Days of the Flockey
By Jeff O'Connor
A web article about the 1777 British/loyalist invasion of Schoharie County, (then part of Albany County), and the Battle of the Flockey, in which the first United States Army cavalry charge was made. The article was posted as a serial on this site starting March 3, 2002. Jeff O'Connor is captain and commander of the Stone Fort Volunteer Militia.
On August 13, 1777, the American Revolution's long and brutal path toward independence came to the grain-rich Schohary district of Albany County, New York.
It had been a summer of great tumult on the New York frontier. Two British armies were invading New York from Canada, through the Champlain and Mohawk waterways. A third army was poised to march up the Hudson from New York. Led by Gen. John Burgoyne, the armies' destination was Albany. Their objective was control of the strategic Hudson River. Severance of New England from the central and southern colonies was the ultimate goal.
A mixed British army of 1,700 regulars, loyalists an Indian warriors under Lt. Col. Barry St. Leger held Fort Stanwix under siege in the Mohawk Valley. Burgoyne drove closer to Albany with an army of 8,000, composed mostly of regulars a Hessians. Caught between these two armies were Albany and Tryon counties, whose loyalist populations were becoming increasingly hostile to their neighbors who supported independence. It was at this crucial juncture that the Schohary district became the focal point of the largest loyalist uprising the Burgoyne campaign would spawn.
A growing corps of loyalists in Albany and Tryon counties stirred to action. Adam Crysler of Vrooman's Land in the Schohary Valley recruited some 70 men and most of the Schohary Indians to join Burgoyne. Other crown supporters in surrounding settlements raised more than 200 and waited to join those at Schohary. The most surprising of these loyalist leaders was Capt. George Mann of the Schohary Militia, who declared himself a "friend of King George" on Aug. 8th and drew some followers from his assembled troops who were supposed to march off to join the American army gathering to oppose Burgoyne.
Within days of Mann's defection, Crysler was joined by John McDonnell, who was sent to the area by Sir John Johnson to help raise troops for the British campaign. Together, Crysler and McDonnell seized control of the southern end of the valley while Mann shut off travel and communication from the northern end at Foxestown, near the Old Stone Fort. The only resistance was a handful of defenders holed up between them at Johannes Becker's stone house in Weyserstown, called "Fort Defiance."
After a harrowing escape, Col. John Harper rode through the loyalist lines to Albany and returned on Aug. 13th with a 28-man troop of the 2nd Continental Light Horse. Upon arriving in Schohary, Harper rounded up loyalists at Mann's Tavern and George Mann went into hiding. The militia rallied around the smartly dressed mounted dragoons and swelled Harper's ranks. After marching prisoners to Fort Defiance and refusing a demand to surrender, Harper led the Light Horse, his own small ranger company and some of the Schohary Militia against the remaining enemy.
The loyalists had retreated to Crysler's farm in the upper part of Vrooman's Land, which was near a low, flat flood plain referred to by the native Germans as "Die Flache." A stand was made and Harper's mounted column was ambushed. Despite the loss of a lieutenant and several wounded, the Light Horse charged and drove McDonnell's and Crysler's forces into the woods and out of the valley.
The loyalists were scattered, but hardly beaten. They would return to Schohary many times to destroy the precious grain crop and try to reclaim property and family left behind. What resulted was a long, brutal struggle fought within and around what is now Schoharie County.
Die Flache, which may be translated as "the flats," became corrupted to "the Flockey" and became the location of the first recorded cavalry charge of the United States Army.
This is the story of the events that led up to that battle.
* * *
February 28, 1777: While in winter quarters in London, Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne submitted a plan for a three-pronged invasion of New York to the British colonial secretary, Lord George Germain. In his "Thoughts For Conducting the War From the Side of Canada," Burgoyne outlined a daring scheme to cut off the New England states from the middle and southern states by seizing control of the Hudson River. It had been thought by the British that the "Yankees" of New England were the chief instigators in the rebellion, and were disposed to believe that physically cutting them off from the rest would effectively crush the insurrection. A portion of his plan:
"If due exertion is made in the preparations...it may be hoped that Ticonderoga will be reduced early in the summer, and it will then become a more proper place for arms than Crown Point. The next measure must depend on those taken by the enemy, and upon the general plan of the campaign as concerted at home.
"If it be determined that General [William] Howe's whole forces should act upon Hudson's-River, and to the southward of it, and that the only object of the Canada army be to effect a junction with that force, the immediate possession of Lake George would be of great consequence, as the most expeditious and most commodious route to Albany; and, should the enemy be in force upon that lake, which is very probable, every effort should be tried, by throwing savages and light troops round it, to oblige them to quite it without waiting for naval preparations. Should these efforts fail, the route by South-Bay and Skenesborough might be attempted; but considerable difficulties may be expected, as the narrow parts of the river may be easily choked up and rendered impassible; and, at best, there will be necessity for a great deal of land-carriage for the artillery, provision, etc., which can only be supported from Canada. In case of success also by that route, and the enemy not removed from Lake George, it will be necessary to leave a chain of posts as the army proceeds, for the securities of your communications, which may too much weaken so small an army.
