The Battle of the Flockey, fought on August 13, 1777, occurred in Fultonham near present-day Middleburgh in what is now Schoharie County (then Albany County), New York, and was a small part of the Saratoga campaign. It stemmed from a Tory uprising aiming to support British Lieutenant‑Colonel Barry St. Leger's northward advance. Loyalist leaders Captain John McDonell and Adam Crysler—backed by local tavern-owner Captain George Mann - mobilized an estimated 73 - 100 Tory militia and allied Mohawks at Crysler's farm, a low-lying, swampy plain known as "die Flache" (later "Flockey").
It is widely recognized as the site of the first recorded United States Cavalry charge by American forces during the Revolutionary War, executed by the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons (Sheldon's Horse) under Captain Jean‑Louis de Vernejoux on August 13, 1777.
In the summer of 1777, as British General John Burgoyne advanced from Canada towards Albany, his campaign relied upon converging columns. One of these, the western prong, was led by Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger, who advanced east through the Mohawk Valley. His goal was to join forces with Burgoyne near Albany, but his success was dependent upon Loyalist (Tory) support and Native American alliances.
The Schoharie Valley, a fertile and important region west of Albany, was home to both Patriot and Tory sympathizers. In early 1777, Tory leaders including Captain John McDonell, Adam Crysler, and Captain George Mann began organizing a small Tory force of local militia with support from nearby Mohawk allies. Mann, a tavern owner and former Captain of the 15th Albany Militia, had been relieved a year prior due to concerns over his Tory sympathies.
In March 1777, McDonell reportedly traveled to Canada to confer with British officials and promised Tory support for a local uprising. Loyalists began secretly organizing and preparing to rise in coordination with St. Ledger's push through the Mohawk Valley. Their assembly point was Adam Crysler's farm, a low-lying, marshy plain along Foxes Creek known to German-speaking locals as die Flache (later corrupted to "Flockey").
Patriot forces were led by Colonel John Harper of the Schoharie militia who had received intelligence of Tory plans and acted swiftly. Harper elicited support from a 28-man detachment of the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons, under Captain Jean‑Louis de Vernejoux. They first relieved Fort Defiance (Johannes Becker's stone house), then moved south to confront the Loyalists hidden at the Flockey.
Patriot forces: Schoharie militia led by Colonel John Harper with a detachment of 28 men of the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons (also known as Sheldon's Horse) under Captain Jean-Louis de Vernejoux .
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.
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