Early in the War, Americans had taken over Fort Stanwix, near what is now Rome, New York. On August 2, 1777, British forces laid siege to the Fort and an American relief party commanded by General Nicholas Herkimer, aided by 280 Oneida and Tuscarora under John Shenandoah, Louis Cook and Han Yerry was sent to break the siege. The British commander of the area sent Loyalist units under Sir John Johnson, son of William Johnson, the Queen's Rangers, a Loyalist Unit under John Butler, and Mohawk and Seneca warriors under Joseph Brant, to break the siege. They ambushed the Americans at Oriskany, near the present-day town of that name. General Herkimer was mortally wounded, so much of the control of the battle went to the Native leaders on the Patriot side. For the Iroquois, this was the first time in centuries that the members of the Confederacy had broken the Great Law of Peace and faced off against each other. For this reason, Seneca oral tradition remembers Oriskany as "a place of great sadness".
The battle was fought on Oneida land. Fort Stanwix guarded a portage on the Oswego River known as the Oneida Carry, a place where Oneida and other Iroquois had to carry their canoes around a rough portion of the River. British General John Burgoyne intended to split New York and cut New England off from the rest of the Colonies and sent General Barry St. Leger with a large Mohawk and Seneca contingent down the Mohawk Valley to do just that. They laid siege to Fort Stanwix, the only Continental fort in the area, guarding the portage across the Oswego River. Nicholas Herkimer, a member of the local Committee of Safety, was tipped off by the Oneida about the British movements. He raised the Tryon County Militia and rushed to the relief of the Fort. Meanwhile, Molly Brant learned of the Americans movements and got word to her brother Joseph. St. Leger dispatched him and his men, along with the two Loyalist units mentioned above, to meet the threat.
Herkimer had sent messengers ahead to warn the Continentals in Fort Stanwix that they were coming. The agreed-on response was three cannon shot, after which the men inside the fort would attempt a sortie. On August 6, 1777, not having heard the signal, Herkimer wanted to wait for further word or indication from Stanwix. His commanders disagreed, accusing him of being a closet Loyalist because his brother was with Burgoyne's army. Herkimer had no choice and pushed on toward Stanwix, leading his men through a marshy ravine where Cornplanter and another Seneca leader were waiting to meet them. Cornplanter sprung his trap, catching most but not all of the American force still ascending from the ravine. Herkimer was hit and his horse was killed. Propped against a tree, he tried to direct the battle as best he could. Many of the militiamen fled, but the Oneidas and some more stalwart souls stood fast.
A thunderstorm put a temporary hiatus on the fighting. Johnson sent back to St. Leger, requesting more men. As the fighting resumed, the Natives fighting on the British side resumed attacks with tomahawks. Herkimer instructed his men to fight in pairs, one reloading while the other shot, to fend off the attacks. Meanwhile, Butler had found out about the cannon signal, and convinced some of his men to turn their coats inside out to hide the green color used by Loyalist forces. Disguising themselves as a relief party, they advanced toward Herkimer's men as if to help. Patriots recognized the faces of Loyalist neighbors and went fighting hand-to-hand.
Meanwhile, the commander of Fort Stanwix sent out a sortie, who began raiding the empty British, Loyalist and Native camps. Now facing a threat behind them, Native runners from the camps alerted their compatriots on the field. The Seneca and Mohawk withdrew to protect the camps, forcing the Loyalist units to do likewise. Herkimer's men retreated to Fort Dayton, near what is now Herkimer, New York. Herkimer's leg was amputated, but infection set in and he finally died on August 16, 1777. The Oneidas and other Natives retrieved their dead and wounded, but the Patriot dead and wounded were left on the field, providing a grisly sight for other American forces coming to relieve Stanwix.
Brant and other Native leaders with the British were furious with the Oneidas for having turned against the other tribes of the Confederacy. They sent the Oneida leaders a bloody hatchet, and followed up the threat by burning the Oneida village of Oriska. Not to be outdone, the Oneidas struck back, burning Tionanderoga and Canojahorie. Stories circulated of ritual killing and cannibalism by the Natives supporting the British. Though some prisoners may have been ritually killed, there is no evidence of the Patriot propaganda charge of cannibalism. The Oneida's raids on the Mohawk eventually forced most of them to flee to Canada. The battle is considered a tactical victory for the Redcoats, they stopped the Americans from relieving Stanwix. But it was a strategic victory for the Americans because they were in control of the ground when the Loyalist forces withdrew.
The Seneca and Mohawk leaders fighting with St. Leger were angry with the British, since they had born the brunt of the casualties and lost most of their personal property. They believed they were to serve mostly as scouts, with Redcoats doing the lion's share of the fighting. Too late, they realized they would bear much of the fighting with little British support. Blacksnake, a cousin of Cornplanter, later recalled that there was so much Native blood spilled that it ran a stream upon the ground. This is the Battle featured in the movie, Drums Along the Mohawk in 1939.
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