Natives versus Settlers: the Battle of Newtown, August 29, 1779

Although like many smaller Revolutionary War battles, this one was fought between Patriots on one side, and Loyalists with Native auxiliaries on the other, there was only two parties with any real stake in the matter.  The Natives fought for their homeland against Settlers who were trying to take it away.

After the battles in 1778 at Wyoming and Cherry Valley, public outcry against the Iroquois in general and the Seneca in particular became too great for Washington to ignore.  The only way to break the English Loyalist hold in New York, and maybe the British, too, was to penalize their allies, the Iroquois.  We've discussed the Sullivan/Clinton expedition of 1779-1780 in greater detail in another post.  Here, we'll talk about the Native response, particularly on the part of the Seneca and Mohawk, as villages and farms were laid waste and women, children and non-combatants were sent fleeing to British held territory, Montreal or Fort Niagara, were they faced a terrible winter with little in the way of shelter or provisions.

As Sullivan's scorched earth campaign progressed, John Butler, the leader of Butler's Rangers, and Joseph Brant favored a guerilla-type campaign of harassing and slowing down the enemy advance.  Seneca war leaders Sayenquaraghta (Old Smoke) and Cornplanter were tired of running and wanted a pitched battle.  In late August, 1779, Butler led 200-250 of his Rangers with a handful of British Regulars and over a thousand Iroquois warriors to what is now called Sullivan's Hill, near present-day Elmyra, New York.  The Rangers and Natives dug horseshoe shaped entrenchments about halfway up the hill.  On August 29, 1779, Sullivan's force approached, headed by Daniel Morgan's riflemen.  Seeing the breastworks and sensing an ambush, Morgan halted his forces and began scouting the area.  As more senior commanders came on the scene, they realized the danger of the situation, with an enemy entrenched on a hill and a swamp, Hoffman Hollow, below.  Sullivan's forces waited for the arrival of artillery and concocted a plan to assault the breastworks, surround and ultimately force the Loyalists and Natives from their advantageous position. 

The plan nearly worked, with Sullivan's forces almost able to encircle the breastwork positions and cut off escape.  Fortunately, some of his forces became bogged down in the swamp, throwing off the timing of the assault.  As most of the Rangers and warriors made their escape, Brant and his men led a counterattack that further slowed down the Patriot advance.  It was a gallant effort at a last stand but it was ultimately unsuccessful.  With the Native and Loyalist defense smashed, the rest of the Iroquois land in New York lay open to whatever Sullivan had in mind.  Novelist-historian Allan Eckert wrote that this battle broke the backs of the Iroquois League, and the hearts of the people of the Six Nations.