Cherry Valley

The raid on Cherry Valley was part of the bitter war that raged along the frontiers of New York. American Patriots, American Loyalists, and Native Americans became engaged in a cycle of violent retaliation as both sides launched raids against the other.

On November 11, 1778, a force of British-allied Iroquois warriors, Loyalist rangers, and a small number of British soldiers launched a raid on the village of Cherry Valley in central New York. The village was protected by a fort garrisoned by Continental Army soldiers, but when the raid began they were besieged by the Loyalist troops and trapped inside. The Native Americans destroyed the village as revenge for similar destruction of their villages carried out by American troops. Between thirteen and sixteen American soldiers were killed, including the fort’s commander Colonel Ichabod Alden. Thirty civilians were also killed, despite efforts by Loyalist and Native American leaders to restrain their men. 70 more settlers were taken captive.

The destruction of Cherry Valley led the Continental Congress to order General George Washington to launch a retaliatory campaign against the Iroquois. In 1779, the Sullivan Expedition destroyed more than 40 Iroquois villages, but the violence on the frontier continued until the of the war.