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Posted on 04/14/2004 12:00:05 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.
Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.
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With the outbreak of hostilities in 1775, it became clear that New York was vital to military victory. If the British could defeat the Rebel forces in New York, they would control trade between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes and divide the colonies. They also would be able to feed their troops from the bounty of the Mohawk Valley, the "bread basket" of the Revolutionary War.  The British Northern Campaign of 1777. In 1777, the British conceived an ambitious plan for the conquest of New York. This plan called for a three prong attack into the heart of the colony with all three invading forces meeting in Albany. The first army, led by General John Burgoyne, was to invade New York moving south from Canada through the Lake Champlain–Hudson River corridor to Albany. The second force, to be commanded by General William Howe, was to move north up the Hudson River Valley from New York City to Albany. The third and final British troops, commanded by General Barry St. Leger, were to move down Lake Ontario from Canada to Oswego, New York and hook eastward through the Mohawk Valley towards Albany. This plan was dependent on coordination between the armies and the anticipated rallying to arms of the large Tory population the British believed existed in New York. Rebel leaders in New York prepared to defend the state and reinforced the Mohawk Valley. At the ravine of Oriskany in August 1777, the two sides clashed for control of New York.  The tensions that existed between the people of central New York during the colonial era are well documented. While Swedish scientist Peter Kalm was on a botanical expedition in 1749-1750, he wrote about the relationship between the English and Dutch colonists who first settled the area: The hatred which the English bear against the people at Albany is very great, but that of the Albanians (the Dutch colonists) against the English is carried to a ten times higher degree. This hatred has subsisted ever since the English conquered this section, and is not yet extinguished, though they could never have gotten larger advantages under the Dutch government than they have obtained under that of the English. ...They are so to speak permeated with hatred toward the English, whom they ridicule and slander at every opportunity.  In the 1757, Thomas Butler, member of an English family that held large amounts of land in New York, corresponded with Sir William Johnson, another great English landholder and Superintendent of Indian Affairs: I have often Said and do Yet That if any Troubles Shou'd arise between the Six Nations and us it will in Great Manner Or intirely be owing to bad ignorant people of a difrant Extraction from the English that makes themselves too busey in telling idle Stories. I fear we have too many of those who Speak the Indian Tongue More or less and dont Consider the Consequence of Saying we are Dutch and they are English that they had a fight Together last winter in Schenectady. the Dutch there beat the English. The quarrell was because they wou'd not allow the English To be Masters and take from them all they had. that the English wanted to drive them about like dogs, this Story I imagin proceeded from a small dispute between the battoe Men and Soldars last fall, and the English are Severe on the people at albany taking from them what they pleas breaking open their doors when they will, had forced Capt. Herkemer out of his House.  Sketch of Oriskany Battlefield, 1848 Sir William Johnson was aware of other tensions between the English and German settlers, including prominent German immigrant Johan Jost Herkimer (or Hercheimer) with whose family Johnson's family had often quarreled. He worried about the alarming sale by the Germans of large quantities of rum to the Iroquois Confederacy and the wedge it was driving between the British authorities and the Six Nations, when he wrote to James Abercromby in 1758: I believe Sir I have the Honour of your Concurrance in Opinion that for the present at least, it will be both Politick and prudent not to indulge the Indians with a Trade at the German Flats. In a Message I have just sent to the Six Nations, part of which is on this Subject, I have told them that you do not incline, to trust the Lives and properties of His Majestys Subjects to the Assurances of those, who late Experience shows are either not able or not willing to fulfill them, and that at Albany and Schenectady they are welcome to come and trade. I have many Reasons to believe, and many Informations to strengthen, that some Germans are interfering with the Indians in a way that will be very prejudicial, and may perhaps be fatal to His Majestys Service.  