=182. St. Leger’s Campaign.=—St. Leger fared scarcely better in his Western campaign. Advancing early in the spring from Oswego, he reached, on August 3, Fort Stanwix, an important point in Oneida County, now the city of Rome. He at once began the siege. A few days later a force of about eight hundred militia, gathered in the Mohawk Valley by General Herkimer, a veteran of the French war, advanced for the relief of the fort. Near Oriskany, however, his force fell into an ambuscade prepared by Sir John Johnson, the leader of the Tories, and Brant, the greatest of Mohawk chiefs. The battle was not decisive, but the confidence of the Indians and Tories was completely broken, and the Indians rapidly deserted. General Herkimer, severely wounded, died some days afterward.[84] The panic of the British was increased by the approach of a force under Arnold, which had been sent from Albany by Schuyler. St. Leger, attacked by a vigorous sortie from the fort on the one side, and by the surrounding patriots on the other, saw no chance of success, and accordingly beat a hasty retreat.[85] Thus both the British expeditions in the North were complete failures. =183. Blunder of the British Government.=—It had been the design of the British government that General Howe, while holding New York with a part of his force, should ascend the Hudson with the other part for the reënforcement of Burgoyne; but the British minister of war, instead of sending peremptory orders, left much to the discretion of Howe.[86] This gave an opportunity for the scheming designs of General Lee, who was still a prisoner of war in the hands of the British. Lee had formerly been an officer in the British army, and Howe had serious thoughts of hanging him for desertion; but Washington wrote to Howe that he held five Hessian officers, whom he should treat as hostages for Lee. The British, thereupon, not daring to risk the anger of the Hessians that would surely follow an execution, concluded to hold Lee simply as prisoner of war, subject to exchange. But Lee, meantime, hoping to gain the favor of Great Britain, drew up an elaborate plan, advising the British in regard to the best method of assuring success. This treasonable paper, indorsed as “Mr. Lee’s plan, March 29, 1777,” was not discovered until eighty years after the war.