In August 1780, Major General Frederick Haldimand, Governor of the Province of Quebec, authorized a large-scale raid against the Schoharie and Mohawk River valleys of New York. The Battle of Klock's Field was part of this broader military campaign during the American Revolutionary War, representing British and Loyalist efforts to strike at American-held territories in the strategically important Mohawk Valley region. The engagement demonstrated the ongoing conflict between Crown forces and American militia for control of this contested region.
The battle was fought on the north side of the Mohawk River in what is now St. Johnsville in Montgomery County, New York. British and Loyalist forces were led by Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Johnson and included soldiers from the 8th Regiment of Foot, the 34th Regiment of Foot, Butler's Rangers, and the King's Royal Regiment of New York (Royal Yorkers). Supporting units included Brant's Volunteers, Leake's Independent Company, a detachment of Hesse Hanau Jägers, and Seneca warriors led by Sayenqueraghta and Cornplanter. The expedition also included a coehorn mortar, a 3-pound "grasshopper" gun, and ten Royal Artillery soldiers, with a total force strength of 940 men. The American defenders were New York militia and levies commanded by Brigadier General Robert Van Rensselaer.
The result of the engagement was inconclusive, with neither side able to claim a clear victory. The battle reflected the broader pattern of military operations in the Mohawk Valley during this period, where control remained contested between British-Loyalist and American forces throughout much of the Revolutionary War.
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) grew from colonial resistance to British taxation without parliamentary representation — a dispute that radicalized through the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), and the Boston Massacre (1770). Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775; the Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Army under George Washington faced severe shortages of supplies and troops, enduring the brutal winter at Valley Forge (1777–1778) before French alliance and French financing turned the military balance. Major engagements included Bunker Hill (1775), Trenton (1776), Saratoga (1777) — which secured French intervention — and Yorktown (1781), where British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. An estimated 25,000 American soldiers died in service, from combat, disease, and captivity. The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded British territory east of the Mississippi, though it left unresolved questions about Indigenous land rights and the status of Loyalists.
Brown and ~40 Americans killed; light British/Loyalist
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