Glenn F. Williams

The title and subtitle (“George Washington’s Campaign Against the Iroquois”) are misnomers. “The Year of the Hangman” was 1777, because the 7s looked like gibbets; however the campaign discussed here took place in 1779. Although George Washington ordered the offensive, he didn’t participate beyond that. And although “Iroquois” is the name that people were know by then (and mostly now), it’s really something of an insult; it was applied to them by their enemies, the Algonquian peoples- it means “rattlesnakes”. The preferred term is Haudenosaunee – people of the longhouse. (Author Glenn Williams apologizes for using “Iroquois” throughout his book – that was the name most European people used at the time and is used in documents Williams quotes. And that’s what I’ll use).

The Iroquois hadn’t been getting along all that well with American colonists before the Revolutionary War started; however they had a great deal of respect and trust for Willaim Johnson, the Royal Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Johnson’s second and third wives were Mohawks; he learned the native languages and customs. When Johnson died in 1774, his sons-in-law Guy Johnson and Daniel Claus and brother-in-law Joseph Brant continued in various offices in the Indian Department, and when the Revolutionary War started most of Iroquois were firmly on the British side.

That led to a series of raids against the Americans, by a mix of Iroquois, British regulars, British Indian Department troops, and Loyalist Americans. The most famous of these were the Wyoming Massacre (against a series of settlements along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, including Wilkes-Barre, in 1777) and the Cherry Valley Massacre (1778), in central New York. The local settlers had sent a significant fraction of their military age men to the Continental Army, and now clamored for protection. George Washington had resisted attempts to send small detachments before, but now, faced with the loss of recruits and supplies, decided on a campaign. General John Sullivan was selected to lead and Continental Regulars from New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were supplemented by local units and friendly Indians. The resulting campaign is known as “Sullivan’s March”.

Sullivan marched north, burning Indian villages and destroying food supplies along the way. Although the Iroquois were adept raids and ambushes, organized defense was not their forte. Over the objections of their British advisors, they attempted a stand near Newtown, New York. Disconcerted by American artillery, the Iroquois fled. Sulivan continued the march along the shores of the Finger Lakes, burning and destroying as he went; on the return he finished off places he’d missed.

Although there were very few Indian casualties, their towns, fields, and stored food were all destroyed. Although their warriors were still a formidable fighting force, they were now completely dependent on the British for survival, and the British were already stretched thin supplying their own forces.

An interesting account of what’s usually a footnote in Revolutionary War history. Williams writing can be lethargic; in particular he’s fond of giving very detailed accounts of all the units involved and their order of march – something that could have been handled more clearly by tables and/or maps. There’s some confusion over names – for example, major leaders on the British side were John Butler and Walter Butler, while the American side had William Butler and Zebulon Butler. I often had some trouble figuring out which “Colonel Butler” Wiliams was referencing. And, as usual for me, I would have liked a lot more maps – I’m reasonably familiar with this part of New York but I still had trouble tracking down places Williams was mentioning. It doesn’t help that names and importance of places have changed dramatically; the town Willams repeatedly mentions as “German Flats” is now Herkimer, New York, and Wyalusing, Pennsylvania was an important settlement back then but just a hamlet now.

A few contemporary illustrations. A list of participants, which was important for keeping the Colonel Butlers straight. A timeline, which covers the whole Revolutionary War, not just the events discussed by Williams. Endnotes and bibliography, with primary and secondary sources.… (more)

An outstanding book telling the story of the war on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and New York against the British, Loyalists, and bands of Native Americans that sided with the king.
Can be a bit difficult to digest sometimes. There is a lot of information, names of peopke, names of places, regiments, etc. However, the overall story and the reasons for the events is easy to follow.
The author does an outstanding job of explaining why many of the battles encountered the difficulties they did. Modern Americans struggle to grasp the amount of work that these undertakings required. After reading this book, the reader should more appreciate the hardships and struggles involved.
A great, well written book.… (more)

Williams history of the Revolution on the frontier begins by sharing the dangers faced by frontier settlements and their vulnerability to attack by British and Iroquois forces. He covers the Wyoming Valley raids and clears up some of the mythology around the massacre.

Most importantly, Williams focuses on the response to the 1778 attacks: Washington's development of a plan and its implementation to drive the Iroquois out of the war. John Sullivan's methodical campaign to destroy the Iroquois' ability to feed themselves, though slow to develop, was masterful and decisive.

I found Year of the Hangman to be a bit slow to engage, and Williamss' style to be uninspiring. However, the content of the book fills some great blank spaces in this little known campaign of the American Revolution.… (more)