Program

Patriot Burials

Subject

Event

Location

621 Lowman Rd, Lowman, NY 14861, USA

Lat/Long

42.030319, -76.719879

Grant Recipient

Public Archaeology Facility (Research Foundation for Binghamton University)

In 1779 Major General John Sullivan was tasked by General George Washington to rendezvous with General James Clinton and lead an expedition against Native American tribes of New York State who were allied with the British. These tribes fought desperately to protect their homes and family. This military campaign was considered a victory for the Continentals at the expense of the Seneca, Cayuga, Mohawk and Delaware tribes of New York. The Sullivan and Clinton Campaign carried brought serious and deadly consequences for those Native Americans who survived. Without shelter and food, many perished.

A letter written by the Seneca Chiefs to George Washington on December 1, 1790 expressed their anguish and the hardships suffered during the war along with the land disputes in the years that followed:

When your army entered the Country of the Six Nations, we called you the Town-destroyer and to this day, when that name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale, and our children cling close to the neck of their mothers.

The words expressed by the Seneca Chiefs demonstrate that this expedition had a lasting and bitterly negative impact on their lives and their people.