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93-626: The creek is named after the Cayuga nation , one of the constituent members of the Iroquois Confederacy . The watershed of Cayuga Creek includes the towns of Alden , Cheektowaga , Elma , Lancaster , and Marilla in Erie County and the towns of Bennington and Sheldon in Wyoming County . Village centers along Cayuga Creek include Lancaster and Depew . A sewage treatment facility in

186-466: A "morass" that slowed their progress. The British commander, Major John Butler, became aware that his position was in danger of being flanked and began a withdrawal. An attack by a group of Indigenous warriors against the 2nd New Hampshire , which was still struggling to ascend the hill, caused significant casualties and allowed the rest of Butler's forces to escape. In his report to George Washington, Sullivan reported three dead and 39 wounded. Five of

279-475: A cluster of eight hamlets. The Seneca who lived at Yoghroonwago had fled their homes as Brodhead approached leaving many of their possessions behind. Over the next three days, Brodhead's men plundered and burned 130 houses, captured horses and cattle, and destroyed 500 acres of corn. Although there had been earlier discussion about Brodhead linking up with Sullivan at Chenussio for an attack against Fort Niagara , Brodhead turned back after razing Yoghroonwago. From

372-716: A federally recognized tribe. On November 11, 1794, the (New York) Cayuga Nation (along with the other Haudenosaunee nations) signed the Pickering Treaty with the United States, by which they ceded much of their lands in New York to the United States, forced to do so as allies of the defeated British. It was the second treaty the United States entered into. It recognized the rights of the Haudenosaunee as sovereign nations. The Pickering Treaty remains an operating legal document;

465-405: A garrison of 250 at Tioga, Sullivan's forces marched overnight and arrived at Chemung at dawn on August 13. They discovered that the village had been hastily abandoned. While Poor's soldiers torched the village and destroyed the crops in the surrounding fields, Hand's brigade searched for traces of the escaped villagers. About a mile west of the village, a detachment of the 11th Pennsylvania Regiment

558-654: A house) was signed over to the Cayuga nation by United States citizens who had purchased and developed the 70-acre (280,000 m ) farm in Aurora, New York . This is the first property which the Cayuga Nation has owned since after being forced to cede its lands after the Revolutionary War. It is the first time they have lived within the borders of their ancestral homeland in more than 200 years. The Cayuga continue to debate having

651-523: A major Indian war was in the offing. Since a defensive war would prove inadequate, the board called for an expedition of 3,000 men against Fort Detroit and a similar thrust into Seneca country to punish the Iroquois. Congress designated Major General Horatio Gates to lead the expedition and appropriated funds for the campaign. Despite these efforts, the campaign did not occur until the following year. On July 3, 1778, Butler, Sayenqueraghta and Cornplanter led

744-623: A mixed force of Indigenous warriors and Rangers in an attack on the Wyoming Valley , a rebel granary and settlement along the north branch of the Susquehanna River in what is now Pennsylvania . Roughly 300 of the armed Patriot defenders were killed at the Battle of Wyoming , after which houses, barns, and mills were razed throughout the valley. In September 1778, a response to the Wyoming defeat

837-578: A more shameful manner". When the British began to concentrate their military efforts on the southern colonies in 1779, Washington used the opportunity to launch a major offensive against the British-allied Iroquois. His initial impulse was to assign the expedition to Major General Charles Lee , however, Lee as well as Major General Philip Schuyler and Major General Israel Putnam were all disregarded for various reasons. Washington offered command of

930-563: A river in New York is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cayuga nation The Cayuga ( Cayuga : Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ , "People of the Great Swamp") are one of the five original constituents of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), a confederacy of Native Americans in New York . The Cayuga homeland lies in the Finger Lakes region along Cayuga Lake , between their league neighbors,

1023-421: A small party to reconnoitre Chemung, a Delaware village 12 miles (19 km) upstream, where he believed Indigenous and Loyalist forces were gathering. When the scouts returned they reported the presence of a large number of "both white people and Indians" in "great confusion" but were unable to tell if the enemy were preparing to fight or depart. Sullivan decided an immediate attack was warranted. Leaving behind

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1116-688: Is difficult to establish. About 45,000 Iroquois lived in Canada in 1995, more than 39,000 in Ontario and the remainder in Quebec. Among the six nations and federally recognized units in the United States, total tribal enrollment in 1995 numbered about 30,000. In the 2000 US Census, 45,217 respondents identified solely as Iroquois (but this does not mean they were enrolled as members); and 80,822 as having Iroquois ancestry. Notes Bibliography Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as

