Nicholas Herkimer
Encyclopedia
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, who died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany
Battle of Oriskany
The Battle of Oriskany, fought on August 6, 1777, was one of the bloodiest battles in the North American theater of the American Revolutionary War and a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign...
.
Career
He was the son of Palatine GermanGerman Palatines
The German Palatines were natives of the Electoral Palatinate region of Germany, although a few had come to Germany from Switzerland, the Alsace, and probably other parts of Europe. Towards the end of the 17th century and into the 18th, the wealthy region was repeatedly invaded by French troops,...
immigrants Catherine Petrie and Johann Jost Herchheimer (one of various spellings) from the German Palatinate living in German Flats
German Flatts, New York
German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,629 at the 2000 census.The Town of German Flatts is in the south part of Herkimer County, across from the of Village of Herkimer on the south side of the Mohawk River, and southeast of Utica.-Herkimer:This...
in the Mohawk Valley
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
in the Colony of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and the elder brother of Captain Johan Host Herkimer
Johan Host Herkimer
Johan Jost Herkimer was born in 1732, the second of five sons of Johan Host Herkimer and Catherine Herkimer of German Flatts, New York. He was the younger brother of the American Patriot General Nicholas Herkimer. Like his brother, he was an established landowner and an officer in the Tryon County...
. He was of slender build, dark complexion, black hair, and not quite 6 feet tall. He could speak both German and Iroquois.
During the Attack on German Flatts
Attack on German Flatts (1757)
On November 12, 1757 during the French and Indian War, a company of French and Indian warriors staged an attack on German Flatts, on the north side of the Mohawk River in the British Province of New York. The settlement of Palatine German refugees and their families was destroyed, and many of the...
in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, he was involved in its defense. He was made a captain in the militia on January 5, 1758 and he repelled a second attack on German Flatts in April 1758.
He built his new house in 1764 near the present day city of Little Falls on the south shore of the Mohawk. He used a large number of slaves on his estate.
American Revolution
In July and August 1775 he headed the Tryon County Committee of SafetyTryon County Committee of Safety
Prior to the American Revolution the colonies formed Committees of Safety to represent the interests of their respective communities. They determined civil cases, officered and organized the militia, arrested and tried suspicious persons, some of whom they fined, and others they imprisoned...
, and became Colonel of the district militia. After the split in which loyalist militia members from the area withdrew to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, he became a Brigadier General in the Tryon County militia
Tryon County militia
-Militia regiments:On March 8, 1772, The Province of New York passed a bill for the establishment of organized militia in each county. In 1775, at the start of the American Revolution, the Tryon County militia comprised four regiments, formed according to their geographical locations:* 1st...
by the Provincial Congress on September 5, 1776.
In June 1776, he led 380 men of the Tryon County militia
Tryon County militia
-Militia regiments:On March 8, 1772, The Province of New York passed a bill for the establishment of organized militia in each county. In 1775, at the start of the American Revolution, the Tryon County militia comprised four regiments, formed according to their geographical locations:* 1st...
to confront Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
at Unadilla
Unadilla
Unadilla may refer to:* Unadilla, California, a former settlement in Kern County* Unadilla, Georgia, a city in Dooly County* Unadilla, Nebraska, a village in Otoe County* Unadilla , New York, a town in Otsego County...
. Herkimer requested that the Iroquois remain neutral while Brant said the Indians owed their loyalty to the King.
When he learned of the siege of Fort Stanwix
Fort Stanwix
Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction was started on August 26, 1758, by British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place during the French and Indian War...
to the west in late July 1777, he ordered the Tryon County militia
Tryon County militia
-Militia regiments:On March 8, 1772, The Province of New York passed a bill for the establishment of organized militia in each county. In 1775, at the start of the American Revolution, the Tryon County militia comprised four regiments, formed according to their geographical locations:* 1st...
to assemble at Fort Dayton
Fort Dayton
Fort Dayton is located on the North side of the Mohawk River at West Canada Creek in what is now Herkimer, New York. A fort had previously been built on the same site during the French and Indian War.-American Revolutionary War:...
. He then marched them out to Fort Stanwix
Fort Stanwix
Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction was started on August 26, 1758, by British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place during the French and Indian War...
, about 28 miles to the west. His force marching in column was ambushed on August 6 by a mixed force of British regulars, Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
Militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
rangers, and Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
Indians in the Battle of Oriskany
Battle of Oriskany
The Battle of Oriskany, fought on August 6, 1777, was one of the bloodiest battles in the North American theater of the American Revolutionary War and a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign...
. Herkimer's horse was shot, and he was seriously wounded. In spite of his injuries, he sat propped against a tree and lit his pipe. He rallied his men to avoid two panicked retreats, and when they withdrew they carried him home.
The brigade surgeon, William Petrie, dressed Herkimer's wound in the field and placed him on a litter. The wound quickly became infected, but the decision to amputate the leg was delayed for about ten days after the battle. The operation was performed by an inexperienced surgeon, Robert Johnson, because William Petrie was wounded in this battle and was not available. The operation went poorly, the wound bled profusely, and Herkimer died of the injury on August 16 around the age of 49.
Legacy
His home, in what is now Danube, New YorkDanube, New York
Danube is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 1,098 at the 2000 census. Early Palatine German immigrants in the eighteenth century named the town after the Danube River in Europe....
, is preserved as the Herkimer Home State Historic Site
Herkimer Home State Historic Site
Herkimer Home State Historic Site is a historic house museum in Herkimer County, New York, USA. Herkimer Home is in the north part of the Town of Danube, south of the Mohawk River.The site is north of the New York State Thruway....
. Herkimer County, New York
Herkimer County, New York
Herkimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,519. It is named after General Nicholas Herkimer, who died from battle wounds in 1777 after taking part...
was named in his honor. His nephew, John Herkimer
John Herkimer
John Herkimer was an American lawyer and politician from New York.-Life:Herkimer was the son of George Herkimer ....
, later became a U.S. Congressman.
Further reading
- Falk, Cynthia G., “Forts, Rum, Slaves, and the Herkimer’s Rise to Power in the Mohawk Valley,” New York History, 89 (Summer 2008), 221–34.
- Foote, Allan D., "Liberty March - The Battle of Oriskany," North Country Books Inc., Utica, New York, 1998