William Butler’s Raid on Unadilla

Essential Facts

• Also Known As: The Attack on Unadilla and Onaquaga.
• Date: October 10–11, 1778.
• Location: Unadilla, New York, near present-day Sidney, New York, and Onaquaga, near present-day New Windsor, New York.
• Participants: United States of America.
• Key American Leaders: William Butler.
• Key British Leaders: Joseph Brant.
• Who Won: American forces successfully destroyed Unadilla and the surrounding Indian towns and fields.
• Part of: The Raid on Unadilla is part of the New York Border War and the American Revolutionary War.

Key Dates

• 1777, June: Joseph Brant demanded provisions from the settlers at Unadilla.
• 1777, July: General Herkimer failed to negotiate peace with Brant.
• 1777, August 6: Herkimer was badly wounded at the Battle of Oriskany.
• 1778, July 18: Brant attacked and destroyed Andrustown.
• 1778, September 17: Brant attacked German Flatts.
• 1778, October 2: Lieutenant Colonel William Butler left Schoharie.
• 1778, October 2–18, 1778: Butler destroyed Native American Indian posts around Unadilla.
• 1778, November 11: Brant retaliated with an attack on Cherry Valley.

Significance

The Raid on Unadilla is important to American History for the role it played in the hostilities between American and British forces in northern Pennsylvania and western New York during the American Revolutionary War. It was part of the New York Border War that eventually led most of the Iroquois to abandon New York for Canada.

Historical Notes

Unadilla and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix

The town of Unadilla was located in Tryon County, New York. It sat on the boundary established by the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1768) between the Six Nations and British officials. White settlers lived in the town at the opening of the American Revolutionary War.

Unadilla was located on the Susquehanna River, about 20 miles above Oquaga and 40 miles south of Lake Otsego. The location was good for conducting military operations in the Mohawk Valley.

• Treaty of Hard Labour (October 17, 1768) — John Stuart negotiated this treaty with the Cherokee. It also moved the Boundary Line (1763) further west. The boundary from this treaty ran from the confluence of the Ohio River and Kanawha River slightly southwest to the headwaters of the Kanawha River, then east to Spanish East Florida.
• Treaty of Fort Stanwix (November 5, 1768) — William Johnson negotiated this treaty with the Six Nations and other Indian tribes to formalize the Boundary Line (1763) between the American Colonies and the hunting grounds King George III had reserved for the Indians. The boundary started at Fort Stanwix and ran southeast to the Delaware River. From there, it went northwest to Oswego, down past Tioga Point to the Susquehanna River, and over to Fort Pitt. Then it followed the Ohio River westward to the Tennessee River. This is also known as the Boundary Line Treaty.
• William Johnson (1715–1774) — Johnson was a colonial administrator most famous for managing relations between the British government and the Six Nations as the Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Johnson led British forces during the French and Indian War (1754–1763) and helped negotiate peace with some tribes, helping end Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763).
• John Johnson (1741–1830) — The son of William Johnson, he raised and led a Loyalist militia, the King’s Royal Regiment of New York, during the war. Johnson fled to Canada in 1776. He led troops during the Saratoga Campaign (1777), ambushed the Tryon County Militia at the Battle of Oriskany (1777), and participated in the Siege of Fort Stanwix (1777). Following the war, he moved to Canada and helped 3,800 Loyalists resettle there. He was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs in 1782.

Joseph Brant Threatens Unadilla

In June 1777, Joseph Brant arrived in Unadilla with a party of 70-80 Iroquois warriors. He asked the settlers to provide him with supplies peacefully, but he told them he would use force if necessary.

• The settlers gave them willingly to avoid a fight.
• Two days later, Brant returned and forcibly took livestock from the settlers.
• The settlers abandoned Unadilla, believing it was too dangerous for them to remain.
• With the town empty, Brant occupied it and used it as his base of operations.

Joseph Brant (1742–1807) — Brant, also known as Thayendanegea, was a Mohawk. He is most well-known for leading a series of aids against American settlements on the New York and Pennsylvania frontier during the war.

• AHC Note — See “Narrative of Brant’s First Visit to Unadilla” in the Appendix.