"...These ideas are formed upon the supposition that it be the sole purpose of the Canada army to effect a junction With General Howe; or, after cooperating as far as to get possession of Albany and open the communication to New-York, to remain upon Hudson's-River, and thereby enable that general to act with his whole force to the southward- To avoid breaking in upon other matter(s), I omitted in the beginning of these papers to state the idea of an expedition at the out-set of the campaign by the Lake Ontario and Oswego and the Mohawk River; which, as a diversion to facilitate every proposed operation, would be highly desirable, provided the army should be reinforced sufficiently to afford it. It may at first appear, from a view of the present strength of the army, that it may bear the sort of detachment proposed by myself last year for this purpose; but it is to be considered that at that time the utmost object of the campaign, from the advanced season and unavoidable delay of preparation for the lakes, being the reduction of Crown-Point and Ticonderoga, unless the success of my expedition had opened the road to Albany, no greater numbers were necessary than for those first operations.
"The case in the present year differs; because the season of the year affords a prospect of very extensive operation, and consequently the establishment of many posts, patroles, etc. will become necessary. The army ought to be in a state of numbers to bear those drains and still remain sufficient to attack any thing that probably can be opposed to it. Nor, to argue from probability, is so much force necessary for this diversion this year as was required for the last; because we knew that General Schuyler with a thousand men was fortified upon the Mohawk. When the different situation of things are considered, viz. the progress of General Howe, the early invasion from Canada, the threatening of the Connecticut from Rhode-Island, etc., it is not to be imagined that any detachment of such forces as that of Schuyler can be supplied by the enemy for the Mohawk. I would not therefore propose it of more (and I have great diffidence whether so much can be prudently afforded) than Sir John Johnson's corps, a hundred British from the Second Brigade and a hundred more from the 8th Regiment, with four pieces of the lightest artillery and a body of savages; Sir John Johnson to be with a detachment in person, and an able field-officer to command it. I should wish Lieutenant-Colonel St. Leger for that employment."
* * *
March, 1777: Wealthy farmer and miller Adam Crysler began to recruit loyalists in the Schohary District. A former ensign in Colonel Jacob Sternberg's Regiment of Schohary Militia prior to the American Revolution, Adam Crysler cared little for what he and other British loyalists would call the "rebellion." He divorced himself from militia duty when the Schohary District Militia was reorganized as the 15th Regiment, Albany County Militia in October, 1775.
Still living at his home in the southernmost end of Vrooman's Land near Breakabeen, Crysler was among the more successful Germans in the valley. He ran a gristmill on his farm, owned another sizable tract of land, and was part owner of a saw mill nearby.
Adam Crysler had been a neighbor and trusted friend of the Schohary Indians since youth. In his own words, Crysler "thought it my duty to get as many men and Indians for government as laid in my power... In March 1777 I had to maintain all the Indians which were at Schohary in number 25 until the 10th of August. In the meantime I recruited all the men for government that laid in my power being in number 70."
Until March, 1777, the New York Provincial (later state) Assembly had been supplying all of the Six Nations with powder, lead, and flints for their firearms. This was part of a larger congressional plan to influence the powerful Six Nations Confederacy and other native nations to either join the colonists or remain neutral. The Schohary Indians, through the Albany County Committee of Safety, would receive "seven pounds and a half of Powder" in January, 1777 and "twenty eight pounds of Lead, and some Flints" in February. These would be the last such supplies they would receive.
American Northern Department commander, Maj. Gen. Phillip Schuyler, could barely supply his own troops in upstate New York with ammunition, let alone the undeclared Indians. The result was predictable. The loss of so valuable a commodity as ammunition and other goods helped the natives gravitate further and further toward those who could provide them their wants. The Schohary Indians sought and received Adam Crysler's assistance. Most of the rest of the Six Nations drew closer to the British.
* * *
March, 1777: The departure of Royal Governor William Tryon in 1775 and ineffectiveness and later dissolution of the old New York Provincial Assembly left a void in civil government. To establish a temporary government associated with the Continental Congress, district and county Committees of Correspondence organized themselves into Committees of Correspondence, Safety and Protection.
The districts in Albany County held their first elections for the new committee boards in early May of 1775. The elected boards were announced at the Albany County committee meeting on May 10th.
The District of Schohary was allotted six members, who would serve six-month terms for as long as the committees were necessary. Elections were open to all eligible voters, freemen and freeholders who had signed oaths of Association to the Continental Congress
In the early months of 1777, the fourth board of the Schohary Committee consisted of Joseph Borst, David Sternberger, Adam Vrooman, Jonas Vrooman, Johannes Becker Jr. and Chairman Johannes Ball. Reported elected Nov. 26th the previous year, the makeup of the board reflected a strong allegiance to the Second Continental Congress and, presumably, independence.
In Schohary, politics were dominated by the wealthy Dutch Vrooman family in Vrooman's Land, of whom Col. Peter Vrooman was the patriarch. As a merchant and member of the first committee board, Col. Vrooman was among the leaders of the revolutionary movement in the district. Other Dutch radicals included Johannes Becker of Weyserstown and the Swart family of Vrooman's land. Among the more vocal Germans, Lt. Christian Stubrach of Kniskern's Dorf, Capt. Jacob Hager of Breakabeen, and George Warner Sr. of Cobus Kill were prominent.
Less clear are the voiced opinions of other influential men. Johannes I. Lawyer and Peter Mann, who ran public houses in Fountain Town and Foxes Town, respectively, were perhaps the wealthiest Germans in the district. Only Lawyer's politics were deemed "not very complimentary" by the Whigs. At least in the first two years of the war, those who may have harbored disdain for the American war effort remained silent.