1209-537: Is impossible the rebels can be in such force as has been represented by the deserters to Major Butler upon the Susquehanna. He would do well to send out intelligent white men to be satisfied of the truth of those reports. If anything is really intended against the Upper Country, I am convinced that Detroit is the object and that they show themselves and spread reports of an expedition in your neighbourhood merely to divert

1302-566: Is remarked that the Indians live much better than most of the Mohawk River farmers, their houses very well furnished with all necessary household utensils, great plenty of grain, several horses, cows, and wagons". A group of local colonists, homeless after earlier Indigenous raids, successfully petitioned Gansevoort to turn the houses over to them. Gansevoort's actions were criticized by Philip Schuyler , Commissioner for Indian Affairs and member of

1395-582: The Bureau of Indian Affairs take this land into trust for them. They have been developing projects featuring indigenous planting, cultivation of herbs and medicinal plants, wild plant collection and a seed saving program. In 1995 there were nearly 450 Cayuga members in New York. In the 21st century, there are about 4,892 combined members of the Cayuga-Seneca Nation in Oklahoma. The total number of Iroquois

1488-606: The Continental Congress , because the captured Mohawks were strictly neutral. The Mohawks were held prisoner at Albany until released on Washington's orders in late October. Canadian historian Gavin Watt described the British reaction to the invasion of the Iroquois homeland as "incredibly weak and ill-timed." Following France's declaration of war against Britain in June 1778, Governor Frederick Haldimand of Quebec became preoccupied with

1581-556: The Genesee River and Chenussio , also known as Little Beard's Town. On September 12, after marching from Honeoye Lake , Sullivan's forces camped between Hemlock Lake and Conesus Lake . From there Sullivan dispatched Lieutenant Thomas Boyd of Morgan's Rifle Corps to reconnoiter Chenussio. Boyd took with him 26 riflemen including Sergeant Michael Parker, and Thaosagwat, an Oneida guide also known as Han Yost. The following morning Boyd's patrol reached an abandoned village which he believed

1674-549: The Mohawk Valley . Gansevoort was ordered to destroy the Mohawk settlement of Tiononderoga and capture the inhabitants. Sullivan believed that Tiononderoga, located beside Fort Hunter at the mouth of Schoharie Creek, was "constantly employed in giving intelligence to the enemy." Gansevoort reached Fort Stanwix on September 25, and four days later surprised and captured the occupants of Tiononderoga's four houses. Gansevoort wrote, "It

1767-993: The Onondaga to the east and the Seneca to the west. Today, Cayuga people belong to the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in Ontario , and the federally recognized Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma . Political relations between the Cayuga, the British , and the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution were complicated and variable, with Cayuga warriors fighting on both sides (as well as abstaining from war entirely). Most of

1860-556: The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma was added as a plaintiff in the claim. Following many years of pre-trial motions, a jury trial on damages was held from January 18-February 17, 2000. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, finding current fair market value damages of $ 35 million and total fair rental value damages of $ 3.5 million. The jury gave

1953-772: The Sullivan-Clinton Expedition , the Sullivan Campaign , and the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign ) was a United States military campaign during the American Revolutionary War , lasting from June to October 1779, against the four British -allied nations of the Iroquois (also known as the Haudenosaunee). The campaign was ordered by George Washington in response to Iroquois and Loyalist attacks on

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2046-600: The Western Department in March 1779, was a strong advocate of launching an offensive against the western Seneca. Washington's strategy for the "chastisement of the savages" initially included an operation from Fort Pitt , but in April 1779, he had ordered the expedition cancelled due to supply issues. Brodhead, however, indicated that he had sufficient men and provisions to mount an attack, and on July 21, Washington gave permission for

2139-620: The Wyoming Valley , and the Cherry Valley . The campaign had the aim of "the total destruction and devastation of their settlements." The Continental Army carried out a scorched-earth campaign in the territory of the Iroquois Confederacy in what is now central New York . The expedition was largely successful, with 40 Iroquois villages razed and their crops and food stores destroyed. The campaign drove just over 5,000 Iroquois to Fort Niagara seeking British protection, and depopulated

