ORISKANY, BATTLE OF

(Aug. 6, 1777), in the U.S. War of Independence, battle between British troops and American defenders of the Mohawk Valley, which contributed to the failure of the British campaign in the North. British troops under Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger were marching eastward across central New York to join with British forces at Albany. En route, they arrived at Fort Stanwix (also called Fort Schuyler, now Rome, N.Y.) and demanded its surrender. Attempting to come to the fort's rescue, 800 colonial militiamen under General Nicholas Herkimer were ambushed two miles west of Oriskany Creek by a force of about 1,200 British and their Iroquois allies. The battle that followed resulted in heavy casualties for both sides. St. Leger was unable to capture the fort and retreated to Oswego on August 22.