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Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley: The St. Leger Expedition of 1777
In the summer of 1777, while the British and the Americans were engaged in the bitter American Revolution, a massive campaign was launched from Canada into New York State. Brigadier Barry St. Leger led a crucial expedition from Lake Ontario into the Mohawk Valley. The goal was to travel by waterways to join Lieutenant General John Burgoyne in the siege of Albany. But Leger encountered obstacles along the way. While laying siege to Fort Stanwix, Leger received word that Benedict Arnold was leading a massive relief column that was headed their way. Leger and his men retreated, and despite a later attempt to carry on, were never able to help Burgoyne. The Americans then destroyed the British-held Fort Ticonderoga, marking the end of the campaign. The results of the failed St. Leger expedition were historic. Not only was the loss of Fort Ticonderoga was a major blow to the British war effort, but the campaign also brought about the disillusionment of the Iroquois Confederacy, and saw the founding of the infamous Butler’s Rangers and the first major campaign of Sir John Johnson’s King’s Royal Regiment.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Gavin K. Watt
19 books5 followersGavin K. Watt is the author of eleven books about loyalist military history, including Burning of the Valleys and Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley. He lives in King City, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 20, 2013
Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley is an interesting read. Christopher Watt combines tremendous expertise with a bit or revisionism to come up with an excellent book about the Battle of Oriskany and the Mohawk Valley Campaign of 1777.
The Battle of Oriskany was one of the bloodiest battles during the American Revolution. It was also a critical battle in that it, with brilliant work by some of the best American leaders in the Revolution, Philip Schuyler, Benedict Arnold, Peter Gansevoort and Marinus Willet, helped lay the groundwork for the defeat of Burgoyne at Saratoga later that year. Burgoyne's defeat helped convince the French to openly intervene on with the American's side.
In this book, Mr Watt impressed me with his tremendous knowledge of the Mohawk Valley during the Revolution. His nearly one thousand footnotes also highly impressed me. Not because of the large number, but in the unique way Mr Watt used them.
Many historians use footnotes solely to identify their information sources.
Mr Watt used them to provide additional depth and insight into the history he was describing. Many of his footnotes include a paragraph or more of text. The text might describe how several different primary sources view the same event from different perspectives. Or the text might describe how one writer's journal provided a partial description of an event which raised a series of questions. And then how Mr Watts turned to other sources to answer those questions.
Mr. Watt describes the Battle of Oriskany and events leading up to and following it. He provides a very careful and thoughtful analysis of the the battle itself. And provides details and insight that is lacking from most histories. I found his tactical descriptions and map quite informative and useful.
Mr. Watt is also a bit of a revisionist. Most histories describe Oriskany as a hard fought victory for the American forces. (Fred Alexander's delightful history of the Seven Years War excepted.) Mr. Watts' theory is that the battle was, at best, a draw, more likely a tactical victory for the English. And that it resulted in the destruction of the Tryon County militia and the ensuing depopulation of the Mohawk Valley. For example, his description of the attack by McDonell's company of the King's Royal Regiment of New York shows how far they penetrated into the American's line. A point glossed over, or missed, in most histories. His view is quite defensible, and well presented.
I would strongly recommend this book to those interested in military history, the American Revolution or the history of the Mohawk Valley.
An additional note:
This past summer (2012) I had the opportunity to discuss Mr Watt's version of the battle with a Park Ranger at the Oriskany Battlefield. After walking the battlefield, we both agreed that it was an interesting interpretation. And I can see Mr Watt's points regarding the tactical flow of the battle. Unfortunately, as noted by the Park Ranger, the area where Mr Watt suggests the ambush's blocking force deployed is not within the park. The Park Ranger did mention he had been planning to see if at some point he could get permission to walk through that area and look it over.
The Battle of Oriskany was one of the bloodiest battles during the American Revolution. It was also a critical battle in that it, with brilliant work by some of the best American leaders in the Revolution, Philip Schuyler, Benedict Arnold, Peter Gansevoort and Marinus Willet, helped lay the groundwork for the defeat of Burgoyne at Saratoga later that year. Burgoyne's defeat helped convince the French to openly intervene on with the American's side.
In this book, Mr Watt impressed me with his tremendous knowledge of the Mohawk Valley during the Revolution. His nearly one thousand footnotes also highly impressed me. Not because of the large number, but in the unique way Mr Watt used them.
Many historians use footnotes solely to identify their information sources.
Mr Watt used them to provide additional depth and insight into the history he was describing. Many of his footnotes include a paragraph or more of text. The text might describe how several different primary sources view the same event from different perspectives. Or the text might describe how one writer's journal provided a partial description of an event which raised a series of questions. And then how Mr Watts turned to other sources to answer those questions.
Mr. Watt describes the Battle of Oriskany and events leading up to and following it. He provides a very careful and thoughtful analysis of the the battle itself. And provides details and insight that is lacking from most histories. I found his tactical descriptions and map quite informative and useful.
Mr. Watt is also a bit of a revisionist. Most histories describe Oriskany as a hard fought victory for the American forces. (Fred Alexander's delightful history of the Seven Years War excepted.) Mr. Watts' theory is that the battle was, at best, a draw, more likely a tactical victory for the English. And that it resulted in the destruction of the Tryon County militia and the ensuing depopulation of the Mohawk Valley. For example, his description of the attack by McDonell's company of the King's Royal Regiment of New York shows how far they penetrated into the American's line. A point glossed over, or missed, in most histories. His view is quite defensible, and well presented.