2232-522: The "warriors" were a hunting party that had already beached their canoes when they were surprised by the Americans. Sullivan's forces entered the abandoned settlement of Buckaloon at the mouth of Brokenstraw Creek then proceeded eight miles further up the Allegheny to Conawago which appeared to have been abandoned several months previously. The expedition then continued twenty miles upstream to Yoghroonwago,

2325-512: The American forces on the Susquehanna were a feint. In mid-August, Butler accompanied by about 300 Seneca and Cayuga warriors led by Sayenqueraghta, Cornplanter , and Fish Carrier moved south to the Chemung River where they were joined by Joseph Brant and Brant's Volunteers , as well as a number of Delaware. Butler and Brant believed that harassment raids would be more effective than making

2418-466: The American intention to attack the "Indian Country" from Wyoming. He wrote that Sullivan and Maxwell had joined Hand at Wyoming with artillery, boats and pack horses. Butler passed this information to Quebec adding that Clinton was at Lake Otsego and would rendezvous with Sullivan at Tioga. In response, Haldimand wrote directly to Butler in August reaffirming his belief that Fort Detroit was the target and that

2511-492: The Americans that they needed to take action. In April 1779, Colonel Goose Van Schaick led an expedition of 558 Continental Army troops against the Onondaga people . About 50 houses and a large quantity of corn and beans were burned. Van Schaick reported that they took "thirty three Indians and one white man prisoner, and killed twelve Indians." Despite Van Schaick's superior James Clinton ordering him to prevent his soldiers from assaulting any Onondaga women (noting that "Bad as

2604-578: The British in recognition of their loyalty to the Crown. Following the end of the war, the Central New York Military Tract was established in order to grant land bounties to veterans. The tract originally included a Cayuga reservation surrounding the north end of Cayuga Lake, but the reservation was given up a few years later in a treaty with the state. Some Seneca and Cayuga had left the area earlier even as Tuscarora were migrating north in

2697-536: The Cayuga Nation after the signing of the Treaty of Canandaigua after the American Revolutionary War . Its failure to get approval of the United States Senate meant the transactions were illegal, as the state had no constitutional authority to deal directly with Indian nations. The Treaty of Canandaigua holds that only the United States government may enter into legal discussions with the Haudenosaunee . In 1981,

2790-553: The Continental Army. The campaign mobilized 6200 troops and devastated the Cayuga and other Iroquois homelands, destroying 40-50 villages. Those destroyed included major Cayuga villages such as Cayuga Castle and Chonodote (Peachtown). The expedition, with attacks from the spring through the fall, also destroyed the crops and winter stores of the Iroquois, to drive them out of the land. Survivors fled to other Iroquois tribes, or to Upper Canada . Some were granted land there by

2883-465: The Genesee River. At the north end of Seneca Lake he met with a delegation of Oneida that brought a message from the Cayuga claiming neutrality. Ignoring their plea, Sullivan ordered William Butler with 600 men to cross over to Cayuga Lake and lay waste to the Cayuga villages on the eastern shore. Henry Dearborn and the 3rd New Hampshire were tasked with destroying the villages on the western shore of

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2976-578: The Iroquois nations allied with the British, in part hoping to end encroachment on their lands by colonists. In 1778, various Iroquois bands, oft allied with British-colonial loyalists ( Tories ) conducted a series of raids along the frontier from Connecticut to New York and into south-central Pennsylvania threatening much of the Susquehanna Valley. From the revolutionary government's point of view in Philadelphia, several of these were atrocities, and in

3069-562: The Iroquois, the American Revolution became a civil war . The Iroquois homeland lay on the frontier between the Province of Quebec and the provinces of New York and Pennsylvania . Following the October 1777 surrender of British General John Burgoyne's forces after the Battles of Saratoga , Loyalists and their Iroquois allies began raiding American frontier settlements, as well as the villages of

3162-757: The Lower Cayuga and Upper Cayuga, still live in Ontario , both at Six Nations of the Grand River , a reserve recognized by the Canadian government. Two federally recognized tribes of Cayuga constitute the third band in the United States: the Cayuga Nation of New York in Seneca Falls , New York, and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma . The Cayuga Nation of New York does not have a reservation. Members have lived among

3255-584: The Ohio Valley. Only weakened cobbled together tribes, such as the Mingo, were in the land, which was still mostly empty; creating a situation drawing settlers west in increasing numbers. By 1831 those Indians left in the lands east of Ohio were encouraged by bigotry, and at times forcibly removed to the Indian Territory , in what became Oklahoma. Their remnants, consequently, the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma are