Though much diminished by disease and departures, the remaining Schohary Indians still wielded local influence. If only as a potential menace, the Schohary Committee of Safety had to keep them content and under a watchful eye at the same time. The only early indication that they might cause trouble is found in the minutes of a meeting of the Albany County Committee dated July 13, 1775. Peter Vrooman advised that "some Tavern-keepers in this county sell spiritous liquors too freely to Indians from which evil consequences often happen." The committee responded by resolving to recommend that all "Tavernkeepers and others in said County to sell Spiritous Liquors to the Indians as sparingly as possible, so as to prevent their getting drunk."
Since the chief responsibility of the committees of safety was to supervise the defense of their districts, rooting out tory plots was chief among their objectives. So, too, was the restriction of travel to other districts. If they left the district, travelers were required to have passes that included the stated destination and business as well as the signed authorization by their home district committee of safety. In theory, restricting travel would help contain the potential spread of tory plots and allow committees the (quasi) legal ability to search and seize unfamiliar or suspicious characters in their districts. Other suspicious behavior could range from holding back a quota of produce to wait for prices to rise, to not attending militia musters when ordered. The most serious offenses involved the recruitment of, or participation in, opposition to the several committees of safety, the state, or the congress.
Known and suspected "disaffected" tories were heavily scrutinized. They were subject to arrest upon the slightest provocation, which could lead to confinement, confiscation of property or even hanging for the most flagrant offenses. Under such pressure, many who were loyal to the king often disguised their feelings by signing whatever oath was presented to them. Thus, by exercising their vote for the committees of safety, quiet loyalists ended up having some unintended influence within the district committees that were designed, in principle, to flush them out.
These troubled dissenters lacked the leadership, organization, arms, and manpower to seize control, however. Many simply bided their time until such advantages became available and rightful government was reestablished. They had faith that their king would not forsake them.
* * *
April, 1777: John Harper was colonel of the 5th Regiment, Tryon County Militia, and lived in Harpersfield, a 22,000-acre land patent adjacent to the southwestern boundary of Albany County. Settled by himself, his father John Sr., brothers Alexander, William, Joseph, James, and Archibald, and twelve others in 1768, Harpersfield was located between the Indian settlements on the Susquehanna River and the towns of Schohary District. Just before the revolution, Scots-Irish immigrants began to settle along the Susquehanna and its tributary, the Charlotte Creek. By 1777 these new arrivals, mostly loyal tenants of Sir John Johnson, hardened their allegiance to the British crown. So, too, did increasing numbers of the Six Nations who lived at nearby Oquaga.
In early April, Col. Harper was on his way to Cherry Valley when he came upon an Indian war party. So far, the Six Nations had officially refused to take sides between the colonies and the king, but there were more than a few rumblings amongst growing hawkish groups that the hatchet may yet be taken up. Harper recognized the war chief, Peter, whom he had frequently traded with at Oquaga. He also recognized a few others in the fifteen-man party, but no one recognized him since he was bundled up in a cloak. After exchanging greetings, Harper asked Peter where the party was headed. Peter responded, "Down the Susquehanna to cut off the Johnston settlement."1
The colonel coolly asked where they would camp that night and Peter told him that they would be at the mouth of Schenevus Creek. Harper shook hands with them, then went on. When the party was out of sight, Harper turned west and took a circuitous route to the head of the Charlotte Creek. There, he found some men belonging to his regiment making sugar and ordered them to "take their arms, two day's provisions, a canteen of rum, and a rope, and meet him down the Charlotte...at Evan's place." Leaving them to prepare, Col. Harper sped off to Harpersfield and gathered up a few more men. They all joined at Evan's place, then headed toward the mouth of the Schenevus Creek.
Harper and his party, numbering about fifteen, climbed a hill near the mouth and discovered the Indian camp across the creek. They silently descended the hill and waded the chest-deep creek before halting to eat and get ready. As the sun began to rise, they sneaked into the slumbering Indian camp. The warriors were laying in a circle, with their feet toward the fire and their weapons neatly stacked off to the side. Colonel Harper carried the stack away, then each of his men crept beside a sleeping warrior with a rope and waited for a signal. When Harper gave it, his men pounced on their victims. After a "most severe struggle," the warriors were subdued and bound. As the morning sun shed light on the situation, Peter was shocked to discover who his captor was, "Ha! Colonel Harper, now I know thee; why did I not know thee yesterday?" Harper could only respond, "Some policy in war, Peter."
The prisoners were taken to Albany and the Johnston settlement was saved. For Colonel Harper and the frontier in general, it was a bittersweet little victory. It was further evidence that Six Nations neutrality was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.
* * *
May, 1777: Independent statehood was about to become a reality. On April 20, a new state constitution was adopted by delegates from districts that were not under British control. It would take about six months to seat an elected legislative assembly and senate, but an election for governor was carried out by the end of May. The changes, hotly debated since the Declaration of Independence was signed, were the ultimate repudiation of the king. The king's loyalists, who could only view this turn of events as highly illegal, began demonstrating more openly about their sentiments.
Adding to the groundswell of tory activity was the coming military campaign season. Everyone, British and American alike, expected General Howe to march or sail up the Hudson River from New York City. It was at this time that many districts stepped up operations against men judged to be "inimical to the Liberties of America and dangerous..." who might join or give aid to Howe's army.
