History, Natural History & the Arts
During the Revolutionary War the little community of Beaver Dam (sometimes spelled Beaverdam) in what is now Berne, Albany County, NY saw little action.
The British and their Indigenous allies repeatedly attacked the communities in the Schoharie Valley to the west however, despite the presence of a large militia and three forts to protect the people of Schoharie. [Read more…] about When History Is Wrong: The Albany County ‘Dietz Massacre’
This week on The Historians Podcast, archaeologist and historian Wayne Lenig discusses Mohawk chief Joseph Brant’s 1780 raids in the Mohawk Valley. Lenig will be one of the speakers at next month’s American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference at Fulton-Montgomery Community College.
Listen to the podcast here. [Read more…] about Joseph Brant’s 1780 Mohawk Valley Raid
The American Revolution Round Table (ARRT) of the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys will host Wayne Lenig, who will give a presentation entitled Joseph Brant’s 1780 Attack on Canajohary.
Original accounts of the August 2nd raid began appearing in major newspapers about two weeks after the attack. A newspaper account dated September 9, 1780 stated the following: “At the fort now called fort Ransalaer (Fort Plain), Sir John Johnson and Captain Brant have burnt 51 houses, 42 barns, 17 killed, and 52 prisoners.”
[Read more…] about Joseph Brant’s 1780 Attack On Canajoharie
James Kirby Martin, a history professor at the University of Houston, traces his interest in the Mohawk Valley to his birthplace in northern Ohio.
Joseph Brant of the Mohawk Nation was born in what is now Ohio in 1743 and Martin was fascinated by Brant’s life. The younger brother of Sir William Johnson’s longtime consort Molly Brant, Joseph Brant and Sir William’s son John led devastating raids in the Mohawk Valley during the American Revolution.
Sir William, Britain’s Indian agent in our region, died in 1774 before the war. However, his good relations with the Iroquois Confederacy kept most of them on the side of the British during the Revolution. [Read more…] about The Oneida Nation Supported American Rebels