3348-527: The Oneida. Working out of Fort Niagara , men such as Loyalist commander Major John Butler , Mohawk military leader Joseph Brant , and Seneca war chiefs Sayenqueraghta and Cornplanter led the joint British-Indigenous raids. On May 30, 1778, a raid on Cobleskill by Brant's Volunteers resulted in the deaths of 22 regulars and militia. On June 10, 1778, the Board of War of the Continental Congress concluded that

3441-510: The Rangers and Indians from their main purpose. Major Butler should be aware of this but at the same time be cautious of leaving the Indian Country exposed. On July 20, Joseph Brant led his volunteers and a detachment of Butler's Rangers against the settlement of Minisink in the upper Delaware River valley. Ten houses, eleven barns, a church, and a gristmill were destroyed in the raid. Most of

3534-536: The Second Circuit rendered a decision that reversed the judgment of the trial court. It ruled in favor of the defendants , based on the doctrine of laches . Essentially the court ruled that the plaintiffs had taken too long to present their case, when it might have been equitably settled earlier. The Cayuga Indian Nation of New York sought review of this decision by the Supreme Court of the United States , which

3627-701: The Seneca Nation on their reservation. Since the late 20th century, they have acquired some land in their former homeland by purchase. The Cayuga Nation of New York filed an action on November 19, 1980, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York to pursue legislative and monetary restitution for land taken from it by the State of New York during the 18th and 19th centuries. New York had entered into land sales and leases with

3720-462: The Susquehanna to Wyoming. Two days after arriving at Wyoming, Sullivan received orders to bring his army to West Point. Overall, 40 villages, numerous isolated houses and 160,000 bushels of corn, as well as orchards and a vast quantity of vegetables were destroyed. Including deaths from illness, only 40 men had been lost. Further to the west, a concurrent expedition was undertaken by Colonel Daniel Brodhead . Brodhead, who had been given command of

3813-585: The Town of Cheektowaga discharges into Cayuga Creek upstream of Borden Road. Downstream from Borden Road the creek runs along the Indian Road landfill . Cayuga Creek runs through the Lancaster Country Club and Como Lake Park in the Town of Lancaster. The Lancaster Country Club diverts some creek water for golf course irrigation. In Como Lake Park, the creek is dammed upstream of Lake Avenue. Farther downstream

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3906-623: The U.S. government continues to send the requisite gift of muslin fabric to the nations each year. The state of New York made additional treaties with the tribes but failed to get them ratified by the Senate. As it lacked the constitutional authority to deal directly with the tribes, individual tribes have sued for land claims since the late 20th century, charging New York had no authority for their actions. The state rapidly arranged sales of more than 5 million acres (20,000 km ) of former Iroquois lands at inexpensive prices to encourage development in

3999-463: The Wyoming Valley and Cherry Valley, as well as Iroquois support of the British during the 1777 Battles of Saratoga , Sullivan's army carried out a scorched-earth campaign to put an end to Iroquois attacks. The American force methodically destroyed 40 Iroquois villages throughout the Finger Lakes region of western New York. Thousands of Indigenous refugees fled to Fort Niagara on Lake Ontario at

4092-422: The allegiance (or at least the neutrality) of the Iroquois|Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Six Nations. The Iroquois eventually divided over what course to pursue. Most Senecas , Cayugas , Onondagas , and Mohawks chose to ally themselves with the British. Most Oneidas and Tuscaroras joined the American revolutionaries, thanks in part to the influence of Presbyterian missionary Samuel Kirkland . For

4185-400: The area for post-war settlement. Some scholars argue that it was an attempt to annihilate the Iroquois and describe the campaign as a genocide , although this term is disputed. Historian Fred Anderson , describes the expedition as "close to ethnic cleansing " instead. Some historians have also related this campaign to the concept of total war , in the sense that the total destruction of

4278-405: The attention of Butler's Rangers and the allied Iroquois. In May 1779, Major Butler, accompanied by five companies of Butler's Rangers and a detachment of the 8th Regiment of Foot , established a forward operating base at Kanadaseaga located near the northern end of Seneca Lake . At Kanadaseaga, Butler received reports from Indigenous scouts and American deserters of the gathering of troops and