Though its own district remained reasonably peaceful in these increasingly unpredictable times, Schohary was soon involved in arresting tories in surrounding districts. One party of militia, commanded by Capt. George Mann, went to the "Hellebergh" to arrest a tory named Harmanus Van Dusen, who had reportedly recruited 40 men that were "lying in the woods under the Hellebergh." Found absent from home, Capt. Mann directed orderly sergeant Henry Shafer to select five men and wait for Van Dusen to return home to visit his wife. When the tory came home, he was arrested, tried, and put in prison.
Probably on the same mission, Capt. Mann marched his company to Loonenberg (Athens, justnorth of Catskill today) to arrest Col. James Huetson for recruiting tories. The company ranged the area for thirteen days, long enough to eat up all of Huetson's chickens before finally catching him. He was brought to Albany, tried, and hanged. Twenty or 25 other men arrested by Mann's company were imprisoned.
Just a few days after returning to Schohary, some who had volunteered with Mann were in service again. This time, perhaps commanded by Capt. Jacob Hager of Breakabeen, a party was sent to Harpersfield and then the Charlotte Creek. One of Sir John Johnson's most trusted confidantes, John McDonnell (or McDonald), lived near the creek on a 500-acre farm he had just begun improving before the war. He had fled to Canada with Sir John in May, 1776 and had obtained permission from the American general, Phillip Schuyler, to visit his family in March, 1777. His activities upon arriving at home were later deemed dangerous and the party from Schohary were sent to "take McDonald, and send him to jail." McDonnell escaped imprisonment and was soon at Sir John's side again. The next time he would be in this part of the country, McDonnell would be the hunter and the Schohary Militia would be the prey.
* * *
Early June, 1777: Lt. General John Burgoyne returned to Quebec in May. By the beginning of June, he had been in Quebec for almost a month preparing for his march to Albany. There were tents, baggage, wagons, ammunition, and sundry stores to assemble, inventory, and pack.
A huge artillery train, 42 cannon ranging from 3 to 24-pound carronade, was outfitted for the army while another 96 heavier guns were hauled onto ships to garrison posts taken along the way. His regular army, when finally mustered, would number 7,251 rank and file, short of the 8,000 he outlined in his "thoughts." Joining the army was a disappointing number of Canadian militia, woodsmen, and Indians. Still, Burgoyne's army had considerable punch.
Almost as soon as Burgoyne landed in Quebec, he was given an important communication from General Howe. There would be no cooperation from the army in New York City, it said. Howe was planning a campaign to take Philadelphia. Somehow, Lord Germain had failed to coordinate the two armies, or had at least allowed a little too much discretion to General Howe. Even King George III, in viewing Burgoyne's plan, agreed that Howe must join Burgoyne at Albany. Instead, Howe seems to have adopted the tried and true European military strategy of taking capital cities as a means to subdue the countryside. Whatever the reason, Burgoyne was left to take the Hudson alone. He would have to rely heavily on Lt. Col. Barry St. Leger to succeed in driving down the Mohawk Valley to create a significant diversion.
Lying in St. Leger's path was old Fort Stanwix, which the rebels had audaciously renamed Fort Schuyler after the Dutch patroon, Maj. Gen. Phillip Schuyler. Loyal Indian scouts, as well as general hearsay, all reported how badly the fort had deteriorated since the French War. Various rebel garrisons had been posted there at times, and General Schuyler even kept a trading post to help keep the Six Nations neutral. Yet nothing material was done to change the condition of the walls and ramparts. Burgoyne and St. Leger were counting on the weakness of the place and expected little or no resistance.
Before the end of May, a formidable obstacle in the British war machine would come to Fort Schuyler. Col. Peter Gansevoort and his 3rd Regiment, New York Continental Line, arrived at the fort and immediately had his troops begin repairing it. Backed by his soon-to-be legendary second in command, Lt. Col. Marinus Willet, Gansevoort began to lay the foundation of a very stubborn defense of the western frontier.
* * *
Mid-June, 1777: Mohawk Sachem Joseph Brant arrived at the Susquehanna River village of Oquaga in May, recruiting warriors and imposing his will on anyone who resisted his demands for provisions. By June, he had some 70 or 80 warriors under his command and with them moved up the river to Unadilla. As he did so, an alarm spread to the nearby white settlements and soon extended to thhe Schohary and Mohawk Rivers.
The Sliters and Johnstons were among the few white families living in and near Unadilla. When Brant approached, one of the Sliters rode to Cherry Valley for help and returned with a company of forty militia. While the troops camped near the Sliter farm, Brant arrived and demanded provisions from the Sliters. If they did not give them freely, then he should take them by force.
Instead of complying, the Sliters requested Brant to come to a meeting at the house. Brant refused and invited the Sliters to visit him in his camp and guaranteed their safety. The Sliters accepted, as did their neighbor, the Rev. William Johnston. Together, they attempted to persuade Joseph's party to remain neutral, which failed miserably.
Brant wanted, and would have, provisions. The Rev. Mr. Johnston then shook his fist at the chief and exclaimed that he was not afraid of him. In the end, to maintain peace, Brant was given cattle, sheep, hogs, and other provisions. Then Brant told them to either leave the area in two days or submit to royal protection. The Sliters, Johnstons and others left rather than take an oath to the king. Their abandoned buildings were burned.
Through June, Joseph Brant terrorized the frontier. He sent out war parties that "cut off a Serjeant and 12 men at Fort Stanwix" as well as "to the back of Pensilvania." One party managed to waylay a rebel detachment "with 50 head of cattle for the rebel garrisons on the Mohock River." Brant's activities attracted many warriors and some 700 assembled at Oquaga. Many more were expected and a blow on the rebels might be struck as soon as there was any movement south by the British in Canada.