The Lost Peace — Negotiations Between Herkimer and Brant

After Brant occupied the town, American officials sent representatives to meet with him to see if he intended to support the British war effort. General Nicholas Herkimer led 380 militia to Unadilla in July 1777. The two met, and Brant laid out his grievances to Herkimer, which included:

• The Mohawks living in the region were unable to move around freely.
• Their pastor, John Stuart, could not travel to meet with them.
• The Americans had built forts in the region.

Herkimer asked Brant if he would remain at peace if the grievances were resolved. Brant responded that he intended to support the King.

• Brant’s men and Herkimer’s men returned to their camps.
• Brant and Herkimer continued to talk.
• Brant told Herkimer he had enough men to attack and destroy his small army.
• Herkimer told him he had come in peace and intended to seize Loyalists in the area.
• Brant simply insisted that Herkimer leave the Indians alone.

Brant remained in control of Unadilla, and Herkimer marched to Cherry Valley. Soon after, in early August, Brant supported British forces when General Barry St. Leger invaded the Mohawk Valley as part of the Saratoga Campaign.

• Nicholas Herkimer (1728–1777) — Herkimer was a Brigadier General in the New York Militia. During the Saratoga Campaign (1777), he helped organize the defenses in the Mohawk Valley. His troops were ambushed at the Battle of Oriskany (1777), and he was severely wounded. Herkimer died soon after, due to complications from his wounds.
• Guy Johnson (c. 1740–1788) — After emigrating to the Province of New York, Johnson joined his uncle, William Johnson, working in the Department of Indian Affairs. Following the death of William in 1774, Guy succeeded him as the Superintendent of Indian Affairs.

AHC Notes

• Although the Mohawks were one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, Brant was acting only on behalf of his nation. The Six Nations could not agree on how to handle the war, and each nation was left to act on its own.
• The failed negotiations between Herkimer and Brant are referred to as “The Lost Peace.”
• The historical marker near their meeting place says, “This area was once the gathering place for Tories and Indians bent on the destruction of American frontier settlements. In 1777, General Nicholas Herkimer met with Chief Joseph Brant and discussed a peace that might have ended the bloody raids on the Mohawk Valley. Brant was not intimidated by Herkimer’s large escort of Tyron County militia, but, instead, challenged the Americans, saying that he was “ready for war.” Herkimer returned north, but the two met again on the bloody battlefield at Oriskany. After Oriskany, in 1779, American forces destroyed the Indian villages — real towns of stone houses with glass windows and brick chimneys — and burned the corn. This left the Iroquois homeless and starving – the unfortunate victims in a white man’s war. The result was a migration of the Senecas and many of their Iroquois brothers to Canada.” See “Narrative of Herkimer’s Negotiation with Brant” in the Appendix.

Raids in the Wyoming Valley and Mohawk Valley

Despite the British surrender at Saratoga (1777), Brant and the leaders of the Loyalist Militia sought to attack American settlements in the Wyoming Valley and Mohawk Valley in the summer of 1778. They hoped the attacks would force General George Washington to divert portions of the Continental Army to the region, which, in turn, would make him vulnerable to an attack by British forces occupying New York City.

• Rumors spread that the Loyalists and Indians intended to raid the Mohawk Valley settlements.
• The inhabitants of Cherry Valley told Governor George Clinton that Brant was preparing to attack the town and that people were fleeing.
• In March, two Indians warned Cherry Valley that an attack was coming.

March 9, 1778 — American and Iroquois commissioners met at Johnstown. Many of the Iroquois were still upset over their casualties at the Battle of Oriskany and refused to make peace. Marquis de Lafayette was involved in these meetings. Afterward, he ordered the construction of forts in Cherry Valley and on the Schoharie River to help defend the settlements.

May 30, 1778 — Brant attacked Cobleskill and burned some houses. A contingent of Continental troops from Massachusetts responded and engaged Brant. The Continentals were driven off and suffered casualties. The survivors from Cobleskill fled to Schoharie, ten miles east.

After Cobleskill, Brant went to Cherry Valley, where he planned to attack. He scouted the town and observed a large group of men and boys conducting military exercises, and thought the settlement’s defenses were too strong to attack. The group was training with wooden guns and sticks because they did not have enough real weapons. Brant could have attacked and likely would have been successful. During this visit, two key incidents occurred that increased tensions in the area (see Appendix for more details):

1. Lieutenant Matthew Wormwood, a friend of Brant’s, was killed by the Indians after Brant stopped him on the road.
2. Brant approached William McKown, 14 years old, while the boy was working in a field.