4371-422: The boats and ferried across. Clinton established his headquarters at the south end of the lake in early July and waited for Sullivan's order to march. Clinton received the order to start for Tioga on August 9. Due to low water levels on the Susquehanna, Clinton had ordered the construction of a dam that had raised the water level on Otsego Lake by 2 feet (0.61 m). The boats, laden with supplies, were hauled to

4464-406: The building of bateaux at Stillwater indicated that the Americans intended to move forces up the Mohawk River to Fort Stanwix, and from there would move against Fort Niagara or Fort Detroit . Sir Henry Clinton , the commander-in-chief of British forces in America, was convinced that the Americans were planning to capture Fort Detroit and that a feint up Susquehanna River valley would be used to draw

4557-463: The creek is an important feature in Stiglmeier Park in the Town of Cheektowaga. After Cayuga Creek flooded the Village of Lancaster twice in the early 1940s, protective dikes were constructed. This article about a location in Erie County, New York is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location in Wyoming County, New York is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

4650-500: The distance to which they are driven and in the terror with which the severity of the chastisement they receive will inspire.... The expedition was one of the largest campaigns of the Continental Army , involving more than one third of its soldiers. Sullivan was assigned four Continental Army brigades totalling 4,469 men. By the time the expedition set out this number had fallen to just under 4,000 due to disease, desertions and expired enlistments. In April 1779, Edward Hand's brigade

4743-471: The early decades of the 1700s, going west of the Alleghenies to the long depopulated Ohio Country lands; settling in Western Pennsylvania , West Virginia , and Eastern Ohio . These tribes became known as the Mingo or "Black Mingo", for they had a bad reputation, so were able to take in their kin after that systematic bloodletting in 1779. After the Sullivan Campaign, more Cayuga joined them, as well as some other bands of Iroquois who left New York before

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4836-420: The early summer that body proceeded to order Washington to send regiments to quell these disturbances. Consequently, in 1779, General George Washington of the Continental Army appointed General John Sullivan and James Clinton to lead the Sullivan Expedition , a retaliatory military campaign designed to unseat the Iroquois Confederacy and prevent the nations from continuing to attack New York militias and

4929-426: The encampment at Tioga after nightfall. The fourth brigade, commanded by James Clinton , assembled at Canojaharie on the Mohawk River . A 24 miles (39 km) road was cut through the forest from the Mohawk River to Otsego Lake , the source of the Susquehanna River. For six days in June, wagons trundled back and forth carrying supplies and 208 flatboats to the head of the lake. The supplies were then loaded onto

5022-424: The end of the Revolutionary War. As the American Revolution was nearing its end, settlers resumed trekking west of the Alleghenies in a trickle that by 1810, became a flood. Other eastern Amerindians, joined by eastward remnants of Susquehannock and large groups of Delaware peoples had also traveled the ancient trails through the gaps of the Allegheny to found settlements such as Kittanning (village) and others in

5115-429: The enemy was on the table. Today this area is the heartland of Upstate New York , with thirty-five monoliths marking the path of Sullivan's troops and the locations of the Iroquois villages they razed dotting the region, having been erected by the New York State Education Department in 1929 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the expedition. Led by Major General John Sullivan and Brigadier General James Clinton ,

5208-460: The enemy's rear. Poor and Clinton were given an hour to move into position. When the artillery opened fire the plan was for Hand to feint a frontal attack on the breastwork while Poor and Clinton attacked from behind. Maxwell's brigade was kept in reserve except for the 1st New Jersey which moved to cut off any retreat along the river. The guns, however, opened fire well before Poor and Clinton reached their objective. Their route had taken them through

5301-474: The expedition severely damaged the Iroquois nations' economies by destroying their crops, villages, and chattels. The death toll from exposure, starvation and disease the following winter dwarfed the casualties received in the Battle of Newtown, during which an army of 3,200 Continental soldiers decisively defeated about 600 Iroquois and Loyalists. In response to 1778 attacks by Iroquois and Loyalists on American settlements, such as on Cobleskill , German Flatts ,

5394-448: The expedition to Horatio Gates , the "Hero of Saratoga," but Gates turned down the offer, ostensibly for health reasons. Finally, Major General John Sullivan accepted command. Washington's issued his specific orders in a letter to Sullivan on May 31, 1779: The Expedition you are appointed to command is to be directed against the hostile tribes of the Six Nations of Indians, with their associates and adherents. The immediate objects are