Joseph Brant, 1786. Painted by Gilbert Stuart. After the French and Indian War had ended, Great Britain sought to gain stronger control of the colonies and started to impose taxes on the colonists to reduce Britain's enormous national debt incurred while fighting the war. Rival groups, because of ethnic, religious, or economic differences, began to align themselves politically. In general, those who became Rebels were fighting for the right of self-governance and freedom from British control. Those who chose to be Tories, on the other hand, were fighting to maintain their ties with Great Britain and the British King. There were also cases where people simply preferred to keep things the way they were, and fought to maintain the status quo, so were Tories by default. The explosive mixture of old grudges with the political and philosophical arguments of the revolutionary era turned New York into a powder keg. Once hostilities broke out in 1775, New Yorkers were forced to choose sides. Upon the death of Sir William Johnson in 1774, his son John inherited a 200,000 acre estate and, in later years, also became Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Sir John Johnson chose to be loyal to Great Britain and gathered ammunition and raised a militia group called the "King's Royal Regiment of New York."  General Nicholas Herkimer Nicholas Herkimer, son of Johan Jost Herkimer, a wealthy German-American trader and owner of 2,000 acres of land, chose the Rebel cause. In 1776 Nicholas Herkimer was made a Brigadier General in the New York State militia and charged with defending the state against Tories and Indians. Herkimer and General Philip Schuyler, with their Rebel militia, forced Johnson's militia to disarm and disband. Johnson fled for Canada, fearful that he would be arrested for his Tory beliefs. Ironically, Nicholas Herkimer's brother, Han Yost Herkimer, chose the Tory cause and became a Captain in the Indian Department; the Herkimers were one of many families split by New York's civil war. One apparent exception to the rivalries in colonial New York appeared to be the Iroquois Confederacy. For 500 years the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy had mutually supported and protected one another. However, continued European settlement along the New York frontier had generated tensions between the Confederacy and European settlers. In 1768, in an attempt to set a boundary line to solve this chronic problem, the British convened a meeting at Fort Stanwix, which had been abandoned following the French and Indian War and was in disrepair. As many as 3,000 delegates from the Iroquois, Shawnee, and Delaware Nations met with the representatives of the King of Great Britain. Instead of resolving tensions, the boundary line divided the Iroquois Confederacy into factions, some opposed and others allied with the King and Great Britain.  Colonel John Butler At the outbreak of the American Revolution, the Iroquois Confederacy had to decide whether to support one side or the other as a single confederacy or whether to allow each of the six member nations to decide individually. The Onondaga Nation was the keeper of the Central Council Fire, the symbol of the Iroquois Confederacy's 500 years of unity. Although they urged continued unity and neutrality, the six tribes could not agree on a single course of action. The Central Council Fire was then extinguished due to deaths of sachems and chiefs caused by disease. Iroquois unity was irrevocably broken. British and Rebel diplomats courted the favor of the individual tribes, hoping to get them to support their side or remain neutral. The Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca Nations chose to support Great Britain. Although originally neutral, by July 1777, the Oneida and Tuscarora Nations would support the Rebels. There were many individuals who did not choose to accept the decision of their respective nations, so both Tories and Rebels counted among their forces members of all six nations.  Joseph Brandt (Thayendanegea) Mohawk Joseph Brant, or Thayendanega, was a relative of Sir John Johnson. His sister, Mary (Molly) Brant, became the common law wife of Sir William Johnson after the death of John's mother. British educated and a member of the Anglican Church, Joseph Brant supported the Tory cause and eventually received a British Officer's commission as a captain. Just 37 days before the Battle of Oriskany, General Herkimer and Rebel militia troops went to investigate claims that Joseph Brant was attempting to raise Tory troops for an impending attack on the Mohawk Valley. On June 29 and 30, 1777 Herkimer met with Brant and unsuccessfully attempted to persuade him to stay neutral during the war. By August 1777, sides had been chosen, the participants were armed, and the stage was set for the first major battle between Tories and Rebels.
