Battle of Minisink
Later that day, riders from Peenpack reached the village of Goshen, telling of Brant's raid and the destruction of the town.
A militia formed immediately, under the reluctant command of Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Tusten. Tusten was strongly opposed to pursuing the raiders, as he knew they would be no match for the British and Iroquois soldiers, and he suggested waiting for reinforcements from the Continental Army. However, the majority of the public and the militia underestimated the fighting ability of the Iroquois and demanded immediate retribution. Outvoted, Tusten agreed to set out the following morning. They met up with elements of the Fourth Orange County Regiment ordered from Warwick by George Washington and led by Colonel John Hathorn. Colonel Hathorn assumed command and marched for the Delaware with a force of about 120 minutemen.
On the morning of July 22, the militia moved into position in the hills above the Delaware River, intending to ambush Brant's forces who were crossing at Minisink Ford. Hathorn split them into a group of skirmishers and two units comprising the main force. Before the ambush was set, however, a shot was fired in haste by Bezaleel Tyler, one of the skirmishers. This mistake alerted Brant to the trap, and he quickly outflanked the two groups of colonials, many of whom fled. Separated from the main unit and with his forces scattered, Hathorn was unable to regroup his men for a counterattack. He was forced to retreat, leaving Tusten and the Goshen militia surrounded and outnumbered. After several hours of continuous volleys, insufficient ammunition and close quarters caused the battle to devolve into hand-to-hand combat, at which the Iroquois excelled. At least 45 militiamen were killed, including Tusten himself. 1 rebel {Captain Wood} was captured. Brant's force, on the other hand, is believed to have lost only about seven men. {Brant wrote of his casualties that 3 were killed and of the 10 wounded, 4 were dangerously wounded and possibly could not survive}. Although badly wounded, Hathorn survived, returning to Warwick to write his report of the loss to his superiors.
On the morning of July 22, the militia moved into position in the hills above the Delaware River, intending to ambush Brant's forces who were crossing at Minisink Ford. Hathorn split them into a group of skirmishers and two units comprising the main force. Before the ambush was set, however, a shot was fired in haste by Bazaliel Tyler, one of the skirmishers. This mistake alerted Brant to the trap, and he quickly outflanked the two groups of colonials, many of whom fled. Separated from the main unit and with his forces scattered, Hathorn was unable to regroup his men for a counterattack. The patriots began a rushed retreat up to the top of the hill overlooking the river in an effort to regain the strategic advantage. Only about forty-five or fifty of the original group were left. After several hours of continuous volleys, insufficient ammunition and close quarters caused the battle to devolve into hand-to-hand combat, at which the Iroquois excelled. Brant and his forces finally broke through their small defensive square and the battle ended with remaining militia men and officers killed or scattered. At least 45 militiamen were slaughtered, including Tusten himself. 1 rebel was captured. Brant's force, on the other hand, is believed to have lost only about seven men. Although badly wounded, Hathorn survived, returning to Warwick to write his report of the loss to his superiors.
After the battle, Brant and his men forded the Delaware and continued on to their encampment at the Susquehanna River. Three weeks later, the Continental Army sent 3,000 troops to avenge Minisink and Goshen, destroying every Iroquois village in their path. Brant finally met his defeat in late August, at the Battle of Newtown.
The town of Goshen was unable to bury its dead for 43 years, as the battlefield was too distant and the way too dangerous. Some of the soldiers' widows attempted the trip, but were forced to turn back. In 1822, a committee was formed to travel to the battlefield and comb the area for remains. The few bones recovered were buried in a mass grave, first in Barryville and later moved to the village of Goshen. A stone obelisk was erected for the centennial of the battle, engraved with the names of the dead.
On this day in 1779, Mohawk Indian Chief Joseph Brant leads a mixed force of Loyalists and Indians in surrounding a force of 120 colonial militiamen from New York and New Jersey at Minisink, New York. The militia was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Tusten, Major Samuel Meeker and Colonel John Hathorn. Brants party of 90 Tories and Loyalist Iroquois had executed a successful raid in the Neversink Valley in New York on July 20, during which they destroyed a school and a church, as well as farms in Peenpack and Mahackamack. In response, the Patriot militia intended to ambush Brant as he traveled up the Delaware River in order to recover some of the animals and goods taken in the raid two days earlier. As the Patriot militia prepared for the ambush, a scouts gunfire alerted Brant to the Patriots presence; he then ordered his troops to outflank the Americans. The Patriots were overwhelmed. Tusten and approximately 45 to 50 others were killed in the initial battle and their ensuing defense from a hillside above the river. Twenty-nine others managed to escape. Joseph Brant ranked among Britain's best commanders during the American War for Independence. He was an educated Christian and Freemason who studied directly with Eleazer Wheelock at Moors Indian Charity School, the parent institution of Dartmouth College. His older sister Mary was founding father Sir William Johnsons common-law wife and played a significant role in colonial and revolutionary Indian affairs. At the close of the war, the Brants and their Iroquois followers left the United States for Canada, where they hoped to find land and safety with their British allies.
