Америка Тәуелсіздік Соғысы: Вайоминг шайқасы және қырғыны

Part of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Wyoming was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of Loyalist soldiers and Indigenous warriors. The battle took place in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania on July 3, 1778 in what is now Luzerne County. The result was an overwhelming defeat for the Americans. The battle is often referred to as the "Wyoming Massacre" because of the roughly 300 Patriot casualties, many of whom were killed by the Seneca and Cayuga as they fled the battlefield or after they had been taken prisoner. Widespread looting and burning of buildings occurred throughout the Wyoming Valley subsequent to the battle, but non combatants were not harmed. Most of the inhabitants fled across the Pocono Mountains to Stroudsburg and Easton or down the Susquehanna River to Sunbury. Within weeks, a widely distributed but highly inaccurate newspaper report claimed that hundreds of women and children had been massacred. This false version of events was accepted as proven fact by many writers for decades afterwards but has been thoroughly discredited.

In 1777, British general John Burgoyne led the Saratoga campaign to gain control of the Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War, but was forced to surrender after the Battles of Saratoga in October. News of the surrender prompted France to enter the war as an American ally. British military officials were concerned that the French might attempt to retake parts of Canada which they had lost in the French and Indian War, so they adopted a more defensive strategy in Quebec. The British recruited Loyalists and indigenous allies to conduct a frontier war along the northern and western borders of the Thirteen Colonies. British Indian Department officer John Butler was granted permission to enlist Loyalists in a regiment that came be to known as Butler's Rangers. Seneca chiefs Sayenqueraghta and Cornplanter encouraged Seneca and Cayuga warriors to participate in a raids against frontier settlements. Similarly, Mohawk war leader Joseph Brant encouraged Mohawk participation and recruited Loyalist volunteers to fight with him. By April 1778, the Seneca were raiding settlements along the Allegheny and the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. In late May, Joseph Brant raided Cobleskill in Tryon County, New York. In early June, Butler, Sayenqueraghta, and Brant met at Tioga Point at the confluence of the Chemung River and the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. While Butler and the Seneca were planning a major attack on the Wyoming Valley, it was agreed that Brant would return to Onaquaga and prepare to raid settlements in New York.

Major Butler with 110 Butler's Rangers and 464 indigenous warriors departed Tioga Point on June 27, and arrived at the head of the Wyoming Valley three days later. Most of the Indigenous warriors were Seneca and Cayuga led by Sayenqueraghta, Cornplanter, and Fish Carrier, but contingents of Munsee Delaware, Onondaga, and Tuscarora were also present. The Americans were alerted to their approach when 12 settlers working in a field and nearby tannery were attacked. The inhabitants fled to the forts scattered throughout the Wyoming Valley including Forty Fort, Fort Wyoming (Wilkes Barre) and Fort Pittston. Meanwhile, the Patriot militia assembled at Forty Fort under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Zebulon Butler, an officer of the Continental Army home on leave. On July 1, Fort Wintermoot at the north end of the valley surrendered without a shot being fired. The next morning the smaller Fort Jenkins surrendered. The terms of the surrender for both forts promised that the inhabitants would not be harmed. Demands for Forty Fort to surrender were rebuked. Lieutenant Colonel Butler and his senior officers, Colonel Nathan Denison and Lieutenant Colonel George Dorrance, advocated remaining in the fort, however, their subordinates, led by Lazarus Stewart, were overwhelmingly in favour of marching out to meet the enemy. Butler gave in and by mid afternoon on July 3, a force of roughly 375 men, organized into five companies of militia and one company of Continentals, sallied from the fort. Every movement by the Americans was observed by indigenous scouts. Major Butler ordered Fort Wintermoot burned in order to trick the Americans into thinking that he was withdrawing. Butler positioned his forces in a "fine open wood" with the Rangers on the left and his indigenous allies on the right. He ordered his men to lie on the ground and wait for the order to fire. The Americans deployed into a line of battle as they approached Fort Wintermoot. After firing three unanswered volleys they had advanced to within 100 yards of Major Butler's position, unaware that they had been flanked by the Seneca and Cayuga. Following a devastating volley from the Rangers and their indigenous allies, the Seneca and Cayuga broke cover and attacked the Americans with maul, tomahawk and spear. The battle lasted about 30 minutes. An attempt to reform the American line quickly turned into a frantic rout, as the inexperienced militiamen panicked and ran. It became a deadly race from which only about 60 escaped including Lieutenant Colonel Butler and Colonel Denison. Many of those overtaken by the Seneca and Cayuga were killed and scalped immediately, however, some were taken captive and were later tortured and executed. In his report to the commanding officer of Fort Niagara, Major Butler stated that his indigenous allies had taken 227 scalps and five prisoners, while Colonel Denison informed him that 302 had been killed.

The Battle of Wyoming remained well known to most Americans for the rest of the eighteenth century and for most of the nineteenth. It particularly reemerged in national discourse during the War of 1812 when Americans again found themselves fighting the British and their indigenous allies on the frontier. Some newspaper accounts readily compared the Battle of Frenchtown (also known as the River Raisin Massacre) in 1813 to the Wyoming Massacre. The "Wyoming Massacre" was described by the Scottish poet Thomas Campbell in his 1809 poem "Gertrude of Wyoming". Campbell depicted Mohawk war leader Joseph Brant as a "monster" in the poem, even though Brant was at Onaquaga on the day of the attack. The western state of Wyoming is named after the Wyoming Valley. The state received its name from the United States Congress when the Wyoming Territory was created in 1868. Construction of a monument to commemorate the battle began in 1833 but took a decade to complete due to a lack of funds. The 19 meter (63 ft) tall obelisk is the site of a common grave containing the remains of many of the victims of the battle. The names of 176 of the slain are inscribed on the monument. The Battle of Wyoming is commemorated each year by the Wyoming Commemorative Association, a local non profit organization, which holds an annual ceremony on the grounds of the Wyoming Monument. The commemorative ceremonies began in 1878 to mark the 100th anniversary of the battle and massacre. The principal speaker at the event was President Rutherford B. Hayes. During the 100th anniversary commemoration, the people of Wyoming Valley used the motto "An honest tale speeds best when plainly told" in an effort to promote the historical account of the battle. The annual program has continued each year since then.