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The fate of the American colonies rested in the hands of two men in August of 1777 in the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York. And one wasn't "General" Nicholas Herkimer who led his men, some 800 members of the Tryon County Militia, including nine of my relatives, into a trap at Oriskany where between four and five hundred of them were slaughtered. The battlefield became a dead man's land as the bodies of most of the slain were never retrieved.
How bloody was the battle? Pulitzer Prize winner Rich Atkinson writes (The Fate of the Day) that in 1777, 1,517 Americans were killed in action; approximately one-third at Oriskany.
Another wasn't General George Washington. His military inexperience was demonstrated several times, most significantly at the Battles of Long Island, Brandywine and Germantown. Only a combination of luck and the glaring incompetence of British Commander in Chief General William Howe saved the big Virginian's and Continental Army's arses. He was a competent leader, less so a strategist.
Remember how we were told in grade school that George W. never told a lie? Not true. He might not have been the equal of the all-time record breaker (our own Donald J. Trump), but he shot off some whoppers. As an example, his accounts to the Continental Congress of casualty rates at the aforementioned battles were grossly over (Brit losses) or understated (ours). Given how the war was going, telling the truth might have convinced an already stressed out CC to throw in the towel, so maybe we can cut him some slack for his mendacity.
Rather, I'm referring to two sons of privilege, products of aristocratic families with extensive military backgrounds. At the time of their meeting, each held high ranks in their respective armies. The first man, British Brevet Brigadier General Barrimore "Barry" St. Leger, an Irishman and veteran of the French and Indian War, commanded over 1,000 men, including 500 Seneca and Mohawk Indians. His orders were to lead the western offensive of a three-part plan to capture New York and cut the colonies in half. The other parts included General "Gentleman" Johnny Burgoyne's inexperienced Canadian Army from the north and General Howe's forces coming up the Hudson from the south. They were to meet at Albany.
The second man, an Albany Dutchman named Peter Gansevoort, had seen action for over a year with the Continental Army before he was promoted to Colonel and given the command of the 3rd N.Y. Regiment, responsible for an area ranging from Fort Edward west to Fort Oswego. In performing their duties, they met in early August at Fort Stanwix (Rome).
I'm not being hyperbolic by stating that the outcome of the war hinged on decisions made by St. Leger and the resolution of Gansevoort during the two-week siege of the fort as indicated by the following:
-- In trying to bomb the fort into submission, St. Leger's three and six pound cannon had little effect. He later wrote of his surprise at finding out that what he had been told was a flimsy, undermanned fortification was in fact unusually strong with a stalwart garrison. Gansevoort later reported that "If the enemy had come with 12 or 18 pounders, Ft. Stanwix must essentially have fallen." (Graymont-Iroquois in the American Revolution)
-- After Herkimer's relief forces had been easily dispatched, St. Leger's Indian allies asked to be allowed to swoop down an undefended Mohawk Valley creating an unobstructed path to Albany allowing him to quickly meet his responsibility regarding the 3-pronged plan. Lord knows what the fate of my relatives' widows and children and all the others would have been. He refused, stubbornly deciding to continue the siege. Had he acceded, he would have been able to support Burgoyne at Saratoga. Had we lost that battle, we very well might have lost the critical backing of France, and American fence-sitters might have opted to join the Brits.
-- If St. Leger had understood the Indian "psychology of warfare" (guerilla style of fighting a la the Vietcong), he wouldn't have allowed the siege to drag on for two weeks giving Gen. Benedict Arnold (yes-that Benedict Arnold, who also played a key role at Saratoga) time to form a 1500-man relief force and head out for Stanwix. Already discomforted by the long wait and uninterested in fighting a pitched battle, when word of the American advance reached them, the Seneca and Mohawks flew the coop leaving St. Leger no choice but to retreat.
-- After returning to Canada, if he hadn't dragged his feet following orders to join the besieged Burgoyne, his reinforcements might have been the difference at Saratoga. But he did. In the final analysis, St. Leger made two critical missteps affecting the course of the war, guaranteeing that the Stars and Stripes, not the Union Jack, would fly over the land.
As for Gansevoort, his heroic leadership during the siege strengthened his men's resolve enabling them to overcome desperate circumstances, including a lack of food and water. Regarding the latter, they actually dug two wells inside the fort. In response to St. Leger's peace offer, the Colonel's reply became legendary- "It is my determined resolution to defend this fort and garrison, at every hazard, to the last extremity in behalf of the United States." If Gansevoort had thrown in the towel, St. Leger would have quickly reached a relatively undefended Albany.
I'm proud to say that this vastly underrated hero of the Revolution has a street named after him in my hometown of Little Falls. And given their significance, Stanwix and Gansevoort should get a lot more play locally and in American history textbooks.
Thus, it was that two men, because of decisions they either made or didn't make, determined the fate of a revolution which would change the course of history over the next two and a half centuries. And if you get the chance, take a day and visit the Oriskany battlefield and Ft. Stanwix sites -- two places as significant as Valley Forge and Yorktown regarding the history of the Revolutionary War.
Ray Lenarcic is a 1965 State University of New York at Fredonia graduate and is a resident of Herkimer.