The Battle of Oriskany: McKinstry & Younglove
On August 6, 1777, the American forces battled with the British in Oriskany, New York. Fighting alongside the British were the Mohawk led by Chief Joseph Brant, also known as Thayendanegea. It was in this battle that Moses Younglove was taken prisoner. A year earlier Thayendanegea, while also serving the British, was the fellow mason who saved John McKinstry at the Battle of the Cedars.
The Death of General Herkimer In The Battle of Oriskany, New York, 6 August 1777, The George Washington Presidential Library, Mt. Vernon
Battling alongside the Patriots were the Oneida, who were the only tribe of the six nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy to break away from supporting the British and openly declared their support for the American Revolutio9n. In describing the group's support of the revolution, George Washington explained, "The Oneidas have manifested the strongest Attachment to us throughout this Dispute." Oriskany is the only battle in the Revolution where two Native American tribes fought against each other.
Senate, January 9, 1795, Indian Treaty,
Oneida, et al, George Washington Papers,
Library of Congress
After the war, Congress thanked the Oneidas for their alliance and granted them war reparations the following decade. However, the war had devestating effects on their homes and livelihoods.
A dispute between The State of New York and the Oneidas over paying state taxes led Congress to exempt the Oneida paying taxes but ruled they did not have sovereignty in the lands that they bought. In the following decades, many Oneidas migrated west and to Canada.
Brant portrait Masons at lodge