St. Leger brought into the Mohawk valley from Oswego an army of seventeen hundred men. Some were British, some were Hessians or hired German soldiers, and the rest were Indians under Joseph Brant. They thought that it would not be much trouble to take Fort Stanwix and then go down the valley, burning and killing as they went, until they should meet the other armies of the king at Albany. But the colonists sent more soldiers to defend the fort, and Colonel Peter Gansevoort, who was in command, had under him nearly a thousand men. Just before the British came in sight a stock of provisions, brought on several boats up the river, had been safely delivered within the defenses. This was early in August, and only about seven weeks before Congress had adopted the style of American flag which we know so well. There was no flag at Fort Stanwix, so the garrison set about making one. They cut up shirts to make the white. The blue came from a cloak captured not long before in a battle, on the Hudson, by Colonel Marinus Willett, one of the bravest commanders within the fort. The red is said to have been taken from a petticoat. Certain it is that a patriot flag was made, and some think that it was the first American flag ever raised over a fortification. While the British were besieging Fort Stanwix, General Herkimer had called out the men of the valley, bidding all between the ages of sixteen and sixty make ready for battle. The boys and old men were to do their best to care for the families and to defend their homes. Eight hundred men gathered under Herkimer and marched to help the garrison of the fort. Hearing of this, part of the British army, including the Indians, came down the valley to head off Herkimer. They met at Oriskany. The farmer soldiers were hurrying up the valley without due watching for sudden attack, while the enemy placed themselves in ambush around a low field which was wooded and swampy. Through this field the road ran, and when Herkimer’s men were well down into it the Indians opened a hot fire, which threw the patriots into disorder. They soon rallied and fought fiercely for five hours, until two hundred of them had lost their lives. Early in the battle Herkimer was shot, but he forgot his pain when he saw his men victorious. Much of the fighting was of the Indian sort, from behind trees, for the Dutchmen well knew the ways of the savages. They saw that when one man fired from behind a tree an Indian would rush forward to tomahawk him before he could load his gun for another shot. So they were ordered to stand by twos and take turns in firing. Thus when the Indian ran forward with his tomahawk he would receive a bullet from the other man’s gun. [Illustration: FIG. 12. NICHOLAS HERKIMER’S MONUMENT To the right is the old mansion in which he lived. Near Little Falls, New York]