Mohawk

            Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck—20^th Century Fox 1939
            Director: John Ford
            Stars: Henry Fonda, Claudette Colbert

For the next few months, I’d like to review movies based on historical eighteenth century colonial settings. One of the reasons I’ve chosen these films is that many of us (including myself!) have used them as a quick alternative for researching information on the period. I’ve found this could be a major mistake—and while we may find these stories entertaining, I strongly advise you to investigate the facts of certain historical events and characters through well-researched non-fictional works. Another reason I’ve chosen to review this film genre is because there are so few American historicals made in Hollywood today.
            Drums Along the Mohawk is a favorite of mine because I read the book, a work of fiction, by Walter D. Edmonds in middle school. Based on a major event in the valley (where I grew up) I was well-acquainted with locations and descendents of people mentioned in the book, like Schuyler, Petrie, Bellinger, and Helmer, to name a few. So I felt an instant connection with the story.
            Newly-weds Gil (Fonda) and Lana (Colbert) Martin move out to the rich and fertile land of  Mohawk Valley frontier, a “breadbasket” of the colonies, to build a home and begin their new life.
            Most of this story revolves around the couple as they try to establish a family and home while confronted by danger and unrest caused by Tories (British sympathizers) and their Iroquois Indian allies. Under the threat of constant attack, Gil and Lana and other settlers must survive by escaping to Fort Herkimer in German Flatts.
            A crisis arises when the men of the settlement are forced to  defend their homes against St. Leger’s army coming from the west. The colonists meet the British forces and Indians at Oriskany Creek, on August 6, 1777. Though the patriots, led by General Nicholas Herkimer, lose nearly eight hundred men, the largest loss in the American Revolution, they do win the battle, driving St. Leger back toward Canada. Herkimer, correctly portrayed in the film, is wounded and soon dies.
Another incident occurs when Gil Martin makes a run to save his wife and other settlers trapped in Fort Herkimer and low on ammunition. He is chased by a fleet-footed Mohawk scouting party, but manages to out-run them, arriving at Fort Dayton in time to get help and save the settlers.
This is another true incident, but the actual run was made by Adam Helmer, in September of 1778. He ran thirty miles ahead of an Iroquois and Tory raiding party led by Chief Joseph Brant, to warn the people of the valley to take shelter at Fort Dayton. Though Edmonds stayed true to the actual event, the character was changed for the movie version.      

My rating for this movie: 4 out of 5 stars. Enjoyable, “clean”, and for the most part well done as far as story line goes. Acting is good; strongly “patriotic” considering problems with Germany and looming World War.

GIVEAWAY: Carrie will be giving away a gently used copy of the DVD to a person who responds to this post PLUS attends the CQ Tea Party on Friday.

Have you ever seen this movie?  What did you think?
 

By: Pat Iacuzzi

www.patiacuzzi.com

New York’s Native People and their Colonial Neighbors

The People of the Longhouse, the Haudenosaunee, or more commonly the Iroquois* were once a sizable league of six nations encompassing much of New York State. By joining together in a confederacy, they were able to have significant sway in the affairs of neighboring nations/tribes, as well as be an important factor in any French or British activity. Given their skills at sustainable living and trade, they controlled the waterways connecting the ‘western frontier’ and ‘British Canada’ to the colonial populations along the coast.

(*Iroquois is an adaptation of the derogatory name by which the French and Hurons called the Haudenosaunee. It is not their preferred name)

Today, we see the circumstances of the native Americans, or First Nations, as one of protecting their own way of life and survival.

Nathan Benn/Corbis

French traders were the first whites to co-exist and establish relationships with the Haudenosaunee, hence their leaning toward the French during the French and Indian War –but not as a confederacy. The six nations were split in their loyalties. In the 1750s, both France and Britain courted that loyalty.  Most Seneca (keepers of the western door) sided with the French while the Mohawks (keepers of the eastern door) sided with the British—mostly due to the British Aide to Indian affairs, Sir William Johnson who was quite integrated into Mohawk society.

