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With the approach of General Benedict Arnold's relief column, Brigadier-general St. Leger gave up the siege and withdrew, the Mohawk Valley returned to an uneasy peace which would not last for long.

General Arnold, in attempting to have loyalist turn themselves in and become part of the rebel cause, wrote:

"Whereas a certain Barry St. Leger a Brigadier-general in the services of the -------- George of Great Britain, at the head of a banditti of robbers, murderers, and traitors, composed of savages of America, and more savage Britons (among whom is noted Sir John Johnson, John Butler, and Daniel Claus) have lately appeared in the frontiers of this State, and have threatened ruin and destruction to all the inhabitants of the United States. They have also, by artiface and misrepresentation, induced many ignorant and unwary subjects of these states, to forfeit their allegience to the same, and join them in their crimes, and parties of treachery and parricide."¹

He then went on to pardon all loyalists if they would turn themselves in. In a letter written August 25, 1777, Pierre Van Cortland urges Governor George Clinton:

"I have great reason to believe that Genl: Burgoyne will soon follow the example of St. Leger, and my greatest fear is that he will be equally fortunate in getting off without a second drubbing, as the militia do not turn out with that alaricity which might be expected.

"A proper spirit on this occassion would enable us totally to destroy the enemy in the quarter, and secure peace and safety to this part of the country. The enemy are in our power, could the militia only be prevailed n to believe it."²

True peace not come until 1784. Until then, New York was caught in the grips of a civil war. Sir John Johnson and Joseph Brant returned to the area time and time again, raiding and destroying villages, crops and livestock, and massacring enemies and innocents alike. In retaliation, the Rebels did the same to the Torys. One of the major Rebel retaliations was Sullivan's Campaign. General Sullivan led his troops through western New York wreaking havoc everywhere they went. When the Oneidas requested neutral Onondaga villages be spared, their pleas were ignored and these villages were destroyed like the rest.

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was concluded ending the war between the United States and Great Britain. Then, in 1784, the Treaty of Fort Stanwix ended the war between the United States and the Iroquois Confederacy. In this treaty the ancestral lands of the Oneida and Tuscarora Nations were preserved and protected by the federal government. However, the Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas were confined to small reservations.

With the war ended, the European- and Native-American Torys were faced with a difficult decision, either live in the United States or leave the country. Some Torys chose to stay in the United States, others left the country. Many moved to Great Britain, but the vast majority moved to Canada and settled there on lands granted by Great Britain.

Today there are still large numbers of European- and Native-Canadian people who can trace their ancestry to the United States and the Revolutionary War. As the years advance, the bitter memories are beginning to heal, and these descendants are visiting their ancestrial homelands. As for the Iroquois Confederacy, there have been attempts to heal the wounds and some progress has been made. The Central Council Fire is still not burning, however, and no one knows when it will burn again.

Questions for Reading 3

Complete Reading 3 and look at Map 3. Answer the following questions:

1. What do you think were the reactions of the people in central New York? How do you think this battle affected their lives?

2. What do you think is the significance of the battle to the region? the Revolutionary War? the world? Why?

3. Who was Benedict Arnold? How does what you know about him affect your reading of his address to the Torys?

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