New York's part in history . r recognized one of them as a Tory acquaintanceand shouted a word of warning. Then occurred the bitterestfight of the day. Perhaps a more desperate fight was neverknown—certainly there could have been none in which anymore bitter hatred was manifested. At the close there wereat least several cases of two men locked in close embrace, bothdead, with evidences of such a struggle as wild beasts mighthave engaged in. It was an awful spectacle. During thebattle in which nearly the whole of St. Legers force was en-gaged, a sortie was made from the fort. Two hundred and fi
New York's part in history . r recognized one of them as a Tory acquaintanceand shouted a word of warning. Then occurred the bitterestfight of the day. Perhaps a more desperate fight was neverknown—certainly there could have been none in which anymore bitter hatred was manifested. At the close there wereat least several cases of two men locked in close embrace, bothdead, with evidences of such a struggle as wild beasts mighthave engaged in. It was an awful spectacle. During thebattle in which nearly the whole of St. Legers force was en-gaged, a sortie was made from the fort. Two hundred and fiftymen marched to the enemys camp but met with no surprise was so complete that Sir John Johnson fledwithout having time to put on his coat. Gansevoort capturedtwenty-one wagon loads of supplies together with the privateproperty of the British officers, including papers, plans andjournals. The loss at the Battle of Oriskany will probably never bevery accurately known. It probably exceeded five hundred— 256. Oriskany Monument i BURGOYNES INVASION more than a third of the entire number engaged. Withoutdoubt it was the bloodiest battle of the Revolution. Onlyabout one-third of Herkimers men ever saw their homesagain, and every home in the valley was a house of heaviest loss of the enemy was among the Indians, theSenecas suffering severely. They never forgot the Battle ofOriskany. Herkimer died at his home a few days after thebattle, as the result of an unskillful operation followed byimproper treatment. The survivors of Herkimers army returned to Fort Day-ton. St. Leger continued the siege of the fort but his cannonwere not heavy enough to have any effect upon the summoned the garrison to surrender, saying that Burgoynehad been victorious and that further resistance would beuseless and would result in a massacre at the hands of theIndians. He said through his messengers to Gansevoort thatthis offer could not be renewed and that he had hard
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectnewyork, bookyear1915