While Joseph Brant was on the Susquehanna, he sent expresses to principle loyalists on the frontier. In June, Adam Crysler "received a letter from Brant who desired me to remain at Schohary in readiness until he came to me." In preparation for Brant's expected arrival, Crysler recruited "all the men for government that laid in my power being in number 70."
In New Dorlach, [present-day Seward-Sharon area] Peter Sommer, Jacob Merckley, and Jacob Miller collected and sent a list of "sundry inhabitants" who would come over and join Brant. The affection to the crown was strong in New Dorlach and the small nearby settlement of New Rhinebeck. The previous summer an association to join Sir John Johnson was circulated, but was exposed and broken up by the Tryon County Committee of Safety. The most active recruiter then was Jacob Miller, who was the former captain of the New Dorlach Militia. He had been stripped of command for refusing to march his company to Johnstown to help arrest Sir John during the winter of 1775-76. Ever since then, he had been trying to rally his former company to help Sir John reclaim his family home.
All of Joseph Brant's activities and accompanying threats, both real and rumored, drove terrified frontier settlers toward more interior towns. There was every reason to believe that he would soon march east.
* * *
Late June, 1777: On June 13th, General John Burgoyne set sail down the Richelieu River and entered Lake Champlain with a massive flotilla of ships and batteaux that carried his invasion army. By the 23rd, he was with his advance corps at its camp near the Bouquet River, some thirty miles north of Crown Point. Before moving against this first rebel position, Burgoyne issued a proclamation to all New Yorkers in his path:
"The Forces entrusted to my Command are designed to act in concert, and upon a common Principle, with the numerous Armies and Fleets which already display, in every Quarter of America, the Power, the Justice, and, when properly sought, the Mercy of the King.
"The Cause in which the British Arms are thus exerted, applies to the most affecting Interest of the human Heart: And the Military Servants of the Crown, at first called for the sole Purpose of restoring the Rights of the Constitution, now combine with the Love of their Country, and Duty to their Sovereign, the other extensive Incitements, which spring from a due Sense of the general Privileges of Mankind. To the Eyes and Ears of the temperate Part of the Public, and to the Breasts of suffering Thousands in the Provinces, be the melancholy Appeal- Whether the present unnatural Rebellion has not been made the Foundation of the compleatist System of Tyranny that ever God, in his Displeasure, suffered, for a Time, to be exercised over a froward and stubborn Generation.
"Arbitrary Imprisonments, Confiscation of Property, Persecution and Torture, unprecedented in the Inquisitions of the Romish Church, are among the palpable Enormities that verify the Affirmative: These are inflicted by Assemblies and Committees, who dare to profess themselves Friends of Liberty, upon the most quiet Subject, without Distinction of Age or Sex, for the sole Crime, often the sole Suspicion, of having adhered in Principle to the Government under which they were born, and to which, by every Tie divine and human, they owe Allegiance. To consummate these shocking Proceedings the Profanation of Religion is added to the most profligate Prostitution of common Reason! The Consciences of Men are set at naught, and the Multitudes are compelled not only to bear Arms, but also to swear Subjection an Usurpation they abhor.
"Animated by these Considerations, at the head of Troops in the full Powers of Health, Discipline and Valour, determined to strike where necessary, and anxious to save where possible, I, by these Presents, invite and exhort all Persons, in all Places where the Progress of this Army may point, and by the Blessing of God I will extend it FAR, to maintain such a Conduct as may justify me in protecting their Lands, Habitations, and Families.
"If notwithstanding these Endeavors and sincere Inclination to assist them, the Phrenzy of Hostility should remain, I trust I shall stand acquitted in the Eyes of God and Men in denouncing and executing the Vengeance of the State against the wilful Outcast. The Messengers of Justice and of Wrath await them in the Field, and Devastation, Famine, and every concomitant Horror that a reluctant but indispensible Prosecution of Military Duty must occasion, will bar the Way to their Return."
* * *
Late June, 1777: As Whig families left their homes in Harpersfield and other settlements near the Susquehanna River, they carried ever-worsening news about Joseph Brant's hostile behavior. Near the end of June, the Tryon County Committee of Safety turned to General Phillip Schuyler for instructions on how to deal with the issue. It was decided that Tryon County Brig. Gen. Nicholas Herkimer should meet with Brant and determine the threat level.
Herkimer and some 380 Tryon County militiamen left Canajoharie and neared Unadilla by way of Otsego Lake and the Susquehanna River. Once the small army arrived on the outskirts of the village, Herkimer summoned Joseph Brant and an arrangement for a meeting was made.
Herkimer and Brant were old acquaintances with many friendly experiences shared between them, so there was enough level of trust to allow for a peaceful council. Under a large, makeshift shed, Joseph Brant outlined some of his grievances and then unequivocally declared his loyalty to King George III. Only the king, Brant argued, could see to the needs of the Six Nations. The Covenant Chain, a century-old treaty of alliance signified by a ceremonial wampum belt, between the Six Nations and Great Britain, must not be severed. Besides, the Continental Congress and General Phillip Schuyler were too poor "to afford them the linen to put a shirt on their backs."
General Herkimer talked with Joseph a while longer and then one of Herkimer's officers took umbrage at one or another of Brant's haughty comments. Colonel Ebenezer Cox, a son-in-law of Brant's lifetime nemesis George Clock, blurted out, "Damn him!"