5487-442: The expedition to proceed. Brodhead departed Fort Pitt on August 11, 1779, with a contingent of 605 "rank and file" from the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment , the 9th Virginia Regiment and the Maryland Rifle Corps , as well as militia, volunteers and allied Delaware warriors. The expedition proceeded northwards up the valley of the Allegheny River into Seneca territory in what is now northwestern Pennsylvania. Several days into

5580-422: The expedition was conducted during the summer of 1779, beginning on June 18 when the army marched from Easton, Pennsylvania , to October 3 when it abandoned Fort Sullivan, built at Tioga , to return to George Washington 's main camp in New Jersey. While the campaign had only one major battle, at Newtown (since the tribes evacuated ahead of the large military force) along the Chemung River in western New York ,

5673-443: The expedition's supplies, many of Sullivan's pack horses reached the end of their endurance on the return to Tioga. Just north of what is now Elmira, New York , Sullivan ordered most of them euthanized. A few years later, the skulls of these horses were lined along the trail as a warning to potential settlers. The area became known as "The Valley of Horses Heads" and is now known as the town and village of Horseheads . Sullivan, with

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5766-418: The home of Catherine Montour , the expedition headed up the east side of the lake and then west to Kanadaseaga , setting every structure on fire, destroying food stores and the crops in the fields, cutting down orchards, and fulfilling Washington's directive to cause "the total destruction and devastation of their settlements." Following the destruction of Kanadaseaga, Sullivan's forces continued west towards

5859-401: The lake while William Smith and the 5th New Jersey would burn any villages on the western shore of Seneca Lake. Over the next five days, Bulter's and Dearborn's men leveled the two large Cayuga villages of Goiogouen and Chonodote , as well as smaller villages and hamlets. Coreorgonel , a village of Tutelo who had been adopted by the Cayuga, was also destroyed. Exhausted from carrying

5952-414: The main body of his forces, returned to the Chemung River on September 24 and waited for Dearborn and Butler to arrive. Dearborn's detachment reached Sullivan's camp two days later while Butler's did not arrive until September 28. Sullivan's army returned to Tioga on September 30. Fort Sullivan was demolished on October 3, and the following day Sullivan's army boarded the flatboats for a three-day journey down

6045-434: The march, Brodhead's vanguard of 15 Continentals and eight Delaware encountered seven canoes with between 30 and 40 Seneca warriors heading down the Allegheny. The Seneca are reported to have beached their canoes and prepared to fight. In the ensuing skirmish five of the warriors were killed and the rest were driven off. Two Continentals and one of the Delaware suffered slight wounds. According to Seneca oral tradition, however,

6138-468: The mountainous terrain and the need to keep abreast of the 134 flatboats carrying Sullivan's artillery and supplies up the Susquehanna. With the expedition were 1,200 pack horses, 700 head of cattle, four brass three-pound cannons, two six-pound cannons, two 5½-inch howitzers , and one coehorn . The expedition arrived at Tioga on August 11 and construction began on a temporary fort that was named Fort Sullivan. After arriving at Tioga, Sullivan dispatched

6231-441: The mouth of French Creek , Brodhead sent a detachment upstream to destroy the settlement of Mahusqueehikoken. Like Yoghroonwago, Mahusqueehikoken had been hastily abandoned before Broadhead's forces arrived. The expedition returned to Fort Pitt on September 14 after covering 450 miles in 35 days. The final operation of the campaign occurred in late September. From Kanadaseaga, Sullivan sent Colonel Peter Gansevoort with 100 men to

6324-409: The mouth of Choconut Creek where a large detachment from Poor's and Hand's brigades was waiting to escort them to Tioga. Clinton entered Sullivan's camp on August 22. The expedition departed Fort Sullivan on August 26, and cautiously headed up the Chemung River valley. In the early morning of August 29, Sullivan's advance guard discovered a camouflaged, half-mile long breastwork of logs. The breastwork

6417-419: The mouth of the Niagara River . The devastation created great hardship for those who sheltered under British military protection outside Fort Niagara that winter, and many starved or froze to death, despite efforts by the British authorities to supply food and provide shelter using their limited resources. When the Revolutionary War began, British officials, as well as the colonial Continental Congress , sought

6510-406: The possibility of a Franco-American invasion. As a result he focused on reinforcing the defences of the St. Lawrence River valley rather than supporting Britain's Iroquois allies by establishing a long-promised post at Oswego on Lake Ontario or increasing troop strength at Fort Niagara. By the spring of 1779 the British had become aware that the Americans were planning a major offensive although