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When the Revolutionary War broke out, the New York Rebels recognized the importance of the Oneida Carry and the fertile Mohawk River Valley. They rebuilt the ruined Fort Stanwix at the urging of General Philip Schuyler of Albany. Colonel Peter Gansevoort took command of the fort in the spring of 1777 and garrisoned it with about 700 New York and Massachusetts infantry soldiers.
General Nicholas Herkimer, hearing about St. Leger's invasion and the siege of Fort Schuyler, assembled approximately 800 Rebel militia troops from Tryon County and some Oneida scouts. He set out on August 4th from Fort Dayton (30 miles east of Fort Schuyler) to reinforce Gansevoort and relieve the siege.
The Tories chose an ambush point 6 miles east of Fort Schuyler, not far from the Oneida village of Oriska. Dense virgin forest provided excellent concealment for forces around a ravine where an old military road descended to cross marshy little Oriska Creek. Butler's Rangers and Johnson's Greens were deployed to hit the head of the column while the Indians attacked the flanks and rear. The idea was to surround the column in a U-shaped pocket and close the open end of the trap.
Oneida scouts out front and to the sides of the Rebel militia detected no enemy so General Herkimer led the vanguard of 600 men into the ravine. Fifteen supply wagons followed, and then the 200 soldiers of the rearguard. At approximately 10:00 a.m., as Herkimer completed crossing the ravine, the Seneca Tories attacked. They were slightly premature, because the final 200 militia troops of the rearguard were not yet in the ravine. Nonetheless, the first volley, coming from all sides, was devastating to the Rebel militia. General Herkimer was shot through the right leg and his horse was killed. The militia defended themselves in a desperate, disorganized manner. Brant's men engaged in hand-to-hand combat, using knives, hatchets, clubs, and spears to attack the Rebels. The battlefield was littered with dead, dying, and wounded soldiers. The 200 Rebel troops not caught in the trap fled from the ravine, only to be followed and attacked by Joseph Brant and other Mohawks.
We met the enemy at the place near a small creek. They had 3 cannons and we none. We had tomahawks and a few guns, but agreed to fight with tomahawks and scalping knives. During the fight, we waited for them to fire their guns and then we attacked them. It felt like no more than killing a Beast. We killed most of the men in the American's army. Only a few escaped from us. We fought so close against one another that we could kill or another with a musket bayonet.... It was here that I saw the most dead bodies than I have ever seen. The blood shed made a stream running down on the sloping ground.
Colonel Gansevoort sent out a sortie under the command of Colonel Marinus Willett between 2 and 4 p.m. to create a diversion to help Herkimer's force. After driving off the guards, Willett and his men raided the Indian and Tory camps, taking several wagonloads of booty and some prisoners back to the fort and destroying what they could not take.² Hearing of the raid, the Native-American Tories started to leave the battle and return to the siege camp. Without Indian support, the European-American Tories also withdrew from the battlefield. After six hours, at about 4 p.m., the battle was over. The Rebel militia troops then collected their wounded, abandoned the dead without burying them, and returned to Fort Dayton.
Major General Benedict Arnold had been sent from Saratoga to relieve Fort Schulyer even before news of Herkimer's battle. The column skirted Oriskany battlefield and as Arnold approached, St. Leger's Native American allies, discouraged by the failure of the siege, abandoned him. St. Leger lifted the siege early on August 22 and retreated to Canada. Both Tories and Rebels claimed victory at the Battle of Oriskany. Herkimer's attempt to relieve the siege at Fort Schuyler was unsuccessful, but St. Leger's expedition failed.
