I imagine that when his father George awakened him that sunny, hot early August morn, 13 year-old John Snell was beside himself with excitement.

The day was finally here. He probably dressed quickly, gobbled down breakfast, grabbed his fife*, kissed his mother, joined his dad and set off to hook up with some 800 others who comprised the Tryon County Militia. They were mustering to march west up the Mohawk to relieve the British and Indian siege at Fort Stanwix (near present-day Rome). The trek seemed long and tedious given the weather, especially for one so young. John must have found breathing difficult, having to walk while playing his fife for so long a time. Stopping for camp couldn’t come soon enough, both for the boy and for the oxen pulling fifteen heavy wagons.

I imagine that on the morning of the 6th, he awakened with great trepidation. The troops began moving forward at a quicker pace after Gen. Herkimer, their commander, had been taunted, criticized by his officers for taking too long to reach their objective. A combination of fatigue and fear of what was to come gave the teenager pause, but he trudged on along a bottomland of arroyo willow and yellow birch. He probably occasioned to glance at butterflies dancing among purple stem aster and Allegheny blackberry.

I shudder to think about his reaction to the war cries and gunshots signaling the surprise attack near present-day Oriskany. I can only hope that his death was swift, as well as that of the other seven Snells who died that day, including my 6th great-grandfather, Jacob. Young John and the others were my 6th great uncles and cousin.

When my wife Kay and I visited the battlefield site last year, I couldn’t help but wonder where their remains might lie, if there were any. The vast majority of the 500 dead were never retrieved. Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson writes in his “The Fate of the Day (The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston)” that when Gen. Benedict Arnold’s men (he was leading a forced march from Albany to relieve the siege) crossed the Oriskany killing fields, they covered their noses against the unspeakable stench, but couldn’t cover their eyes. One of his officers wrote, “As the dead had not been buried and the weather was warm, they were much swollen and purple in color, which represented the frailty of man. We must have marched over and very near about 400 dead bodies.”

In retrospect, I can’t imagine the pain and suffering visited upon John’s and George’s and all the other families of the victims. And I can’t imagine what was in store for the survivors given what we now know about the effects of PTSD.

I am grateful that Gen. St. Leger, British commander at Stanwix, denied the infamous Mohawk leader Joseph Brant’s request to take a force and clean out the Mohawk Valley all the way to Albany. It was ripe for the taking. Had he done so, it’s likely that Britain’s 3-Pronged Plan might have succeeded, the Colonies would have been cut in half, France and its invaluable resources would not have joined the fray and the Union Jack would presently be flying throughout the land.

A few thoughts to keep in mind regarding the Battle of Oriskany (source-Barbara Graymont-The Iroquois during the American Revolution):

— It was one of the Americans’ bloodiest battles and worst defeats during the Revolutionary War.

— If Herkimer had sent out Oneida Indian scouts, the surprise attack wouldn’t have happened. (Note: The war created a civil war of sorts among the Oneida; half fought with us and half against)

— The Tryon County Militia failed in realizing its objective of relieving the siege.

— Despite suffering a serious wound to his leg, Gen Herkimer heroically rallied his men (p. 134-Graymont), saving in the process what was left of them.

— The heroes of this critically important moment in time were 28 year-old Col. Peter Gansevoort and Gen. Arnold. The former defied St. Leger’s offer to surrender, holding the fort for another two weeks. The latter organized a forced march while perpetrating a ruse (p.144 Graymont) which combined to cause St. Leger’s Indian allies to fly the coop-weakening his forces to the point that he had no choice but to retreat. Later, Arnold played a key role in our victory at Saratoga. As things turned out, it’s a good thing that he didn’t change sides until later-angered by being unfairly passed over for promotion.

— Col. Gansevoort was extremely grateful that St. Leger lacked the necessary artillery. “Had the enemy come … with a few Eighteen and twelve pounders the Fort most inevitably would have fallen.” The British leader had disregarded advice to have done so. Talk about twists of fate.

— In the most ironic of ways, the Battle of Oriskany resulted in a series of events which ultimately led to our victory over Britain.

In conclusion, contrary to past writings on this subject by authors who fail to identify their sources of information and omit key facts which otherwise would render their conclusions invalid, Oriskany was not a “glorious victory.” To call it something it wasn’t is to dishonor the memories of the brave, heroic men and boys who died that day. From my perspective, who won or lost is less important than who fought. Farmers, blacksmiths, shopkeepers, everyday men with little military experience and boundless courage put their lives on the line to transform an ideal-freedom-into something real; something, unfortunately, under threat today.

While I will forever mourn your far too premature death, I take comfort in the fact that you did not die in vain. Thank you and God bless and keep you, cousin John. The fifer.

— * Fifers and drummers communicated orders during battle, regulated camp formations and duties and provided music for marching, ceremonies and morale.

Ray Lenarcic is a 1965 State University of New York at Fredonia graduate and is a resident of Herkimer.