Other ill-advised insults flew from Cox's mouth, and the council nearly broke up. Brant interpreted the insults to his warrior entourage nearby, which caused them to holler war whoops and brandish tomahawks. They ran over a hill to where the rest of the warriors, numbering about 130, were waiting. Guns were fired in anger. Herkimer, however, remained in complete command of the situation. With three men ready to shoot Brant if the situation worsened, Herkimer took the Mohawk by the arm and soothed the sachem's bruised honor. They were old neighbors, Herkimer said, and should not be spilling each other's blood. During the amicable discussion, some concessions were made by Herkimer and Brant promised to take his band of warriors to Oswego.
No sooner had Herkimer left the council than Brant was already breaking his promise to head for Oswego. He remained on the Susquehanna and resumed his former hostilities. This did not bode well for the frontier. Col. John Harper, who was also at the meeting, fully understood the ramifications. He must warn the frontier settlements that Joseph Brant and his warriors might attack at any moment.
* * *
July 4, 1777: Colonel John Harper left the meeting between General Herkimer and Joseph Brant fully convinced that trouble was inevitable. Harper returned to Harpersfield and informed the other members of the local committee of safety what to expect.
In response, the committee's chairman, Isaac Patchin, drafted a letter to the state council of safety at Kingston to raise an alarm. Colonel Harper, accompanied by the Rev. William Johnston, was dispatched to carry the following on the first anniversary of the Declaration of Independence:
"The late interruptions an hostilities committed at Tunadilla, by Joseph Brandt, with a party of Indians and tories, have so alarmed the well-affected inhabitants of this and the neighboring settlements, who are now the entire frontier of this state, that except your honors doth afford us immediate protection, we shall be obliged to leave our settlements to save our lives and families; especially as there is not a man on the outside of us, but such as have taken protection of Brant, and many of them have threatened our destruction in a short time, the particular circumstances of which Col. Harper, (who will wait on your honors,) can give you a full account of, by whom we hope for your protection, in what manner to conduct ourselves."
* * *
July 7, 1777: To reach Kingston, Col. John Harper and the Rev. William Johnston first had to go through Schohary. Upon arriving, they apprised the Schohary District Committee of Safety of the impending trouble. In response, the committee adopted a series of measures on July 7th to guard against surprise attack:
"Resolved, that all persons between the ages of sixteen and fifty years, from the dwelling house of Christian Shaffer and to the northward in Schohary, are to bring their arms and accoutrements when they come to the meeting at either of the two churches in Fountain Town and Foxes Town on Sunday or any other day when kept...
"And the persons inhabiting from the dwelling of Baltus Krysler to the said Christian Shaffer, are to bring their arms, &c to the church in Weiser's Town, as they are ordered in Foxes Town...
"And persons southward from altus Krysler's are to be armed when they come to any meeting that may be kept in in Brakabeen...
"George Warner is appointed to see that the inhabitants of Cobleskill bring their arms when they come to meeting there...
"Secondly, Resolved, that four night watches are to be kept in Schohary every night from this time constant: the first is to be kept at the dwelling house of Capt. George Mann... the inhabitants from Christian Shaffer's dwelling house to the northward, are to be under Capt. Mann's command for the watch to consist of eight men. The second is to be kept at the dwelling house of Mr. Hendrick P. Becker, and under the command of Capt. George Richtmeyer... the inhabitants from Hendrick Tansen's house and so northward to Christian Shaffer's, are under the command of this second watch, and to consist of six men. The third is to be kept at the dwelling house of Mr. Johannes Feak, and under the command of Lieut. Martynus Van Slyck... the inhabitants from Baltus Krysler's dwelling house and so northward to Hendrick Tansen's are under the command of this third watch, and to consist of six men. And the fourth is to be kept by the inhabitants from Baltus Krysler's and so southward, at the dwelling house of Mr. Hendrick Hager under the command of Capt. Jacob Hager... and this watch is to consist of six men."
While the Schohary Committee of Safety prepared for possible attack, Col. Harper and the Rev. Mr. Johnston resumed their ride to Kingston to warn the state council of safety.
* * *
July 17, 1777: Upon arriving at Kingston, Colonel Harper and the Rev. Mr. Johnston submitted affidavits to the state council of safety which enumerated Joseph Brant's depredations and threats along the Susquehanna River frontier. After considering the reports, the state council of safety issued several resolves to deal with the growing problem.
"Resolved, that two companies of Rangers be raised to serve in the Counties of Tryon, Ulster, and Albany for the protection of the Frontier Inhabitants of the Said Counties...
"Resolved, that John Harpur [sic] be first Captain, Alexander Harpur first Lieutenant, James Clyde second Captain and John Campbell first Lieutenant of second company.
"Resolved, that Colonel Harpur proceed to recruit as fast as possible and as soon as twenty five men are enlisted, that he station them to the best advantage for the protection of the Inhabitants of said Counties under the command of Lieutenant Harpur and so on from time to time as fast as a sufficient number of recruits are collected – that Colonel harpur Station them under a proper officer and in Case our Domestic Enemy or the Indians should make any Depredations on any of the Inhabitants that Colonel Harpur give orders to repel force by force.
"Resolved, that Colonel Harpur be cautious of making any attack upon the Savages or pursue any measures that bring on an Indian war, unless absolutely necessary for the Defence of the Inhabitants & rendered unavoidable by previous Hostilities committed on their Part."
