Johnstown

Fought at Johnstown, New York on October 25, 1781, this engagement ranks among the final clashes of the northern theater during the American Revolutionary War, drawing more than 1,100 combatants into its span. That very morning, a mixed force of British regulars, Loyalist troops, and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) warriors had razed Warrensborough, a settlement in the Mohawk Valley, under the joint command of Major John Ross of the King's Royal Regiment of New York and Captain Walter Butler of Butler's Rangers. By late afternoon, Colonel Marinus Willett had rallied nearby American forces and overtaken Ross's men at Johnstown. The two sides clashed for several hours before the British pulled back. Butler himself did not survive much longer; five days on, October 30 brought his death during a rear-guard skirmish at West Canada Creek.

Background

For much of the Revolutionary War, New York's Mohawk Valley remained a persistent battleground. The year 1780 brought devastating incursions by Loyalist troops and Britain's Indigenous partners, who left the region in ruins. That year's autumn harvest never made it off the fields before enemy action wiped it out, and settlers abandoned entire communities rather than face continued assault.

The toll extended well beyond the hundreds of structures burned and the 197 civilians killed. These incursions also jeopardized the supply lines American forces relied upon to sustain their remaining posts throughout the valley. Furthermore, the local militia, already gutted years before during the 1777 fighting at Oriskany, saw its numbers shrink further as men deserted, died, or simply left with their families in search of safety. Faced with this deteriorating situation, New York's governor, George Clinton, placed Colonel Marinus Willett in command, tasking him with rebuilding the militia and shoring up the valley's defenses.

Throughout the following spring and summer, minor skirmishes flared repeatedly between the opposing forces. On July 9, Lieutenant John Doxtader led a combined Haudenosaunee and Loyalist raiding party against Currytown. Willett wasted no time chasing after them, catching up the next day and scattering the raiders so thoroughly that they left their stolen goods behind.

Come autumn, though, a far more formidable force pushed into the valley from the west, numbering several hundred and combining British regulars with Loyalist provincial troops and Haudenosaunee fighters. This group struck Currytown again on October 24, though this time they held back from setting fires, wary that smoke might tip off Willett's militia to their whereabouts. Two militia scouts fell into the hands of Ross's men, and though captured quietly, their absence and reports from local settlers who spotted the raiders soon set off warnings across the valley. Willett had not yet managed to pull together the valley's defenses when the raiders struck Warrensborough, south of the Mohawk River. Major John Ross would later describe how, by noon, flames had consumed the entire settlement across seven miles, destroying close to 100 farms, three mills, and a substantial granary meant for public use, while livestock and other stock perished as well. Residents fled into the night, desperate to escape.

While at Warrensborough, Ross discovered that opposing forces were converging on his position from multiple directions. This intelligence led him to choose a route across the Mohawk River near Johnstown, followed by a northward push through untamed country toward Carleton Island.

Battle

Willett assembled 416 militiamen and set out after the raiders, catching up with Ross's column at Johnstown as afternoon turned to evening on October 25. Scattered clashes quickly erupted throughout the settlement and its outskirts once the two sides came into contact.

Ross commanded a force exceeding 700 men, among them 155 British regulars and 310 provincial troops drawn from Butler's Rangers, the King's Royal Regiment of New York, and Leake's Independent Company. Roughly 100 Haudenosaunee warriors accompanied the expedition as well, led by Captain Gilbert Tice of the British Indian Department alongside Mohawk war chief David Hill (Karonghyontye).

Facing superior numbers, Willett split his troops, dispatching half under Major Aaron Rowley to swing around and strike the enemy from behind. Meanwhile he led the remainder across open ground directly toward the British line, which had taken position at the tree line. Fierce combat ensued, and the sole cannon present on the battlefield, initially held by Willett's side, changed hands multiple times as each force fought to claim it. Then, inexplicably, the militia stationed on the American right broke ranks and ran. Disaster was averted only when Rowley's detachment arrived and hit the British right flank at the very moment Ross seemed poised to capitalize on the collapsing American position. What followed was a confused tangle of small, disconnected skirmishes. The fighting sputtered on until nightfall, when Ross finally called for a retreat.

According to Ross's later account, his side lost 11 killed and 11 wounded, with 32 captured, whereas American losses stood at 12 dead, 24 wounded, and 5 taken prisoner.

Afterward, Ross let a number of his captives slip away, having first fed them the false impression that his forces planned to march westward. Trusting this misinformation, Willett headed to Stone Arabia, only to realize after hours of fruitless waiting that he had been misled. His scouts finally picked up Ross's tracks on October 28, prompting Willett to resume the chase at once with 400 men and 60 Oneida warriors alongside him.

Rain and heavy wet snow hampered both sides' progress, yet Willett managed to overtake the retreating British rear guard close to West Canada Creek on October 30. Walter Butler died during the skirmish that followed. Those who witnessed it later gave conflicting versions of events: some claimed Butler cried out "Shoot and be damned," while others credited Louis Cook (Akiatonharónkwen), commander of an Oneida contingent that had joined Willett's ranks following Johnstown, with delivering the fatal shot. The prevailing accounts hold that an Oneida warrior killed Butler with a shot to the head, after which his body was scalped, stripped of its uniform, and abandoned where he fell.

At that point Willett called off the chase. Ross pressed on northward, arriving at Carleton Island on November 6.

Aftermath

Almost simultaneously with Willett's success at Johnstown, news arrived locally of the British surrender at Yorktown. For this reason, the fighting there stood as the final notable engagement fought in the Mohawk Valley.