Following these incidents, the inhabitants of Bowman’s Creek, Springfield, and Newtown-Martin fled to Cherry Valley and took refuge in the fort.

June 18, 1778 — Brant attacked and destroyed Springfield. Some settlers were killed in the attack, and others were taken as prisoners.

In June, Brant and John Butler prepared to escalate their attacks.

• Brant spent two days at Butternut with a small party of Indians and two men from Johnson’s Royal Greens. At Butternut, which was also called the Old English District, he seized cattle and supplies.
• From Butternut, he went to Unadilla. Some of the families from Butternut went with him because he promised to protect them.
• Brant went to Oquaga, where he received a message from John Butler, ordering him to gather his volunteers and join him at Tioga.
• Brant did as he was ordered and met with Butler at Tioga.
• They decided Butler would march into the Wyoming Valley, while Brant would continue his raids in the Mohawk Valley.

July 3–4, 1778 — John Butler led his expedition of Loyalists and Indians into the Wyoming Valley. Zebulon Butler responded by organizing Patriot forces to counter the attack. However, the Patriots marched into an ambush and were forced to retreat. That night, the Indians brutally killed survivors of the battle. This is known as the Wyoming Massacre.

• AHC Note — Some accounts indicate Brant and his men refused to participate in the attack on Wyoming because it was in Pennsylvania. They preferred to limit their operations to their territory in New York.

July 18, 1778 — Brant led a raid on Andrustown, New York, along with William Caldwell. When rumors spread through the region that Brant intended to attack German Flatts, most settlers fled Andrustown and took refuge in the local forts. Brant led his men into Andrustown and attacked the few settlers who remained. A brief skirmish occurred, and the survivors fled to Fort Herkimer at German Flatts. Brant proceeded to loot the town for food and supplies and burned the buildings. Militiamen from German Flatts went in pursuit of Brant, but were unable to catch up. They responded to his attack on Andrustown by destroying the homes of two Loyalists at Young’s Settlement at Little Lakes.

September 17, 1778 — Brant decided to attack German Flatts, but his expedition was discovered by scouts sent from the town. The Indians ambushed the scouts, but one of them, Adam Helmer, escaped and returned to German Flatts, where he raised the alarm. The inhabitants took refuge in the forts. Brant arrived the next day, looted the town, and burned most of the buildings.

• John Butler (1728–1796) — Butler served under William Johnson during the French and Indian War and remained loyal to the Crown. He established a large estate near the Mohawk village of Caughnawaga and worked with Johnson in the Department of Indian Affairs. He led a Loyalist militia force, known as “Butler’s Rangers.”
• William Caldwell (c. 1750–1820) — Caldwell was an Irish-born soldier and colonial official who served in the Department of Indian Affairs. He fought with Butler’s Rangers, a Loyalist militia unit led by John Butler. He also fought in Lord Dunmore’s War and served under Dunmore during the Burning of Norfolk (1776). Caldwell served in the Canadian militia during the War of 1812. His unit was known as Caldwell’s Rangers.
• Butler’s Rangers — A Loyalist Militia unit raised by John Butler. Most of the men were from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. During the war, they fought on the Western Frontier, including Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia. The Rangers are most well-known for their participation in the Wyoming Massacre (1778) and the Cherry Valley Massacre (1778).

Butler Arrives at Schoharie

Lieutenant Colonel William Butler was sent to the Mohawk Valley to help defend the settlements. He was stationed at Schoharie in August. Under his command, he had the 4th Pennsylvania Continentals, men from Morgan’s Rifles, and a small group of rangers. At the time, he reported that Brant had about 1,500 warriors gathered at Unadilla.

• William Butler (?–1789) — A veteran of Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763–1766), Butler served as an aide to General William Alexander. He is most famous for leading the retaliatory attack on Undadilla (1778). Afterward, he served in Sullivan’s Expedition (1779). He was almost killed in the Mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line (1781), and served to the end of the war.
• Morgan’s Rifles — A special infantry unit of riflemen organized by General Daniel Morgan. The men, mainly Virginia frontiersmen, were known for their marksmanship, especially at long range.

