On August 3, 1777, when British General Barry St.Leger reached Fort Stanwix, he found it held by colonial forces and began a siege. Soon after, to relieve the fort, about 800 men of the Tryon County Militia, commanded by General Nicholas Herkimer, and a contingent of Oneida allies began marching westward down the Mohawk Valley, following the military road.
When St.Leger learned of their approach, he dispatched a force of about 100 Loyalist troops and roughly 400 Indians, principally Seneca and Mohawk, to intercept the relief column. Here at Oriskany, hiding in dark forests at the edge of a deep ravine along the military road, the British and allied Indians ambushed the Tryon County Militia in a bloody battle. Facing heavy losses and stubborn resistance, the British and their Native American allies abandoned the fight, leaving the militia badly mauled.
The retreating British returned to the fort to find their siege camps raided by the garrison from Fort Stanwix. The assault against the fort continued indecisively until St.Leger's Native American allies withdrew in frustration, ultimately forcing St.Leger to return to Canada and abandon the over-all effort to take the Mohawk Valley. Thus, the Battle of Oriskany assisted in derailing Burgoyne's campaign and helped lead to the decisive American victory at Saratoga later that fall.
The ambush caught the militia completely by surprise. Many of the militiamen fled through the woods pursued by Mohawk warriors.
Initially disorganized and frightened, many militiamen hid behind trees, fighting for their lives in small, scattered groups
Despite efforts to move him out of harm's way, a wounded General Herkimer attempts to direct the battle from a high point north of the ravine.
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