The other tribes, Cayuga, Oneida, Tuscarora, and Onondaga were unable to remain neutral.

Success for the British in the French and Indian War brought new British settlers into conflict with the Haudenosaunee, and those hostilities had not waned when the settlers decided to break with, and war against Britain.

(Note: "French and Indian War" is the American name for this war; British=The Seven Years’ War; Canadian – the War of the Conquest.  This was a trade war between Britain, France and Spain)

Again, the Iroquois Confederacy was split as each nation or village chose sides based on the personal relationships they had built with white leaders. To gain support, both revolutionary leaders and representatives of the British Gov’t made promises. Again, New York’s native people fought one against another, often raiding each other’s villages and participating in battles between the British and the new “Americans”.

Most Haudenosaunee felt they had a better chance of success staying with their British allies and became a deciding factor in many battles. In 1779, to punish them for siding with the British, George Washington sent 6200 Continental soldiers under General Sullivan to march across New York State to destroy villages.  Men, women and children were burned out of their homes and their stored food and crops destroyed.

When the revolutionary war ended, nothing was afforded the native people in the treaty between Britain and the United States. Worse, the new country sought to force the natives out of their lands.  Loyalty to Britain cost the Haudenosaunee their lands.

None of this should be news to any student of American, British, or Canadian history, but it may be. It’s part of the past we like to hide. I live in an area still under dispute. A treaty signed in 1794 by the U.S. Government with New York’s native people is still in effect, but New York state chose to break it. I don’t believe two wrongs make a right, but I can’t help thinking of it when I look out my window and see the land and lake once part of a Cayuga village,  Only 250 years ago, it was so different.  I don’t have a solution, but I do believe that we can’t lump groups of people together as fair, unfair, savage or honorable.

A partially ice-covered Cayuga  Lake

The Cayuga people dispersed from their beautiful lake, forests and swamp to the west and Canada, and for decades have fought New York State and each other in court to regain what a treaty promised them. There are no simple answers.

Were you aware of the involvement of the many eastern tribes in the  United States' war of Independance? Do you believe history is being taught differently than it was 30 or 50 years ago?

Four and a Half Kings

In 1710, five Native American men traveled first class from New York State to London. One died on the voyage, but the remaining four became the talk of the town and had numerous interactions with Queen Anne.

This was not the first ‘royal treatment’ bestowed upon a native American.  About 100 years earlier, Pocahontas was received as a “princess” because her Algonquin father, Powhaten, had been called The Indian King.

The Four Indian Kings

Queen Anne

The four kings were not kings and not even chiefs. One was Mahican, the other three Mohawk, and only one, King Hendrick, a baptized Christian, had any position in his nation as a member of the Mohawk council.

The native Americans were sent out by New York’s colonial leaders, (mostly by Dutchman Peter Schuyler) to ask Queen Anne for money and help to fight the French influence.  The Iroquois confederacy (Five Nations plus the Tuscarora) were THE BUFFER/BORDER between the English speaking colonies and the French speaking colonies of what is now Canada. 

The kings asked for missionaries ‘to spread the Gospel’. (yes, their translated speeches are on file.)

While in London, they visited the sights and a Shakespeare play. It’s said that the audience clammered until the Four Kings were placed on stage where they could be seen --- they were much more of a draw than a repeat of Shakespeare!  They also sat for oil portraits after being fitted out for royal robes.  Many English considered the Four Kings to be only a bit more savage than their own Barbarians of the north—the Irish and the Scots Highlanders!

Prints were made of the oil paintings and sent to each Iroquois village as well as NY City,  the mission and Fort Hunter in Lower Mohawk Castle (village), and Kensington Palace. The originals were moved to Canada in 1977 and unveiled by Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa.