After receiving his orders, Col. Harper returned to Harpersfield through Schohary and began recruiting men for his rangers. He found "the wholl Country in alarm and the popell So intimidated that it was out of my powir to inlist aney Considrabell number of men..."
Joseph Brant's activities were not all that was worrying the frontier settlers. On July 5th after the American garrison under Gen. Arthur St. Clair abandoned Fort Ticonderoga, the only substantial fortress between Burgoyne's army and Albany, Burgoyne had taken it. The situation was becoming more grim by the day.
* * *
Late July, 1777: While Col. John Harper was in Kingston, the Schohary district was unraveling. The committee of safety wrote to the state council of safety that the loss of Fort Ticonderoga had "such an effect on numbers here, that many we thought steady friends to the state seem to draw back; our state, therefore, is deplorable..."
Frontier settlements in Harpersfield and along the Susquehanna River were breaking up as discouraged Whig families left for the safer confines of Cherry Valley, Schohary, and other places. Tories were speaking so openly and with such venom that the Schohary committee expected the Indians and tories to arrive at any moment. Fear gripped the district so much that most of the militia members were "unwilling to take up arms to defend themselves, as they are not able to stand against so many declared enemies."
On July 22nd, Schohary's Col. Peter Vrooman and two other men traveled to Albany to beg for help from the Albany County Committee of Safety. Vrooman reported that in Schohary, "Threats, they Hourly receive; their Persons and Property are exposed to imminent danger; nearly one-half of the People heretofore well disposed have lain down their arms, and propose to side with the enemy." Almost as an exclamation mark to his report, Col. Vrooman added that "There is a considerable party of Tories lying in the woods in the neighborhood of Schoharry, waiting for orders from Sir John."
The county committee was concerned for Schohary and was becoming increasingly aware that much of Albany County was also grappling with similar threats. The problem was that most of the county's militia was up north with Gen. Phillip Schuyler to stand in Burgoyne's way as the British pushed further south. Thus, the Albany County Committee of Safety was powerless to help anyone.
No help seemed on its way from Kingston, either. The state council of safety replied to the Schohary committee's list of problems, but instead of reassurance and promises of help, the council chastised the Schohary committee for its lack of backbone. "A few worthless Indians, and a set of villains, who have basely deserted their country, are all the enemies you have to fear," the council wrote. The committee was outraged at the tone. It was clear further correspondence with the state council would end in futility. The Albany committee took up Schohary's cause and a string of bitter letters passed between it and the state council, which remained stubbornly oblivious to the situation.
Meanwhile, to the west around Fort Schuyler, Iroquois warriors in Brig. Gen. Barry St. Leger's advanced party attacked three young girls outside the fort picking berries. Two were killed, but the third escaped after being wounded. The same day, July 27th, a party of Indian warriors came into Burgoyne's camp with several bloody scalps, one of which belonged to Jane McCrea, the fiance of a loyalist officer. Suddenly, Gen. Burgoyne's proclamation promising the king's protection was worthless. If this was how loyal subjects expected to be treated, then what could his enemies expect? As St. Leger's army, totaling 1,700 regulars, loyalists, and Iroquois warriors, marched east toward Fort Schuyler, the Tryon County Militia would use Jane McCrea's murder as a rallying cry while they prepared to reinforce Fort Schuyler. They were to muster at German Flatts, under the command of Gen. Nicholas Herkimer.
The Schohary Militia, however, was less than enthusiastic when the call came from Col. Goose Van Schaick of the 1st Regiment, New York Line, to muster and march to join Gen. Herkimer. The Schohary Committee of Safety decided that no militia could be spared, so it countermanded the order. The Schenectady Militia also refused to march. So, as two armies were marching toward Albany, two regiments of militia were paralyzed through fear, unable to support generals Herkimer and Schuyler.
* * *
August 3, 1777: Brig. Gen. Barry St. Leger began his formal siege of Fort Schuyler on August 2 as Gen. Nicholas Herkimer waited for the Tryon County Militia to muster at Fort Dayton in the German Flatts. With St. Leger was Lt. Col. Sir John Johnson, Joseph Brant, and Maj. John Butler.
Before leaving Oswego, Johnson sent John McDonnell home to begin collecting the various bodies of loyalists at Harpersfield, Schohary, and other places. On or about August 3rd, McDonnell returned to the Charlotte Creek.
From his home, McDonnell sent out messengers to inform friends of his arrival and instructions on where to muster. He would eventually collect 28 men from the Charlotte Creek settlements, but his ambitions reached much farther. He informed Capt. Luke deWitt, of Col. Johannes Snyder's regiment, Ulster County Militia, to meet him at Dr. James Stuart's house in "New Stamford" near Utsayantha Lake (in present town of Jefferson) with as many men as he could gather from his company.
DeWitt, however, was unable to raise enough men for a captaincy in Sir John's King's Royal Regiment of New York and declined to join McDonnell. Unfazed, McDonnell continued to recruit and made plans to descend on Schohary.
* * *
August 4, 1777: Gen. Phillip Schuyler directed Albany County Militia Brig. Gen. Abraham Ten Broeck to order the whole of the Albany County Militia to march to Stillwater. Although Schuyler was sure the Schohary Militia would not march, the Schohary District Committee of Safety decided to comply.
