United States or Heard Island and McDonald Islands ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
They met with little opposition, as most of the defenders had gone out to fight Herkimer. The firing, however, had called off the savages from Herkimer, to the defence of their own camps. The sortie was gallantly made, and entirely successful; but the attack on Herkimer rendered it of so little avail, that the battle of Oriskany left Gansevoort hardly better off than before.
Passing the hamlets of York Mills, Whitesboro and Oriskany, the "Marguerite" advanced near to the city of Rome towards 10 o'clock A.M. In its vicinity the famous battle of Oriskany was fought; and Fort Stanwix, which was besieged by the British in 1777, occupies a site now in the center of the city of Rome. The latter is laid out with wide streets well shaded with maples and elms.
Herkimer remained in possession of the field at Oriskany, but his plan had been for the moment thwarted, and in the battle he had received a wound from which he died. Benedict Arnold had lately been sent by Washington to be of such assistance as he could to Schuyler. Arnold stood high in the confidence of both these generals.
Therefore, I say, all honor and glory to the rude, unlettered, great souled yeomen of the Mohawk Valley, who braved death in the wildwood gulch at Oriskany that Congress and the free Colonies might live. But in these first few days, be it repeated, nobody talked or thought much of glory.
"It is true, Major. The old man died while I was at German Flatts. They say the amputation of his leg was a wretched piece of work.... He died bolt upright in his bed, smoking his pipe, and reading aloud the thirty-eighth Psalm.... His men are wild with grief, they say.... They called him a coward the morning of Oriskany."
Sergeant Corney remained with the Minute Boys, as was his duty. I believe of a verity my company would have grumbled almost as loudly as had General Herkimer's men on the morning before the fight at Oriskany, had the old soldier taken station elsewhere, and yet it would have been but natural for him to go into the fight side by side with those of the garrison who were most experienced in warfare.
When he was within twenty miles of that stronghold, he contrived, with the aid of some friendly Oneidas and a Tory captive whose life he spared for the purpose, to send on before him exaggerated reports of the size of his army. The device accomplished far more than he could have expected. The obstinate resistance at Oriskany had discouraged the Tories and angered the Indians.
Now we have done that which General Herkimer required, we can set out to fulfil our duty toward the lad, an' this goin' back on the road to Oriskany is but little more than we would be forced to do in order to gain the spot where we parted with him, for I'm countin' that he was then near by the place where his father is held prisoner."
SUBDIVISIONS AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. The Devonian is represented in New York and southward by the following five series. We add the rocks of which they are chiefly composed. 5 Chemung . . . . . . sandstones and sandy shales 4 Hamilton . . . . . . shales and sandstones 3 Corniferous . . . . . . limestones 2 Oriskany . . . . . . sandstones 1 Helderberg . . . . . . limestones
In those first few days there was little enough heart to measure or boast of the grandeur of the fight our simple Valley farmers had waged, there in the ambushed ravine of Oriskany. Still less was there at hand information by the light of which the results of that battle could be estimated.
Word Of The Day