CLINT DYGERT LINAGE Maria Dygert,daughter of Capt. Peter S. Dygert was the second wife of General Nickolas Herkimer and a niece to Herkimer's first wife who also was Maria Dygert but a sister of Capt. Peter S. Dygert. Maria, second wife of Herkimer was at his side, in Herkimer house,at the time of his death from wounds he received at the Battle Of Oriskany during the American Revolution " THE BATTLE OF ORISKANY " Before the battle: At this time, Fort Stanwix was commanded by Colonel Peter Gansevoort, who though only twenty-eight years old, possessed such courage and ability that he lives in New York history as one of our greatest military leaders. When Colonel Gansevoort learned of St. Leger's approach toward Fort Stanwix, he sent Thomas Spencer, a young Oneida sachem and scout, to ask General Herkimer for men and supplies to reinforce the garrison. After receiving the news for Spencer, Herkimer issued the following proclamation: "Whereas it appears certain that the enemy, of about two thousand strong, Christians and savages, are arrived at Oswego, with the intention to invade our frontiers, I think it proper and most necessary for the defense of our country, and it shall be ordered by me as soon as the enemy approaches, that every able person, being in health, from sixteen to sixty years of age, in their county, shall, as in duty bound, repair immediately, with arms and accoutrements, to the place to be appointed in my orders, and then will march to oppose the enemy with vigor, as true patriots, for the just defense of their country. And those who are above sixty years, or really unwell, and incapable to march, shall then assemble, also armed, at their respective places where the women and children will be gathered together, in order for defense against the enemy, if attacked, as much as lies in their power. But concerning the disaffected, and who will not directly obey such orders, they shall be taken, along with their arms, secured under guard, to join the main body. And as such an invasion regards every friend to the country in general, but of this county in particular, to show his zeal and well affected spirit in actual defense of the same, all members of the committee as well as those who by former commissions or otherwise, have been exempted from any other military duty, are requested to repair also, when called, to such a place as shall be appointed and join to repulse our foes. Not doubting that the Almighty Power, upon our humble prayers and sincere trust in Him, will then graciously succor our arms in battle for our just cause and victory cannot fail on our side." By August3, 1777, about 800 men of the Tryon County Militia were assembled at Fort Dayton (now Herkimer, New York), ready to march to the aid of Fort Stanwix. The militia was composed chiefly of Dutch and Germans, but there were men of many other nationalities in the militia. They were joined by a band of friendly Oneida Indians while on the march. There were four regiments: the Canajoharie Regiment commanded by Colonel Jacob Klock, the Mohawk Regiment commanded by Colonel Frederick Visscher, and German Flatts and Kingsland Regiment commanded by Colonel Peter Bellinger. The whole group was under the command of Brigadier General Herkimer. Toward sunset on the fifth of August, General Herkimer and his men reached the Indian village of Oriska, eight miles east of Fort Stanwix. There they were to camp for the night. General Herkimer commanded them to halt and about face. "Before we break ranks, let me say that between us and yon garrison lies the strong, double picket of the enemy--two lines of Indians that entirely encompass the fort. A combined attack is desirable, nay, is insistent but before this can be, the garrison must be reached and notifies. It is a perilous undertaking. I will ask no one personally to attempt it. Instead, who will volunteer to go? Three are needed." General Herkimer asked of his troops. Adam Helmer, John Demooth, and another scout volunteered to break through the British lines and notify Colonel Gansevoort of the plan. Adam Helmer was noted for being the fastest runner in the valley. They were instructed to leave about midnight for Fort Stanwix. As soon as these scouts reached there and delivered the message, Colonel Gansevoort was to fire three cannon shots to signify that all was well for Herkimer to advance. On the morning of August sixth, General Herkimer aroused his men early. By eight o'clock all preparations had been made but on signal came. As it grew later and later and hotter and hotter, the men began to grow uneasy and the officers wished to march. There were angry words. Colonel Cox and Isaac Paris, who were members of the Tryon County Safety Committee, and Colonel Visscher called General Herkimer a Tory and a coward. (Han Yost Herkimer, a brother of the general, was a Tory.) General Herkimer told him that their safety was in his hands. Even men of no rank were shouting to Herkimer, "Lead on! Lead on!" Some