This is the second volume of Michael Logusz's epic work on the
Wilderness War of 1777, in which the British Army, with its German,
Loyalist, and Indian auxiliaries, attempted to descend from Canada to
sever the nascent American colonies, only to be met by Patriot
formations contesting the invasion of their newly declared nation.
In his first volume, on the Saratoga campaign, the author described how
Burgoyne's main thrust was first stalled and then obliterated during its
advance down the Hudson River. Burgoyne had hoped to be met by a
corresponding British thrust from New York City, but this never
materialized, Lord Howe opting to attack Philadelphia instead. But the
British had indeed launched a third thrust from the west, embarking from
Lake Ontario at Oswego and thence forging its way down the Mohawk
Valley.
This third British thrust, under General Barry St. Leger, was perhaps
the most terrifying of all, as it overran a sparsely populated
wilderness where every man and boy had long needed to bear arms to
protect against the ravages of the Iroquois Federation. Yet now the
British--imitating the French before them--had made common cause with
those same Indians, who now roamed across the frontier as the warpainted
spearhead of the Empire's new attack.
At Fort Stanwix in upstate New York a Patriot (former British) fort held
fast, though surrounded by St. Leger's forces and his Mohawk and
Loyalist auxiliaries. A relief column some 800 strong under Nicholas
Herkimer attempted to relieve the fort, but it was ambushed en route
with most of its men--including the entire male population of several
nearby communities--killed or wounded. At this Battle of Oriskany, the
basis for the movie "Drums Along the Mohawk," Herkimer himself was
mortally wounded. Fortunately a sally from Fort Stanwix raided the
Indian camp during the battle, compelling many of the warriors to desist
from annihilating the entire column.
In the end, Fort Stanwix was relieved only when Benedict Arnold--soon to
excel at Saratoga, just as he had done at Valcour Island and elsewhere
throughout the Revolution--marched his troops through and forced the
British to give up their western onslaught.
In this book, as in his highly acclaimed first volume, the author
captures the terrain, tactics and terror of this brutal, multifaceted
wilderness war as few writers have done before. It was neighbor against
neighbor, native Americans on both sides, and European professionals
against Colonial Patriots, in a desperate campaign that helped determine
America's fate.