As all things to do with government and religion, part of the request for funding a mission had to do with the angst between the Catholic and Protestant churches. French Jesuits had converted some Mohawks to Catholicism while others  adopted Anglican faith.  Eventually, these Catholic Mohawks became their own nation close to Canada called the Caughnawaga and would later be part of the turmoil during the French and Indian War. As you can see, the Mohawks had a long standing relationship with Great Britain.

While the goal of the Iroquois Confederacy was neutrality,  Mohawks (Keepers of the Eastern Door) accepted Colonial ways and the English King, but some Seneca (Keepers of the Western Door) favored the French. Despite this family squabble, the Iroquois held together through a century of agreeing to disagree and were loath to fight each other unless …it was a matter of life or death.

Back in the Mohawk Valley of NY,  an Anglican mission was built, funded by Queen Anne and run by “The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel”, a missionary society still active today.

One more interesting note:  Two King Hendricks?

 

Only as late as 2010 was a long-standing Mohawk mystery solved.  King Hendrick who traveled to England in 1710 was referred to as the same King Hendrick who led Indian attacks alongside the British at Crown Point, and later at Fort George where he died at “The Bloody Morning Scout” in 1755.

The fact is there were two Mohawk King Hendricks, one from the Wolf Clan, one from the Bear Clan and in almost all ways very dissimilar besides a thirty year age difference.  

King Hendrick of the French and Indian war, loved wearing British military regalia.

New York State and the American Revolution Part III

Saratoga: Turning Point of the Revolution by Kathleen L. Maher

BACKGROUND

In the autumn of 1777, the British wanted to cut off New England from the colonies in the south, and drew up a plan to control Upstate NY. British General John Burgoyne in Montreal would push south to Albany via Lake George, Lake Champlain, and the Hudson River. In the woods surrounding Lake George, the patriots felled trees to slow him down and wear him out.
Meanwhile, Howe was supposed to come up from New York City and meet Burgoyne in Albany, but he  took a detour to capture Philadelphia. Washington retreated to York, luring Howe further away from his rendezvous with Burgoyne.
Burgoyne's depleted troops attempted to conscript cattle and supplies from nearby Vermont, and the patriots there defended their stores and further weakened "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne's troops with skirmishing and counterattacks. As autumn passed, he would need to decide where to make winter camp--either retreat to Ticonderoga which he had just won in July, or advance to Albany. His Native American support had dissipated after the failure at Bennington, but he chose to press on to Albany.
General George Washington had a sense of the battle lines being drawn and sent up Benedict Arnold and Massachusetts General Lincoln, also calling up militias to join them.
Saratoga sets the stage for the showdown.

BATTLE BEGINS

Burgoyne sets out toward Albany again and is met by Morgan's Riflemen, sharpshooters from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and other colonists under General Horatio Gates in the First Battle of Saratoga on September 19, 1777--The Battle of Freeman's Farm. Burgoyne seeks to dislodge the Americans, who commandeered loyalist Freeman's property, from their entrenched position up Bemis Heights. Benedict Arnold throws his army in the way, but Burgoyne rallies to take the Farm, at great loss. For every one Patriot casualty, Burgoyne loses two. Waiting for reinforcements from Howe that never came, Burgoyne lingers in the area while the colonists amass an army.

The Battle of Bemis Heights, the second battle at Saratoga occurs on October 7. Though British General Clinton attempts to join Burgoyne, he fails to provide him the relief he needs. The British and their German allies are encircled by superior numbers of Patriot  

(12,000 and well equipped) forces and attempt to break through. Benedict Arnold, though ordered off the field in the last conflict by Gates and according to some sources possibly drunk, takes the field and inspires the American forces in heavy fighting. He takes out Hessian commander Von Breymann and his redoubt, receiving a wound to his leg.  Morgan's sharpshooters meanwhile actually clip Burgoyne in three places--his horse, his hat and his waistcoat. The Patriots whip Burgoyne soundly. Outnumbered three to one, and having lost many of his best commanders due to Morgan's sharpshooters, he withdraws to Schuylerville and ten days later surrenders.