thought that the shots had already been fired, and that the wind was in the wrong direction so they could not be heard. So the wind was tested and found to be blowing in the proper direction to carry the sound of the shots. Some argued that perhaps the men at Fort Stanwix had advanced from the fort and were fighting alone without the help of the Tryon county Militia. General Herkimer tried to hold back his temper and listen to their arguments until the angry words became louder and stronger. The mutinous colonels and other officers accused him of some may things that it became unbearable. Finally, the General's temper gave way and he shouted to his officers, "You will be the first to run when you see the enemy!" Quickly he jumped on his horse and waving his sword, shouted, "Vorwaerts!" (Forward!) The troops went wild with joy. In a disorderly column they marched forward to meet the enemy. Colonel Cox, whose men were the most eager to fight were in front. Colonel Visscher's regiment guarded the wagons in the rear. General Herkimer lead his band boldly rather than cautiously. He did not wait even to allow scouts to proceed of the main column as they pushed their way through the thick brush along the south shore of the Mohawk River. There were many streams which cut deep ravines as they flowed toward the river. Over these depressions the colonists had built roads of logs which they called corduroy roads. The deepest of these ravines was reached about ten o'clock that morning. The a main column, Colonel Cox's regiment, pushed through the thick forest where a crude roadway lead down into the marsh and the ravine closed like a pocket. They were not in soldierly order but all were in rough haste. No one was watching for the enemy. Meanwhile Colonel St. Leger had been notified by Joseph Brant's sister, Molly, that Herkimer was advancing. He received this news on the evening of August fifth. He immediately sent Joseph Brant with his Indians and eighty of Sir John Johnson's RoyalGreens, under Major Watts (SirJohnson's brother-in-law), to select a suitable spot and wait for Herkimer's men. Brant must have influenced Johnson to fight from ambuscade, and selected this deep ravine which was particularly adapted to the purpose. They could look down the road where Herkimer's men were to come.Arriving early the enemy took their places around the north, south, and western slopes, leaving the road through the ravine open for Herkimer's troops to march into the trap. The Indians were behind the trees near the road while the Royal Greens were on the hills behind them. The Battle of Oriskany By E.N. Clark Just as Colonel Visscher's men and the supply wagons were bumping into the ravine over the corduroy road, some of the men in the advanced columns went over to the creek to get a drink. An Indian sprang from behind a tree and killed Colonel Cox. This shot was the signal for all the Indians and Greens to let go. The woods suddenly became alive with Indians. Firing began which hit the patriots in front and both flanks. Muskets blazed from every unexpected corner. This accompanied by the dismal Indian war whoop and the Indians rushed out decked with paint and feathers waving knives and tomahawks. This was a terrifying site to Herkimer's troops. Both Herkimer's advance and retreat was checked. His army was cut in two. His supply train had been seized. As the smoke parted, the road was covered with dead and quivering wounded bodies. Colonel Cox, who had urged Herkimer to advance, was among the first killed, while his men scurried in all directions. Colonel Visscher's men were in the rear and they too turned and fled, only to be shot down as they ran in disorder. A few of the men in Visscher's regiment escaped and crawled back to their valley home while others fought forward to help Herkimer's men. The flight of part of Visscher's group probably saved Herkimer's men, as many of the Indians pursued the retreating farmers. General Herkimer calmly rallied his men. Back to back and hand to hand they faced the foe. Muskets and knives, spears and tomahawks, were the only weapons. General Herkimer noticed that the fire form the western slope of the ravine was thin and somewhat irregular. Therefore, he ordered Colonel Bellinger and his men to take the hill so that they could reach higher ground and not be targets for the enemy. Bitter as it was, they stormed the hill firing as they went, meeting their Tory neighbors and enemies with swinging blows of their muskets. It was during the storming of the hill that Herkimer's white mare was fatally wounded. As his horse toppled over, the General untangled himself from the saddle and started to walk away but stumbled and fell. The bone of his right leg had been shattered when his horse had been killed. Already blood was flowing over the top of his boot. He was carried up the hill and placed on his saddle under a low branched beech tree. Dr.William Petrie insisted upon dressing Herkimer's wound