I would strongly recommend this book to those interested in military history, the American Revolution or the history of the Mohawk Valley.
An additional note:
This past summer (2012) I had the opportunity to discuss Mr Watt's version of the battle with a Park Ranger at the Oriskany Battlefield. After walking the battlefield, we both agreed that it was an interesting interpretation. And I can see Mr Watt's points regarding the tactical flow of the battle. Unfortunately, as noted by the Park Ranger, the area where Mr Watt suggests the ambush's blocking force deployed is not within the park. The Park Ranger did mention he had been planning to see if at some point he could get permission to walk through that area and look it over.
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October 3, 20172007-12 - Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley: The St. Leger Expedition of 1777. Gavin K. Watt (Author) . 2002. 429 pages.
I decided to read this book because it has great reviews and it covers a subject I am interested in. Essentially this book is about the Operational Level of Command. The commander in question is LTC Barry St. Leger and his mission is to drive from Canada via Fort Niagara through the Mohawk Valley and link up with Burgoyne and Clinton at Albany. St.Leger’s command was in many ways a thoroughly modern version of coalition warfare. His force consisted of British regulars, loyalist militia, Amerindians, and German Regulars.
The book is well researched and even though it is written by a Canadian it is fair and balanced in its approach and in its descriptive language. It is a valuable addition to the literature about this operation and to the Battle of Oriskany as well. It does a very good job of explaining the upfront and the behind the scenes maneuvering on both sides mixing the personal, the political, and the military deftly. How ever it is in that mixing that one of the two problems from my point of view with the text occurs.
This is that there is little warning that we are going to shift our focus from one point of view to another. The transitions from person to person from side to side are helter skelter. It seems to be a case of trying to get too much out in a small space. The book suffers from poor organization of the narrative with in the story as it were. Some readers may have no problem with this but I found it to be a bit distracting. I would have preferred to not do everything across the spectrum at the same time but rather shape it more like a novel. Shape it by following a thread to a point just before the climax of the story. Do this with each aspect and thread and then meld them maybe at the climax of the story. I think this would make the book easier to read and understand and make the story better for those who pick up the book as a casual read.
The other aspect I did not like was that the author has done a poor job of introducing the actors in the drama. At some level he must feel that the reader of this book would be familiar enough with the actors that they need no introduction or perspective. He does several times introduce the actors on the stage and then later on fill in some data as he deems it pertinent to the story. I think perhaps by altering the organization as aforementioned would allow him to introduce briefly the actors for that segment up front. This becomes important when several actors are related and share names and other characters not related also have similar or like names. A relational chart for the various sides or a order of battle with command figures would really be helpful.
Otherwise if you are interested in learning more about the Battle of Oriskany, Burgoyne’s campaign, The Siege at Fort Stanwix, or the Northern Operations of 1777 this is an excellent addition to a reading list.
A note to those who would read this book: Although it came out in 2002 for around $20USD copies of it are very hard to come by. They sell on the internet for upwards of $100USD or more. I read my copy on loan from Kutztown University via the Access Pennsylvania Library System.
I decided to read this book because it has great reviews and it covers a subject I am interested in. Essentially this book is about the Operational Level of Command. The commander in question is LTC Barry St. Leger and his mission is to drive from Canada via Fort Niagara through the Mohawk Valley and link up with Burgoyne and Clinton at Albany. St.Leger’s command was in many ways a thoroughly modern version of coalition warfare. His force consisted of British regulars, loyalist militia, Amerindians, and German Regulars.
The book is well researched and even though it is written by a Canadian it is fair and balanced in its approach and in its descriptive language. It is a valuable addition to the literature about this operation and to the Battle of Oriskany as well. It does a very good job of explaining the upfront and the behind the scenes maneuvering on both sides mixing the personal, the political, and the military deftly. How ever it is in that mixing that one of the two problems from my point of view with the text occurs.
This is that there is little warning that we are going to shift our focus from one point of view to another. The transitions from person to person from side to side are helter skelter. It seems to be a case of trying to get too much out in a small space. The book suffers from poor organization of the narrative with in the story as it were. Some readers may have no problem with this but I found it to be a bit distracting. I would have preferred to not do everything across the spectrum at the same time but rather shape it more like a novel. Shape it by following a thread to a point just before the climax of the story. Do this with each aspect and thread and then meld them maybe at the climax of the story. I think this would make the book easier to read and understand and make the story better for those who pick up the book as a casual read.
The other aspect I did not like was that the author has done a poor job of introducing the actors in the drama. At some level he must feel that the reader of this book would be familiar enough with the actors that they need no introduction or perspective. He does several times introduce the actors on the stage and then later on fill in some data as he deems it pertinent to the story. I think perhaps by altering the organization as aforementioned would allow him to introduce briefly the actors for that segment up front. This becomes important when several actors are related and share names and other characters not related also have similar or like names. A relational chart for the various sides or a order of battle with command figures would really be helpful.
Otherwise if you are interested in learning more about the Battle of Oriskany, Burgoyne’s campaign, The Siege at Fort Stanwix, or the Northern Operations of 1777 this is an excellent addition to a reading list.
A note to those who would read this book: Although it came out in 2002 for around $20USD copies of it are very hard to come by. They sell on the internet for upwards of $100USD or more. I read my copy on loan from Kutztown University via the Access Pennsylvania Library System.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews