The outbreak of the #RevolutionaryWar in 1775 forced many settlers and Native American Nations in the Thirteen Colonies to choose between old loyalties to the British Crown and the new Patriot rebellion. At the time of the Revolution, the Six Nations Confederacy (Iroquois Confederacy) dominated Upstate New York and parts of Canada and had been longstanding allies of British authorities. However, the Six Nations were far from monolithic. The Oneida and Tuscarora, which had become politically oriented towards the colonists in Boston, chose to lend their strength to the Patriot cause in 1776, contributing as many as 5,500 men to Washington’s Continental Army. The Oneida and Tuscarora soldiers proved to be excellent scouts, guides, and skirmishers, and contributed greatly to the campaigns of 1777 and 1778 which culminated in the Continental victory at the Battle of Saratoga. At the Battle of Oriskany in August 1777, the Continental Army and its Oneida soldiers fought a significant force of Loyalist Americans and their Native allies, particularly from the Confederacy’s Mohawk Nation. The other constituent parts of the Six Nations remained aligned with the British, and the Oneida and Tuscarora were forced to devote most of their strength to fending off their former allies in a brutal civil war that left the two nations devastated by the 1780’s. The heavy toll exacted upon the Oneida and Tuscarora for their support of the Patriot cause went beyond military sacrifice. The two nations had paid for victory with their very culture, their ancient way of life evaporating over the long years of war. The weakened Oneida and Tuscarora were unable to withstand the encroachment of New York state authorities on their territories, and their ancestral holdings were swallowed up in the post-war period. In 1794, the U.S. Congress finally made a small gesture of appreciation to their Native allies, agreeing to monetarily compensate the Oneida and Tuscarora for their wartime losses. #Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #MilitaryHistory #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth Posted @withrepost • @armyhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/CklJ2L6uH9t/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