6603-455: The rangers and regulars blockaded Fort Alden, the Seneca rampaged through the village, killing and scalping 16 soldiers and 32 civilians, mostly women and children, and taking 80 captives. In less than a year, Butler's Rangers and their Iroquois allies had reduced much of upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania to ruins, causing thousands of settlers to flee and depriving the Continental Army of food. The Cherry Valley massacre convinced

6696-497: The return of the Cayuga People to their ancestral homelands. They planted a pine tree at this dedication as a symbol that the Cayuga People are still alive and wanting to return. The elder women of the Cayuga Nation broke the ground and planted the pine tree to welcome the return of their people to their home territory. In December 2005, the S.H.A.R.E. (Strengthening Haudenosaunee-American Relations through Education) Farm (including

6789-525: The savages are, they never violate the chastity of any women"), the Americans committed numerous atrocities during the expedition. American soldiers "killed babies and raped women", and an Onondaga chief recounted to the British in 1782 how the Americans "put to death all the Women and Children, excepting some of the Young Women, whom they carried away for the use of their Soldiers & were afterwards put to death in

6882-539: The settlements around, with instructions to do it in the most effectual manner, that the country may not be merely overrun, but destroyed.... But you will not by any means listen to overture of peace before the total ruin of their settlements is effected. It is likely enough their fears if they are unable to oppose us, will compel them to offers of peace, or policy may lead them, to endeavour to amuse us in this way to gain time and succour for more effectual opposition. Our future security will be in their inability to injure us

6975-453: The settlers escaped to main fort but four men were killed and three were taken prisoner. Two days later, a force of 120 militiamen led by Colonel John Hathorn tried to intercept Brant's force at Minisink Ford. Before an ambush could be set, an accidental rifle discharge alerted Brant to the trap. Brant was able to gain the high ground behind Hathorn and in the ensuing battle 46 militiamen were killed. Brant reported three of his men killed and of

7068-418: The shallows below the dam. The dam was breached and the boats were able to float downriver, paced by Clinton's soldiers marching along both banks. Clinton reached Unadilla on August 12, and Oquaga two days later. Both villages had been destroyed by William Butler a year earlier. After a two-day rest, Clinton's brigade continued downriver, burning abandoned hamlets and scattered farms. On August 19, they reached

7161-478: The state a credit for the payments it had made to the Cayuga of about $ 1.6 million, leaving the total damages at approximately $ 36.9 million. On October 2, 2001, the court issued a decision and order which awarded a prejudgment interest award of $ 211 million and a total award of $ 247.9 million. Both the plaintiffs and the defendants appealed this award. On June 28, 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for

7254-522: The state. It also granted some western lands to war veterans in lieu of pay. Speculators bought up as much land as they could and resold it to new settlers. Land-hungry Yankees from New England flooded into New York in waves of new settlement, as did some settlers from the Mohawk Valley. Immigrants also came from the British Isles and France after the war. There are three Cayuga bands. The two largest,

7347-412: The stockpiling of supplies at Canajoharie and Wyoming. He passed on this information to the British commander of Fort Niagara, Lieutenant Colonel Mason Bolton, who forwarded it to Haldimand. Butler later reported that there was no doubt that the "rebels" were coming up the Susquehanna with the ultimate goal of attacking Fort Niagara. Haldimand, however, was skeptical about the accuracy of such reports: It

7440-525: The substantial Indigenous villages at Unadilla and Onaquaga on the Susquehanna River. On November 11, 1778, Loyalist Captain Walter Butler (the son of John Butler) led two companies of Butler's Rangers, a detachment of the 8th Regiment of Foot , about 300 Seneca and Cayuga led by Cornplanter , and a small group of Mohawks led by Joseph Brant , on an assault at Cherry Valley in New York. While

7533-532: The target was unclear. Reports had reached Quebec about the construction of a large number of bateaux at Stillwater on the Hudson River which suggested an attack on Montreal . Haldimand also received information that American troops were gathering at Albany and Schenectady with the goal of establishing a military presence at Oswego. Lord Germain , Secretary of State for the Colonies, expressed his belief that

7626-572: The ten wounded, four were unlikely to survive. On July 28, Captain John McDonell attacked Fort Freeland on the West Branch of the Susquehanna with his company of Butler's Rangers, a detachment of the 8th Regiment of Foot, and 120 Seneca led by Cornplanter. The fort's small garrison quickly surrendered, and a relief force that arrived shortly afterwards was routed. After interrogating the fort's commander, McDonell wrote to Butler that he had no doubt of

