* Excerpted from “The Oriskany Battle of Oneida Hanyery and Mohawk Joseph Brant,” by Historian Anthony Wonderly. Click here for the full text and end notes.

After the Battle: The Oneida Contribution to Victory

Having played a key role in repulsing St. Leger's western army, Oneidas rushed east to Saratoga where they served with distinction in the campaign ending in another British defeat.

American victories in 1777 prompted France and other European nations to join the war against Great Britain. For England, now embroiled in a world war against European rivals, the revolt of the American colonies became a sideshow. France's aid proved to be decisive in the winning of American independence.

The events of 1777, therefore, were crucial to the outcome of the Revolutionary War. In that year of destiny, the Oneida Nation contributed more to the birth of the United States than any other community of comparable size in the colonies. The biggest winner in Oneida involvement led by Hanyery was the United States.

Vengeance

No one knows whether Hanyery and Brant met at Oriskany. A series of retaliatory measures after the battle suggests each one sought revenge against the other.

1. Tory Iroquois destroyed Oriska because Hanyery and his people helped the Americans at the battle.

2. Then Hanyery seized property from Molly Brant, Joseph's sister, who had warned of the approaching Americans. Molly fled but there is no evidence Oneidas drove her from her home or threatened her. However, Oriska Oneidas did join with other Mohawk Valley residents to loot the homes of Tories (including Mohawks) around Canajoharie. Hanyery moved into Molly Brant's house. The otherwise homeless Oriska Oneidas apparently lived in Mohawk houses at Canajoharie throughout the rest of the war.

3. Brant lashed out at the Oneidas whenever he could.

— In early 1780, Brant captured two elderly Oneidas, Skenandoa and Good Peter, who were on a peaceful mission. After harsh confinement, Brant required them to accompany Tory raiding parties on the Oneidas and patriot residents of the Mohawk Valley.

— Brant led a war party which destroyed the main Oneida village — Kanonwalohale, present Oneida Castle — in July 1780.

— Brant wanted to attack Oneida refugees in the Mohawk Valley in 1781. In 1782, he planned to revenge himself on Oneidas living at Canajoharie.

Hanyery received a commission as captain in the American army in 1779. His exploits during the remainder of the war are undocumented.

The Property Losses of Hanyery and Brant

Brant was the richer man (372 v. 287 pounds in claimed personal property). Brant said that he owned 592 acres. Hanyery was not listed as private owner of any land because Oneida land was property held in common by the Oneida Nation.

The British government reimbursed Brant for all of his claimed losses -- promptly and completely.

The American government never compensated Hanyery. Finally, in 1795, the U.S. reimbursed Hanyery's widow less than half the amount claimed lost (120 pounds). Excusing themselves for awarding Hanyery so little, the Americans noted that he was already "greatly reimbursed by the Mohawk's property" -- presumably meaning Molly Brant's possessions.

Brant lost his Mohawk Valley homeland. The Crown, however, awarded Brant and his followers an estimated one million acres on the Grand River in Ontari. Now known as the Six Nations Reserve, the tract still inhabited by the descendants of the Tory Iroquois who relocated there with Brant after the war.

Brant won great renown during the war, becoming probably the best known American native person in the world. Though often the center of controversy, he enjoyed considerable prestige and civil power on the reserve.

Hanyery won little fame for his part in the war. In 1784, New York State confiscated Hanyery's village of Oriska by legislative act. But "these poor people of Orisca fought with you," an incredulous Oneida protested to New York's governor in 1788.

Hanyery was always proud of the heroic services he rendered to his American allies. His last recorded act was to request American uniforms for himself and his sons as they undertook a mission to the West on behalf of the U.S.