first, although he himself had a bad wound which needed attention. Because the spot where Herkimer was sitting was not well protected, his officers begged him to let them move him to a safer place. He calmly lit his pipe and replied, "I will face the enemy also." He sat and directed the entire battle while the bulletswhizzed about him. The battle raged on. The air smelled of blood and the Royal Greens were slugging and shooting their Patriot friend and relatives. Suddenly three cannon shots were heard from Fort Stanwix, showing that the messengers had arrived and Gansevoort was ready to send aid. Immediately hail and rain fell downward and a terrific thunderstorm broke over the field. Both armies were forced to seek shelter. Under Captain Jacob Seiber, Herkimer's men formed in a circle and rested on the spot where the monument now stands at Oriskany. During this brief rest, the Patriots bathed their wounds, some ate something and all took on renewed courage. General Herkimer took this opportunity to move his men to higher ground and formed them in circles--all of them. The fighting began as the storm lessen. The General had observed that an Indian would wait until an American had discharged his gun, then rush upon him with a tomahawk before each tree and to fire alternately. Now the Americans had the advantage.They were on higher ground in regular formation. The Indians and Tories were forced to attack uphill. A second detachment of Johnson's Greens turned their coats inside out so as to look like the Patriots who were not in uniform. They tried to break into the American ranks but they were discovered and driven back. The Indians realizing that the American position on the hill was in their favor became discouraged. They also heard firing in the direction of Fort Stanwix. They suddenly gave their cry of retreat, "Oonah! Oonah!" and slunk back into the forest, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. The Tories, thus deserted, and feeling that they were needed in whatever fighting was going on in the neighborhood of the Fort, also beat a hasty retreat. The battlefield was left in the possession of General Herkimer and what was left of the Tryon County Militia. This was about three o' clock in the afternoon. General Herkimer assembled his men while the officers counted them. From the 800 the officers judged there were 300 able to walk and 50 more who were badly wounded but still alive. How many were killed or taken prisoners no one could say. Stretchers were crudely made out of willow poles and coats stretched over them. The badly wounded were laid on them and carried back to Fort Schuyler. It was sunset before they reached Oriskany Creek. From there men were sent ahead to get boats to be rowed up the Mohawk to collect the wounded. While they were gone the remaining men lay down to rest until boats arrived and the wounded were loaded on.The rest of the exhausted men started their walk home in an order that never looked like an army. General Herkimer rested at Old Fort Schuyler that night. The next day he was placed in a boat and carried to his home below Little Falls. His leg was amputated by Dr. Robert Johnson, who came up the valley with Arnold. General Herkimer probably died from loss of blood and shock. The first to reach home, chiefly who had fled from Colonel Visscher's regiment, spread the news throughout the valley that General Herkimer's army had been completely destroyed. This was not so, and the Battle of Oriskany was an American victory. Although he had not raised the siege of Fort Stanwix, the battle had checked St. Leger's advance and greatly disheartened the Indians. But what had been happening at Fort Stanwix during this time? Where were General Herkimer's messengers? What had delayed the signal? What was all the firing that the men at Oriskany could hear form the direction of Fort Stanwix? Colonel Gansevoort and Colonel Marius Willett, who were trapped inside Fort Stanwix with 750 men and six weeks' supplies, had no thought of surrounding. Colonel St. Leger had surrounded the fort which in absolute defiance flew the new national flag, "the Stars and Stripes, " for the first time. St. Leger with his British regulars was slightly northeast of the fort, while Sir John Johnson and his Royal Greens were to the south. A mile down stream was a large Indian camp and to the southwest were other Indians under Brant. Two miles farther west John and Walter Butler with more Tory troops. Early in the morning of August sixth, the Patriots at Fort Stanwix noticed that many Indians and Tories were constantly moving down the river. About ten o'clock heavy musket firing was heard to the east of them. They had no idea of what was happening until Herkimer's three weary scouts arrived about noon. The scouts gave message to Colonel Gansevoort, who immediately began to get his forces together. He told Colonel Willett to have three cannons fired at intervals of a minute and to be ready to start at once. When