RESULTS

British in Ticonderoga retreat further north into Ontario.

Benedict Arnold wounded in leg

Disgraced, Burgoyne returned to England, never to be given another command.
The first proclamation of a National Thanksgiving was issued by Congress on Dec 18, inspired by Burgoyne's surrender.
France joins war on Patriots's side.

Escalates the war to a global conflict.
Spain lends Patriots aid against Britain.



Kathleen L. Maher is a patriot from upstate New York, and writes historical fiction and romance. She is represented by Terry Burns of Hartline Literary Agency, and has a Civil War novella coming out May 1st set in New York City. Find her on facebook and twitter as well as her blog featuring New York State history with an emphasis on Christian fiction. 

Jacob Leisler, "I am ready. I am ready."

 Henry Sloughter signing Jacob Leisler's death warrant.

"I hope these my eyes shall see our Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven I am ready. I am ready." Jacob Leisler, May, 1691

"We are thoroughly wet with rain, but in a little while we shall be rained through with the Holy Spirit." Jacob Milborne, May 16, 1691 at his execution.

These two men died as traitors to the Crown of England. During the English Revolution of 1688, the people in New York were divided. Leisler befriended the Huguenots. And to keep them from being sold into slavery for being unable to pay their bills, he championed their cause in what would later be called Leisler's Rebellion. Jacob Leisler became the acting Lieutenant Governor in New York. A man truly before his time, Leisler summoned the first Intercolonial Congress in America in New York, May 1690. Their mission: to deal with the ongoing conflict with the Indians and the French.

When the rebellion ended, Leisler resigned his command to Governor Sloughter. The governor responded by arresting him along with others. After extensive trials, Leisler (along with Jacob Milborne and six other men) were convicted and sentenced to death.

Death will come. I know we don't want to think about it, but many will die today in accidents or from illness or from some other demise. We all have to face it. What a joy for those who have received salvation to be able to say, "I am ready. I am ready."

Our perspective tends to be limited to this present life, but God’s perspective encompasses all of eternity.
I've noticed that many of the Psalms open with the psalmist revealing sorrow and hurt in his life, but close with him determining to praise God. We should praise God always, for our hope lies not on the substance of this world but in our eternity in Heaven.

*What do you look forward to in Heaven?

• Spending time with Jesus 
• Worshiping God with the angels 
• Not suffering anymore 
• Getting rid of this ugly old body 
• Not struggling against our flesh anymore 
• Seeing people who have gone before us
• And so much more. 

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3

What will be waiting for us in Heaven? A place just for you and a place just for me.

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." Revelations 21:1-3 

 Who will we be with? We will be with God. How do you feel about that? Excited and maybe a little awed?

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." Revelations 21:4-5

What will you not find in heaven? Death, sorrow, crying, pain, the former things.

What does God say He will do? Wipe away our tears, Make all things new.

What does that mean with respect to our sorrows we experience here on earth? They will no longer affect us, because they will have passed away. 

"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Revelations 21:6-8

Who will be in heaven? He that overcometh. That refers to those who are saved. We find the definition of this in Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death.”

Who will not be in heaven? Sinners, those who are not saved—who are unbelieving. We have all lied. We’ve all been fearful and idolaters in some way. The difference between the two groups is that those who overcome go to heaven, and we see in Revelation 12:11 that it is through Christ that we overcome.

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelations 20:10

What happens to Satan? He is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.

After that, will he ever be able to torment another again? No.

To God be all glory and honor and praise.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. We have a hope that we must cling to—a hope that will help us endure to the end. And that hope is eternal life in the new heaven and new earth." 

