In 1760, Johan Jost Herkimer deeded 500 acres, including valuable river frontage, to his eldest son Nicholas. Nicholas kept the south portage road open to the carrying place and probably provided wagons, draft animals, and labor to unload the bateaux and transport them and their cargo around the falls. He also traded with the Indians, farmed, and collected rent from his tenants.
At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775, Nicholas sided with the rebellious Americans. On September 5, 1776, he was commissioned Brigadier General of the Tryon County Militia. Facing a British and Indian invasion of Tryon County, General Herkimer issued an Emergency Proclamation ordering the militia to prepare to march to the "defense of our country."
With 800 men, Herkimer set off to relieve Fort Schuyler, previously called Fort Stanwix. On August 6, 1777, they were ambushed in the woods. In the ensuing Battle of Oriskany, almost half of the militiamen were killed, wounded, or captured, but they held the battlefield, helping end the siege of Fort Schuyler.
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