On August 15, Butler wrote to Governor Clinton, informing him of the state of the region and a skirmish that occurred at the home of a Loyalist in Harpersfield, whose last name was Service.

“On my arrival here I found three forts erected by the inhabitants for their protection within four miles of each other. I took post at one I thought most liable to be attacked and immediately sent out a subaltern with a small scout to reconnoitre the country, and to make what discoveries he could of the enemy. He proceeded about 25 miles to one Service’s, a noted villain, who had constantly supply’d the enemy with necessaries. Service luckily was at home, and upon his refusing to surrender, and making some resistance, one of the party shot him. They also brought in 4 prisoners.

Before the return of the scout I received intelligence from Genl. Stark of one Smith who had raised a number of Tories and was marching to join the enemy. I immediately detached Capt. Long, of the Rifle Corps, with a party to intercept their march. Captain Long fell in with them, kill’d Smith and brought in his scalp, brought in also one prisoner and it is thought wounded a number. Only one of Capt. Long’s party was wounded.

With the prisoners taken by the first party, there was some letters from Smith to Butler and Brant, informing them that he would meet them at Service’s on Sunday following with a number of Tories whom he had engaged. I also had intelligence that the intention of the enemy was to march in a body to Service’s and there divide, one party to attack Cherry Valley and the other this place.

Except in these instances I have been obliged to act totally on the defensive; the little dependence that can be put in the few militia that do turn out, the disaffection of most of the inhabitants to us, the distance and wilderness of country that we have to pass through to the enemy without the necessaries for such an expedition, make it very difficult in my present situation to act otherwise.

Since my coming here numbers of the disaffected people begin to have a proper sense of their error, and are hourly coming in, begging protection, and are desirous of taking the oath of fidelity to the States.”

Butler’s Attacks on Unadilla and Oquaga

As the situation escalated, Governor Clinton wrote a letter (September 6, 1778) to Colonel John Castine, who commanded militia forces on the frontier of Ulster County and Orange County. Clinton said:

“I am fully convinced that we are not to have peace on our frontier until the straggling Indians and Tories who infest it are exterminated or driven back and their settlements destroyed. If, therefore, you can destroy the settlement at Oquaga, it will, in my opinion, be a good piece of service.”

This raid was not carried out by Castine, but instead by Butler. Soon after, General John Stark, the head of the Continental Army’s Northern Department, permitted Butler to attack Brant at Unadilla. Butler started his operation on September 20 by sending a scouting party of four men toward Unadilla.

• The scouts returned with three prisoners.
• They reported 300 Indians at Unadilla and 400 at Oquaga.
• Another scout was sent out. When he returned, he said the Indians had fled.

Butler marched from Schoharie on October 2 and moved through the Upper Delaware River area. 500 Indians joined him for the expedition. In his report to General Stark, he said:

“Oct. 6. Began our march early this morning and at dusk arrived within eight miles of the Unadilla settlement. I here detailed Lieuts. Stewart and Long, with small parties, to make prisoners of some inhabitants who lived within four miles of Unadilla. I then continued my road in the night, in order to be better concealed and within a smaller distance from the settlement from whence I might make the attack early in the morning. But after having reached about seven miles I met the parties who were detached with one prisoner; he told me the enemy had left the place some days before and were gone to Anaquago.”

• Afterward, he marched toward Johnstown, moving along the southern bank of the Mohawk River.
• On October 8, his men captured a man at Unadilla who could lead them to Oquaga.
• Meanwhile, Brant was raiding Cookhouse, east of Oquaga, leaving the Indian towns open to attack.

Captain William Gray, one of Butler’s officers, recorded the destruction of Oquaga:

“We marched down the river Susquehanna for Oghquaga, the chief Indian town, where we thought to start a party of savages and Tories by surprise; but we happened unluckily to be discovered by some scouting savages who made the best of their way. We could not come up with them, though our scouting party travelled all night to no purpose. We got to Oghquaga about 10 o’clock at night, which we found evacuated, also in greatest disorder. Everything seemed as if they had fled in greatest haste. Next morning we set the town (which consisted of 30 or 40 good houses) in flames, destroying therein great quantities of household furniture and Indian corn. The same day we marched from Oghquaga up the river to another town called Cunahunta, burning some Indian houses and corn on the road. From there we marched very early, leaving it in flames.”