7719-430: The total destruction and devastation of their settlements, and the capture of as many prisoners of every age and sex as possible. It will be essential to ruin their crops now in the ground and prevent their planting more.... I would recommend, that some post in the center of the Indian Country, should be occupied with all expedition, with a sufficient quantity of provisions whence parties should be detached to lay waste all

7812-451: The village. One was killed but three escaped. Afraid that the gunfire would draw more of the enemy to the village, Boyd ordered a return to Sullivan's position. On the trail they spotted several more Seneca who fled. Thaosagwat warned Boyd not to give chase but the warning was ignored, and the patrol stumbled into the ambush. Surrounded and outnumbered, fourteen of Boyd's men were killed while Boyd, Parker and Thaosagwat were captured. Thaosagwat

7905-505: The wounded later succumbed to their injuries bringing the total to eight dead. Butler reported five of his Rangers killed or taken and three wounded as well as five killed and nine wounded among the Iroquois. American sources reported two prisoners taken, and twelve Indigenous dead, including a woman. Sullivan's force destroyed Newtown and several other abandoned Delaware villages along the Chemung River, then turned north towards Seneca Lake . After burning Queanettquaga (Catherine's Town),

7998-493: Was denied on May 15, 2006 . The time in which the Cayuga Indian Nation could ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear the case has passed. The Nation reclaimed its first land on July 17, 1996, by purchasing 14 acres (57,000 m ) in Seneca Falls, within their 64,000 acres (260 km ) land claim area. On August 2, 1997 a dedication was held where members of all the Iroquois Confederacy nations were present. This purchase began

8091-407: Was Chenussio. Meanwhile, about 200 Butler's Rangers led by John Butler and Seneca warriors led by Cornplanter and Little Beard , were preparing to ambush the vanguard of Sullivan's army as it emerged from the marshy area south of Conesus Lake, unaware that Boyd's patrol had unknowingly passed them in the night. As Boyd's patrol kept watch for signs of enemy activity, four Seneca on horseback entered

8184-451: Was ambushed by 30 Delaware led by Roland Montour . The Continentals were able to counterattack and force the Delaware to retreat but suffered six killed and 12 wounded. Later a detachment of the 1st New Hampshire Regiment was fired upon while destroying crops on the opposite side of the river, killing one and wounding four. Sullivan's forces withdrew from Chemung that afternoon and returned to

8277-480: Was completed in mid-June and Sullivan's forces arrived at Wyoming on June 23 after a five-day march. A number of smaller units, including three companies of Morgan's Riflemen , joined the expedition at Wyoming. Supply shortages delayed Sullivan's departure from Wyoming until July 31 when the expedition set out for Tioga at the confluence of the Chemung and Susquehanna rivers. The expedition proceeded cautiously, slowed by

8370-422: Was immediately executed by Little Beard while Boyd and Parker were later tortured to death. The mutilated bodies of Boyd and Parker were discovered when Sullivan's forces entered Chenussio on September 14. After destroying Chenussio's 128 houses with its gardens and cornfields, Sullivan retraced his steps, aware that provisions were growing short, and mistakenly believing there were no other Seneca villages west of

8463-408: Was manned by Butler's Rangers, Brant's Volunteers, a detachment of the 8th Regiment of Foot, and about 350 Seneca, Cayuga and Delaware warriors. Sullivan had Hand's brigade form a line of battle facing the breastwork while Proctor's artillery was positioned on a nearby rise. Poor's New Hampshire Brigade and Clinton's New York Brigade were ordered to circle around to the right and climb the steep hill to

8556-451: Was ordered from Minisink to the Wyoming Valley to establish a base camp for the expedition. In May 1779, the brigades of Enoch Poor and William Maxwell assembled at Easton where they were joined by Sullivan and Thomas Proctor's 4th Artillery Regiment. Before they could proceed to Wyoming a road had to be hewn through the wilderness between the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers. The road

8649-428: Was undertaken by Colonel Thomas Hartley who destroyed a number of abandoned Delaware and Seneca villages along the Susquehanna River, including Tioga . At the same time, Joseph Brant led an attack on German Flatts in the Mohawk Valley , destroying numerous houses, barns and mills. In October, further American retaliation was taken by Continental Army units under Lieutenant Colonel William Butler who destroyed

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