the men were assembled at the gate, the thunder and hail storm broke so they were forced to wait until the storm was over, which delayed them fully half an hour. After the storm they were successful in their attempt to leave the garrison. They marched down the river to Sir John Johnson's camp and took it with very little opposition. This was repeated at the Indian camp further down. Willett sacked both camps, took all his men could carry, and burned the rest. They started back to the fort. British regulars attached them on the way but Willett drove them off and marched to the fort in triumph, laden with arms, provisions, five flags, and all of Sir John Johnson's letters, plans and orders. This was accomplished without the lost of a single Patriot life while at least six of the enemy were killed and four taken prisoner. Source : Most of the information on this page is a reproduction of Oriskany: 1777-1945, Utica Mutal Insurance Company,1945 After the Battle : Peter S. Dygert was noted as a " father-in-law " in the 1777 will of General Nicholas Herkimer. Peter's oldest daughter, Maria, had married Gen. Herkimer as a second marriage for the General. Her aunt Maria Dygert, sister of Peter S. Dygert, was married to Nicholas Herkimer prior to her marriage. Mary Brant, known as Gonwatsijayenni to the Mohawks and a grand-daughter of one of the most outstanding of the Mohawk Chiefs, King Hendrick,( Thoyanoguen ) was also Sir William Johnson's widow. On August 5, 1777, two days before the Oriskany battle, Mary Brant sent Indian messengers from Canajoharie to St. Leger's camp to warn him of a force of militia under Nicholas Herkimer was on its way to relieve Fort Stanwix from his siege. And to report that Herkimer with his force of militia was even now camped at the Indian settlement of Oriska. Being warned of this, St. Leger ordered Sir John Butler with twenty of his rangers and about four hundred Indians to go off to meet Herkimer's force. Sir John offered his services and was put in charge of the expedition. There were only fifty of the Royal Yorkers in the group that was to leave with him. Joseph Brant, younger brother of Mary Brant, was in this force sent to repel Herkimer. They left their camp on August 6, 1777 to set up an ambush for Hekimers troops and on the 7th of August, 1777 the Battle of Oriskany unfolded. After the British lifted the siege of Fort Stanwix, the Oneidas and Americans avenged themselves for the defeat at Oriskany, and for Mary Brant's part in it, by pillaging her home in Canajoharie. She more than anyone was responsible for the outcome of the Oriskany battle since she had sent messengers to the British camp warning of Herkimer's approach. She had managed to escape just before the irate band arrived, and fled with her children to Onondaga. The looters did not confine their activities to Mary Brant's home, however, but cheerfully plundered the whole Indian settlement, driving off livestock and carting away load after load of corn and other vegetables. Peter S. Deygart ( Dygert ), chairman of the Tryon County Committee of Safety, was one of the most active in enriching himself at the expense of the Mohawks, making numerous trips to the Indian village with his wagons to carry away his plunder. Dygert had urged the Oriska Indians to make up their own losses in the recent destruction of their village by looting the Mohawks. Where they had lost one cow, one horse, one sheep, one ox, or one hog, they were instructed to take two in return. From Mary Brant alone, Dygert and the Oneida warrior Thawengarakwen, or Honyery Doxtater as the white men called him and led the Oneidas in the Battle of Oriskany against the British, both obtained a rich haul which they divided between them. The treasure included " Sixty half Johannesses, two Quarts full of silver, several Gold Rings, Eight pair silver Buckels; a large Quantity of Silver Broaches, Together with several silk Gowns." Dygert's daughter amused herself by parading about in Miss Mary's purloined silks. Honyery moved himself and his family into Mary Brant's house. Peter Deygart ( Dygert ), writing on behalf of the German Flats Committee of Safety after the Battle of Oriskany, spoke of the " 150 who stood the Field and forced the Enemy to retreat. " There had been a longstanding controversy over who defeated whom at Oriskany and who remained in possession of the field. source : ( The Iroquois in the American Revolution; Barbara Graymont ) Information that was found on November 24, 1998 at the Mongomery County Archives,Fonda, New York and passed on to me by Rita Gros Parish from Mary Riggs Diefendorf's Application for Membership to the DAR, dated April 19, 1905 states that Captain Nicholas Dygert was one of two men who carried out and buried the leg of General Nicholas Herkimer, brother-in-law and godfather of Nicholas,after it was amputated.This was caused by the wound received by the General during the Battle of Oriskany on 6 Aug 1777. ( Clint Dygert )