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"Blood Shed a Stream Running Down" That the late Incursions of the Enemy & their Savages into the said county [Tryon], & upon a part of the County of Albany have reduced the Inhabitants to the utmost distress. The Harvests not yet gathered in are rotting upon the ground. The Grass uncut. The fallow Grounds not yet ploughed. The Cattle in a great measure destroyed." For hundreds of years, central and western New York had been inhabited by the six member nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. During the colonial period the French, the Dutch, and the British coveted its strategic location along an important fur trade route. The Mohawk Valley's rich farmland also yielded great quantities of food, and the land attracted European settlers. By the time of the Revolutionary War, Dutch, German, Irish, Scotch, and British settlers prospered from lucrative trade and productive farms. Yet the whole area suffered from long-established prejudices and hatred between groups and individuals. When war broke out, European Americans and American Indians fought each other for control of New York's political power, land, and commerce. The sentiments quoted above would be repeated time and time again as personal vendettas and reprisals escalated to bloody massacres and battles. No episode better captures the brutal civil war in the Mohawk Valley than the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, 1777, where neighbor fighting neighbor transformed a quiet ravine into a bloody slaughterhouse. William Harper and Fredrick Fisher to Gov. George Clinton, August 28, 1777 from Public Papers of George Clinton, Vol. 2 (Albany: State of New York, 1900) |
To all our military men and women, past and present, and to our allies who stand with us,
THANK YOU!
Scout "Batwing Limousine (1920)
Good Morning, Foxhole
A special Good Day to our Patriots proudly serving in Iraq.
May God hold you safely in the palm of his hand.
Today's classic warship, USS Oriskany (CV-34)
Essex class aircraft carrier
Displacement: 27,100 t.
Length: 888'
Width: 147'6"
Draft: 31'
Speed: 33 k.
Complement: 3,460
Armament: 8 5"; 14 3"
Aircraft: 80
USS Oriskany (CVA-34), an attack aircraft carrier, was laid down 1 May 1944 by the New York Naval Shipyard, launched 13 October 1945; and sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Cannon. While still incomplete, her construction was suspended 12 August 1947. She remained in a state of preservation until after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in June 1950, then was rushed to completion. She commissioned in the New York Naval Shipyard 25 September 1950, Capt. Percy H. Lyon in command.
Oriskany departed New York 6 December 1950 for carrier qualification operations off Jacksonville, Fla. followed by a Christmas call at Newport, R. I. She resumed operations off Jacksonville through 11 January 1951, when she embarked Carrier Air Group 1 for shakedown out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
After major modifications at New York Naval Shipyard 6 March through 2 April, she embarked Carrier Air Group 4 for training off Jacksonville, then departed Newport 15 May 1951 for Mediterranean deployment with the 6th Fleet.
For the next few months she added her far-reaching air arm to the strength of the 6th Fleet, the silent, flexible, and controlling weapon of deterrence to overt Soviet aggression in the Mediterranean and the Near East. The mobile 7th Fleet was deeply committed to a shooting war to help restore the independence and freedom of South Korea. Oriskany was part of the affirmative answer to the crucial question as to whether the Korean War would have an affect upon the Navy's ability to maintain the status quo in the Mediterranean.
Having swept from ports of Italy and France to those of Greece and Turkey, thence to the shores of Tripoli, Oriskany returned to Quonset Point, R. I. 4 October 1951. She entered Gravesend Bay, New York 6 November 1951 to offload ammunition and to have her masts removed to allow passage under the East River Bridges to the New York Naval Shipyard. Overhaul included the installation of a new flight deck, steering system, and bridge. Work was complete by 15 May 1952 and the carrier steamed the next day to take on ammunition at Norfolk 19-22 May. She then got underway to join the Pacific Fleet, steaming via Guantanamo Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Horn, Valparaiso, and Lima, arriving San Diego, Calif. 21 July.
Following carrier qualifications for Air Group 102, Oriskany departed San Diego 15 September 1952 to aid UN forces in Korea. She arrived Yokosuka 17 October and joined Fast Carrier Task Force 77 off the Korean Coast 31 October. Her aircraft struck hard with bombing and strafing attacks against enemy supply lines and coordinated bombing missions with surface gunstrikes along the coast. Her pilots downed two Soviet-built MIG-15 jets and damaged a third, 18 November.
