The Raid on Unadilla and Onaquaga was a military operation by Continental Army forces and New York militia against the Haudenosaunee towns of Unadilla and Onaquaga in what is now upstate New York. In early October 1778, more than 250 men under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Butler of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment descended on the two hastily abandoned towns and destroyed them, razing most of the buildings and taking or destroying provisions, including the inhabitants' winter stores.
The raid was conducted in retaliation for a series of raids on frontier communities by Brant's Volunteers, led by Joseph Brant, and Butler's Rangers, under the command of Major John Butler, during the spring and summer of 1778. Unadilla was located in what is now the Village of Unadilla, Town of Unadilla, Otsego County, and Onaquaga was located in what is now the Town of Windsor, Broome County.
With the failure of British General John Burgoyne's campaign to control the Hudson Valley at the Battles of Saratoga in October 1777, the American Revolutionary War in upstate New York became a frontier war. During the winter of 1777–78, Major John Butler, Mohawk war leader Joseph Brant, and the leaders of the other British-allied Haudenosaunee developed plans to attack frontier settlements in New York and Pennsylvania.
In February 1778, Brant established a base of operations at Onaquaga (present-day Windsor, New York). He recruited a mix of Haudenosaunee and Loyalists estimated to number between two and three hundred by the time he began his campaign in May. One of his objectives was to acquire provisions for his forces and those of Major Butler, who was planning operations in the Susquehanna River valley. Brant began his campaign in late May with a raid on Cobleskill, and raided other frontier communities throughout the summer.
The frontier settlers had difficulty responding to raids. The local militia were supported by some Continental Army regiments stationed in the area, but these forces generally could not mobilize in time to catch the raiders before they disappeared. Members of the militia frequently had to return to their farms to tend to their farms and livestock. New York Governor George Clinton and militia commander Brigadier General Abraham Ten Broeck considered mounting operations against the principal Haudenosaunee bases used by the raiders, Onaquaga and Unadilla, earlier in 1778, but it was not until an attack by Brant on the settlement of German Flatts in September that an expedition was organized.
In response to calls from Governor Clinton, General George Washington authorized the use of Continental Army forces, assigning the operation to Lieutenant Colonel William Butler of the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment. On September 20, Butler sent scouts to investigate conditions at the two towns. They returned with reports that Unadilla had a population of 300 and Onaquaga 400.
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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