The Battle of Oriskany, fought on August 6, 1777, was one of the bloodiest battles in the North American theater

Theater (warfare)

In warfare, a theater, is defined as an area or place within which important military events occur or are progressing. The entirety of the air, land, and sea area that is or that may potentially become involved in war operations....

 of the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 and a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign

Saratoga campaign

The Saratoga Campaign was an attempt by Great Britain to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War...

. Early in the siege of Fort Stanwix

Siege of Fort Stanwix

The Siege of Fort Stanwix began on August 2, 1777, and ended August 22. Fort Stanwix, in the Mohawk River Valley, was then the primary defense point for the Continental Army against British and Indian forces aligned against them in the American Revolutionary War...

, an American relief force from the Mohawk Valley

Mohawk Valley

The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains....

 under General Nicholas Herkimer

Nicholas Herkimer

Nicholas Herkimer was a militia general in the American Revolutionary War, who died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany.-Career:...

, numbering around 800 men of the Tryon County militia

Tryon County militia

-Militia regiments:On March 8, 1772, The Province of New York passed a bill for the establishment of organized militia in each county. In 1775, at the start of the American Revolution, the Tryon County militia comprised four regiments, formed according to their geographical locations:* 1st...

 and a party of Oneida

Oneida tribe

The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...

 Indians, approached in an attempt to raise the siege. British commander Barry St. Leger

Barry St. Leger

Barrimore Matthew "Barry" St. Leger was a British colonel who led an invasion force during the American Revolutionary War.Barry St. Leger was baptised on May 1, 1733, in County Kildare, Ireland. He was the son of Sir John St...

 authorized an intercept force consisting of a Hanau

Hanau

Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...

 jäger

Jäger (military)

Jäger is a term that was adopted in the Enlightenment era in German-speaking states and others influenced by German military practice to describe a kind of light infantry, and it has continued in that use since then....

 (light infantry) detachment, Sir John Johnson's King's Royal Regiment of New York

King's Royal Regiment of New York

The King's Royal Regiment of New York was one of the first Loyalist regiments raised in Canada during the American Revolutionary War....

, Indian allies from the Six Nations

Iroquois

The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

 and other tribes to the north and west, and Indian Department Rangers totaling at least 450 men.

The Loyalist and Indian force ambushed Herkimer's force in a small valley about six miles (10 km) east of Fort Stanwix

Fort Stanwix

Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction was started on August 26, 1758, by British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place during the French and Indian War...

, near the present-day village of Oriskany, New York

Oriskany, New York

Oriskany is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 2,744 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the Iroquois word for "nettles."The Village of Oriskany is in the Town of Whitestown, southeast of the City of Rome...

.