The Battle of Oriskany and General Nicholas Herkimer

by Paul Boehlert
During the critical Battle of Oriskany in August 1777, Continental forces led by General Nicholas Herkimer defeated the British army under St. Leger in the heart of New York’s Mohawk Valley. Although they did not succeed in relieiving the British siege of Fort Stanwix, Herkimer’s citizen-soldiers turned back the British and protected Washington’s northern flank from attack.