October 10, 1778 — Butler’s expedition returned to Unadilla, where his men burned most of the houses on the south side of the Susquehanna River, along with a grist mill.

October 11, 1778 — Butler sent men to burn the rest of the houses in Unadilla, which was successfully carried out.

• Butler’s expedition lasted for 16 days.
• It destroyed the two settlements, along with smaller huts, dwellings, and about 4,000 bushels of corn.

One of Butler’s men took note of the homes at Oquaga, which impressed him. He said Oquaga was the “finest Indian town I ever say,” and it “was uncommonly well built for an Indian settlement, there being a considerable number of good farm-houses on either side of the river. These were all destroyed, together with the Indian castle three miles farther down the river, as also large quantities of provision intended for their winter’s supply.”

When Brant returned from his raid on Cookhouse, he found Oquaga in ruins. With his supplies gone, he returned to Unadilla and found it was also destroyed. Brant retaliated for these raids by attacking Cherry Valley on November 11.

Appendix

Narrative of Brant’s First Visit to Unadilla

This account of Brant’s First Visit to Unadilla is from A History of Herkimer County (1856) by Nathaniel S. Benton. Please note that minor corrections have been made to improve and update the text.

Joseph Brant, having had some disagreement with Guy Johnson, came to Oquago after the visit of Colonel Harper. In June 1777, he went up to Unadilla with a party of seventy or eighty Indians and sent for the officers of the militia company and the Rev. Mr. Johnstone. 

Brant informed them that the Indians needed provisions, and if the settlers did not provide them, they would take them by force. He told the settlers:

• The agreement between the Indians and the King was strong, and they were not such villains as to break their covenant with him.
• The Indians were natural warriors and could not bear to be threatened by General Schuyler.
• The Mohawks who remained in the area were confined and were not free to move around as they had been. 
• They were determined to be a free people and desired to have their friends removed from the Mohawk River, lest, if the western Indians should come down, their friends might suffer with the rest, as they would pay no respect to persons.

The inhabitants let them have provisions. Two days later, Brant returned, taking cattle, sheep, and other livestock. The inhabitants immediately removed their families and effects to places of greater security.

Narrative of Herkimer’s Negotiation with Brant

This account of Herkimer’s Negotiation with Brant is from A History of Herkimer County (1856) by Nathaniel S. Benton. Please note that minor corrections have been made to improve and update the text.

After learning of Brant’s actions, General Nicholas Herkimer gathered 380 militiamen and marched to Unadilla in July. He was met by Brant, who was at the head of 130 of his warriors. Brant listed the same grievances he had given to the settlers at Unadilla. When asked if he would remain at peace if his grievances were rectified, Brant replied:

“The Indians were in concert with the king, as their fathers and grandfathers had been. That the king’s belts were yet lodged with them, and they could not falsify their pledge. That General Herkimer and the rest had joined the Boston people against their king. That Boston people were resolute, but the king would humble them. That Mr. Schuyler, or General, or what you please to call him, was very smart on the Indians at the treaty at German Flatts, but was not at the same time able to afford them the smallest article of clothing. That the Indians had formerly made war on the white people all united, and now they were divided, the Indians were not frightened.”

After Brant had declared his determination to espouse the cause of the King, Colonel Cox said, if such was his resolution, the matter was ended. 

Brant turned and spoke to his warriors, who shouted and ran to their camp about a mile distant, when, seizing their arms, they fired guns and raised the Indian war-whoop. They returned immediately when General Herkimer, addressing Brant, told him he had not come to fight. Brant motioned his followers to remain in their places. Then, assuming a threatening attitude, he said, if their purpose was war, he was ready for them. 

He then proposed that Mr. Stewart, the missionary among the Mohawks, who was supposed to be friendly to the English, and the wife of Colonel Butler, should be permitted to pass from the lower to the upper Mohawk castle.

Herkimer agreed to this, but demanded that the Tories and deserters be given up to him. Brant refused, but said he would go to Oswego and meet with Colonel Butler to discuss it. With this, the conference ended. 

Herkimer appears to have been unwilling to push matters with Brant to the extreme, though he had sufficient power to have defeated the Indians. He undoubtedly entertained hopes that some amicable arrangement would eventually be made with them.