Revelations 21:4 

* The following is used with permission from https://sites.google.com/site/joabsfire/bible-study?offset=10

New York State and the American Revolution--Part II

THE BATTLE OF ORISKANY

By Kathleen L. Maher

According to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation,
“Nearly one third of all the battles fought during the American Revolution were fought in New York State. The capture of Fort Ticonderoga, the Battles of Oriskany, Newtown and Saratoga are just a few of the major events that took place on New York soil.”

This is part two  in a four-part look at these important theaters in the war and New York’s vital role in our Nation’s Founding Struggle

To understand the Battle of Oriskany, one must appreciate the waterways and the mode of travel and trade through New York in the 18th century. The Mohawk Valley (see Mohawk River on above map) was incredibly fertile and considered a bread basket. New York offered lucrative opportunities for trade along its waterways: from New York City's harbor, up the Hudson River, west along the Mohawk River, a trader could make it almost all the way to the Great Lakes by canoe. At the end of Mohawk River, however, one would have to carry their canoe and goods for a short stretch to meet Wood Creek and continue on. This area of portage was called the Oneida Carry. It was this small parcel of land between the Mohawk River and Wood Creek that would become a hotly contested area between British, Iroquois and Patriot interests over who would control trade and control of the state.

An old British stronghold Fort Stanwix guarded the Oneida Carry, and in 1777 the New York patriots rebuilt it and manned it with 700 infantry, and renamed it Fort Schuyler. In nearby Oswego, loyalist General Barry St. Leger had a force of 800 plus another 800 Native Tories. St Leger was then ordered to move east to meet Bergoyne. Standing in the way was Fort Schuyler, and St. Leger prepared to lay siege. Patriot reinforcements came from the east, from Fort Dayton via General Herkimer and 800 of his troops. In early August, 1777 Joseph Brant, the famous Iroquois leader, led a party to intercept Herkimer. At the little Indian village of Oriska, an ambush lay in the dense woods and its steep ravine and creek--British commander John Butler's Rangers and Sir John Johnson's Greens waiting to strike the head of Herkimer's column while the Natives under Brant would attack the rear and flank.

Herkimer was supposed to wait for a signal (three reports from cannon) from the commander at Schuyler before moving in, but pressured to prove his mettle in a swift attack, he forged ahead of orders. His Oneida scouts sensing no threat, he marched 600 men into the ravine, plus several supply wagons, and as his rearguard began to follow, the attack came at them from all sides. 

"One of the most violent battles of the Revolutionary War occurred at Oriskany on August 6, 1777. It was the first time that Oneida warriors, who openly sided with the rebellious Americans, fought against other Haudenoshaunee warriors who allied themselves with the British."
so reads a plaque at the site of the Battle of Newtown.                                                                                        Oneidas at the Battle of Oriskany                                                                                            painting by Don Troiani 2005.

Blacksnake, a Seneca war chief, said this of the battle:
We met the enemy at the place near a small creek. They had 3 cannons and we none. We had tomahawks and a few guns, but agreed to fight with tomahawks and scalping knives. During the fight, we waited for them to fire their guns and then we attacked them. It felt like no more than killing a Beast. We killed most of the men in the American's army. Only a few escaped from us. We fought so close against one another that we could kill or another with a musket bayonet.... It was here that I saw the most dead bodies than I have ever seen. The blood shed made a stream running down on the sloping ground.

General Herkimer was shot through the leg and his horse killed, but he continued to lead the men. A fierce thunderstorm interrupted the battle, allowing a contingent of Patriots to slip away and attack the nearby British camps. Once the battle resumed, the Indian Tories abandoned the fight and went to the aid of their camp. Without their help, the British soon abandoned the fight, too.
The result of the battle was a draw. Out of 800 only 150 Patriots returned without major wounds. Herkimer didn't stop the siege, but by August 22, St. Leger ended it anyway. General Herkimer died of his wounds 11 days after the battle. The Oneida villages were sacked and given over to natives loyal to the rebel cause.

New York held a tentative peace as each side retreated in stalemate. More conflict was to come.