Preparations were undertaken to load wagons with provisions, ammunition, and other stores for the Schohary men. The date of departure was pushed back a day or two, however, because committee chairman's wagon was not ready in time. By the 6th, it became known that the march would commence on Friday, the 8th.
Thanks to the tireless work of Adam Crysler and other, less visible, men in the district, there was quite a loyalist network in place. In fact, there was at least one conspirator on the district committee of safety. There had been a number of leaks coming out of the committee, but plots and plans to find out the origin had turned up nothing. The news that the militia were going to march to Stillwater had created quite a stir amongst Crysler's followers and plans were made to capitalize on this major development.
Meanwhile, on August 6th in a wilderness ravine near the old Oneida village of Oriska, General Herkimer's column of Tryon County Militia was within six miles of Fort Schuyler. This would be as far as they went.
The militia broke ranks to cup some water from a creek up to parched mouths. Blood-curdling war cries of Iroquois warriors rang through the stifling heat and tomahawks plunged into the surprised men. Then, a terrible volley of musketry, followed by another and another, pored out of the underbrush on either side of the road.
General Herkimer fell from his horse, his thigh shattered by one of hundreds of lead balls flying about. Stoically perched on a log, he brought order to his ranks and the Tryon County men began to fight back. In the hours that followed, the Battle of Oriskany raged and became the bloodiest engagement of the American Revolution.
* * *
August 7, 1777: Preparations to depart the next morning were made on August 7 by the Schohary Militia. They were to muster at Capt. George Mann's house, known then as "the brick house at the forks in the road."
Captain Mann commanded the first company of Schohary Militia, comprised of the men from Kniskern's Dorf, Foxestown, and Fountaintown.
During the day, 20 men took up posts at Johannes Becker's stone house on the outskirts of Weyserstown, known today as Middleburgh. Becker was a member of the committee of safety. Among them were Col. Peter Vrooman and Capt. Alexander Harper. Some of the men were quite likely part of Col. John Harper's rangers, who would remain behind as a home guard when the rest of the militia marched off in the morning.
In the afternoon Duncan McDougall, a former Tryon County Committee of Safety member from the German Flatts, arrived at Adam Crysler's house in Breakabeen. Now an active loyalist, McDougall was briefed on the latest news and then wrote a letter to John McDonnell, who was near Harpersfield. McDougall informed McDonnell that the Schohary Committee of Safety was going to Stillwater with the militia, but not before separating loyalists from tories. Loyalists would march to Stillwater while the tories would be left behind to be "destroyed by the Yankey Wolves."
The wolves, to McDougall, may have been the Rhode Island continentals quartered in Schenectady. The tories feared that as the militia marched off, the Rhode Islanders would drive through the valley and destroy tory property and make arrests. If McDonnell could be in Schohary the next day, McDougall would tell other loyalist corps in New Dorlach, Beaverdam (today's Berne), and the Hellebergh to join him. A show of strength would certainly help ease the fears of worried loyalist sympathizers, and would also make breaking Whig resistance in the valley that much easier.
The next day, Friday the 8th, the Schohary Militia mustered at Capt. George Mann's. Each captain addressed his company to begin the separation of "sheep" and "goats."
When Capt. Mann strode to the front of his men, he delivered an impassioned speech about the propriety of going over to the British, who were close to invading the county. He finished by saying, "whoever is in favor of King George, follow me!" As he walked off the parade ground, a number of his men followed.
The Schohary Committee of Safety was stunned. So many men refused to march to Stillwater that the committee cancelled the movement.
The storm that had been brewing for months was about to burst. John McDonnell and 28 men were poised to descend on Harpersfield and then Schohary. Adam Crysler, who now expected 80 men to join him before the day was over, remained in Breakabeen awaiting McDonnell. And Capt. Mann had demoralized the militia to such a degree that none would take up arms against him.
The only troops still willing to remain in active service were the 20 men in Becker's stone house, who were now essentially trapped. Could they hold off this loyalist uprising long enough for help to arrive?
* * *
August 13, 1777: Adam Crysler and John McDonnell had seized control of the southern end of the valley while George Mann had shut off travel and communication from the northern end at Foxestown, near the Old Stone Fort. The only resistance was the handful of defenders holed up between them at Johannes Becker's stone house in Weyserstown, called "Fort Defiance."
After a harrowing escape, Col. John Harper rode through the loyalist lines to Albany and returned on Aug. 13th with a 28-man troop of the 2nd Continental Light Horse. Upon arriving in Schohary, Harper rounded up loyalists at Mann's tavern and George Mann went into hiding. The militia rallied around the smartly dressed mounted dragoons and swelled Harper's ranks. After marching prisoners to Fort Defiance and refusing a demand to surrender, Harper led the Light Horse, his own small ranger company and some of the Schohary Militia against the remaining enemy.
The loyalists had retreated to Crysler's farm in the upper part of Vrooman's Land, which was near a low, flat flood plain referred to by the native Germans as "Die Flache." A stand was made and Harper's mounted column was ambushed. Despite the loss of a lieutenant and several wounded, the Light Horse charged and drove McDonnell's and Crysler's forces into the woods and out of the valley.
The loyalists were scattered, but hardly beaten. They would return to Schohary many times to destroy the precious grain crop and try to reclaim property and family left behind. What resulted was a long, brutal struggle fought within and around what is now Schoharie County.
Die Flache, which may be translated as "the flats," became corrupted to "the Flockey" and was the location of the first recorded cavalry charge of the United States Army.