It was a dreary November morning at Fort Alden in the little town of Cherry Valley, NY. A few inches of snow lay on the ground and now a light rain shrouded the landscape with a heavy fog. The men of the 6th (sometimes called 7th) Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army went about their normal routines. A few may have been uneasy about the recent news warning of a possible attack, but most felt it was just a rumor - after all, the British Army and the Iroquois didn't fight this late in the season. A few went to the stream to do their laundry. Many officers of the regiment were still enjoying the warmth and dryness of the local residences they used as quarters more than a hundred yards outside the safety of the fort's walls.
Just before noon, some outlying residents heard a shot in the distance. A lone horseman came charging in from the distant fields shouting something. Suddenly through the fog, hundreds of British Rangers and Iroquois Indians came into view advancing upon the village. The Massacre at Cherry Valley had begun.
When the 6th Regiment arrived at Cherry Valley, they found the inhabitants living in the church for protection from attack. Col. Alden ordered them to return to their homes. The regiment began building a suitable fort and sending out scouting parties. The fort was complete enough to be christened "Fort Alden" on the 15th of August. The scouting detachments had various small encounters but nothing substantial occurred. Rumors kept coming in about a possible raid on the town. By November, it was believed the season of war had passed and everyone began relaxing. On the 4th the payroll arrived. On the 8th of November fresh rumors of an attack arrived. The townsfolk begged Col. Alden to allow them to move their possessions into the fort for safety. Despite a favorable response from visiting General Hand, Alden refused to allow it. The officers continued to live in the private residences outside the fort. Alden did send out fresh scouting parties along the common routes into town. This move actually backfired and possibly cost him his life.
The morning before the attack, the enemy discovered the scouting party of Sergeant Adam Hunter. All were taken captive, including Samuel Proctor of Falmouth, Enoch Danforth of Brunswick, Joseph Smith of Buxton, and Sergeant Adam Hunter of Topsham. Robert Bray of Harpswell was killed. Someone among them gave up everything to their captors - regiment strength, locations of officer's quarters, etc., greatly facilitating the success of the attack.
On the morning of the attack, a number of Iroquois had silently moved into hiding near the officer's quarters. When the attack began, the officer's ran for the fort. For many it was too far and too late. Col. Alden was cut down as he ran. Approximately 150 Rangers with 50 British regulars attack the fort, but the grapeshot from their cannon repelled the attack. Groups of Iroquois (perhaps as many as 400 warriors total) dispersed throughout the settlement unleashing their fury, killing and destroying everything in their path. The men in the fort were helpless to assist the town. Their leader was dead, they were outnumbered at least two to one if not more, and they had very little ammunition on hand. They had to stand by watching and listening as the town and its inhabitants were destroyed. If not for the cannon, the fort and regiment would have been lost as well.
During his time in service as an orderly sergeant, John Dain of Durham kept a journal. John's entry for the attack states;
"this Morning About ten a Clock the Enemy Surrounded the Fort the Number of them we Cannot tell We think thare Was betweain Seven or Eight hundred of them Endion and toreys In the first phase thay Killed the Cheaf Col. and took the Left. Col. Prisoners And Likewise Left. holden Ensign Garrett and the Docters mate Prisoners With them - Samuel procter, Samuel Woodsum Charls hudman and Joseph Smith that Went outt A Scoutt the Day before this was took Prisoners With them likewise Was a Good many more belonging to sd Redgt the Enemy Is Killed A Good maney of our men Which we have found all Readey beside Sevearl more missing all thay Killed Belonging to our Regt thay used in the Most Barbous Maner And Also all the Enhabbitance Men Women and Children thay Used in the same Manner."
At least 13 privates lost their lives. All the bodies were mutilated. Four officers were taken captive along with at least 1 sergeant and 10 privates. Of the privates killed and captured - as many as 9 where in the scouting party taken the day before, the others were probably doing their laundry at the stream or on guard at the officer's quarters when the attack began.
See KIA & POWs for the names of the men.
It must have been so very demoralizing for our men to stand by helpless. First, the loss of their friends at Cobleskill due to the poor judgment of an inexperienced officer, then they watched as a whole settlement and its inhabitants were destroyed before their eyes. They must have felt betrayed by Col. Alden for not heeding the warnings or perhaps even betrayed by General Washington for not providing them with qualified leaders. The British Rangers added salt to the wound when they captured the regimental colors and burned them in view of the fort.
When the smoke settled, 32 inhabitants (mostly women and children) lay dead or dying, 70 were taken captive, almost all the livestock killed or taken away, and all the buildings except the fort, were burned to the ground.
News of the Cherry Valley attack appeared in The Boston Gazette on the 7th of December. Only the officers killed or missing were named. Within days, word would have made it's way to Maine, leaving many families with serious concerns about the fate of their loved ones. Sergeant John Dain returned home on furlough and was in Maine in February. Certainly he shared his sad news with the families of those lost. The families of those killed began the process of grieving. For those taken captive, their families could only pray for their survival and eventual return.
The day after the attack on Cherry Valley, Capt. Butler convinced the Iroquois to release a large number of civilians, but the Rangers kept 2 civilian families to be exchanged for loyalist families held by the Americans. The military prisoners remained with the Iroquois. The captives were taken down the Susquehanna to the Tioga, up the Tioga, across Seneca Lake and down the east side to the village of Kanadaseaga. They traveled a couple hundred miles and arrived at the village late in November. Here the enemy divided the spoils and their prisoners.
On the 12th of the following February (1779) Sergeant Hunter returned after escaping from the village of Oghwaga. He stated Lt. Col. Stacy had been moved to Niagara, while the rest were held among the Iroquois. The officers and several privates were eventually taken to Niagara then Canada where they languished in British prisons until near the end of the war. It appears many of the Cherry Valley men where adopted by the Iroquois, despite a British order forbidding the Iroquois to adopt war prisoners.
Click here for a description of Captivity Amoung the Iroquois.