Cherry Valley Massacre

The Cherry Valley Massacre on November 11, 1778 was one of the war's most brutal attacks on a frontier settlement. Cherry Valley in New York's Otsego County had a small Continental garrison under Colonel Ichabod Alden, who had been warned repeatedly that a raid was coming but dismissed the intelligence. Walter Butler — son of John Butler who had commanded at Wyoming — led 200 of Butler's Rangers while Joseph Brant commanded approximately 500 Seneca and Mohawk warriors.

When the attack came, Alden was surprised and killed almost immediately. The garrison fought back and the fort held, but the settlement was defenseless. The Iroquois warriors, breaking from Butler's attempted restraint, attacked and killed not only militiamen but families — men, women, and children. Approximately 32 settlers and soldiers were killed and 71 taken prisoner. Brant reportedly saved several families, but could not control all his warriors.

Butler tried to stop the killing of civilians but succeeded only partially. The massacre caused tremendous outrage throughout the colonies and provided powerful propaganda for the Patriots. It sealed the fate of the Iroquois Confederacy, making Congressional approval of the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign inevitable. The killing of civilians at Wyoming and Cherry Valley created a cycle of reprisal and counter-reprisal on the frontier that devastated the Iroquois homeland and permanently altered the balance of power in the New York interior.