Strikes continued through 11 February, heaping destruction upon enemy artillery positions, troop emplacements, and supply dumps along the main battlefront. Following a brief upkeep period in Japan, Oriskany returned to combat 1 March 1953. She continued in action until 29 March, called at Hong Kong, then resumed air strikes 8 April. She departed the Korean Coast 22 April, touched at Yokosuka, and then departed for San Diego 2 May, arriving there 18 May.
Following readiness training along the California coast, Oriskany departed San Francisco 14 September to aid the 7th Fleet watching over the uneasy truce in Korea, arriving Yokosuka 15 October. Thereafter she cruised the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the area of the Philippines. After providing air support for Marine amphibious assault exercises at Iwo Jima, the carrier returned to San Diego 22 April 1954. She entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard for modernization overhaul; completed 22 October when she stood out to sea for the first of a series of coastal operations.
Oriskany arrived at Yokosuka from San Francisco 2 April 1955, and operated with the Fast Carrier Task Force ranging from Japan and Okinawa to the Philippines. This deployment ended 7 September and the carrier arrived Alameda, Calif. 21 September.
The attack carrier cruised the California Coast while qualifying pilots of Air Group 9, then put to sea from Alameda, 11 February 1956, for another rigorousWestpac deployment. She returned to San Francisco 13 June and entered the shipyard for overhaul, 1 October. She decommissioned there 2 January 1957 for modernization work that included a new angled flight deck and enclosed hurricane bow. New, powerful steam catapults were installed by the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Wash.
Oriskany recommissioned at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, 7 March 1959, Capt. James Mahan Wright in command. Four days later, she departed for shakedown out of San Diego with Carrier Air Group 14 embarked. Operations along the west coast continued until 14 May 1960, when she again deployed to Westpac, returning to San Diego 15 December. She entered San Francisco Naval Shipyard 30 March 1961 for a five-month overhaul that included the first aircraft carrier installation of the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS).
Oriskany departed the shipyard 9 September for underway training out of San Diego until 7 June 1962 when she again deployed to the Far East with Carrier Air Group 16 embarked. She returned to San Diego 17 December 1962 for operational readiness training off the west coast.
The carrier again stood out of San Diego 1 August 1963 for Far Eastern waters, with Carrier Air Group 16 embarked. She arrived Subic Bay 31 August 1963; thence to Japan. She stood out of Iwakuni, Japan the morning of 31 October enroute the coast of South Vietnam. There, she stood by for any eventuality as word was received of the coup d'etat taking place in Saigon. When the crisis abated, the carrier resumed operations from Japanese ports.
Oriskany returned to San Diego 10 March 1964. After overhaul at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, she steamed for refresher training out of San Diego, followed by qualifications for Carrier Wing 16. During this period her flight deck was used to test the E-2 A "Hawkeye," the Navy's new airborne early warning aircraft. She also provided orientation to senior officers of eight allied nations.
Oriskany departed San Diego 5 April 1965 for Westpac, arriving Subic 27 April. By this time more United States troops had landed in South Vietnam to support Vietnamese troops against increased Viet Cong pressure to destroy the independence of that nation. Oriskany added her weight to the massive American naval strength supporting the freedom of South Vietnam. In combat operations that brought her and embarked Carrier Wing 16 the Navy Unit Commendation for exceptionally meritorious service between 10 May and 6 December 1965, she carried out over 12,000 combat sorties and delivered nearly 10,000 tons of ordnance against enemy forces. She departed Subic Bay 30 November and returned to San Diego 16 December.
Oriskany again stood out of San Diego for the Far East 26 May 1966, arriving Yokosuka 14 June. She steamed for "Dixie Station" off South Vietnam 27 June. Wearisome days and nights of combat shifted to "Yankee Station" in the Gulf of Tonkin 8 July. In the following months there were brief respites for replenishment in Subic Bay. Then, back into the action that saw her launch 7,794 combat sorties.
The carrier was on station the morning of 27 October 1966 when a fire erupted on the starboard side of the ship's forward hanger bay and raced through five decks, claiming the lives of 44 men. Many who lost their lives were veteran combat pilots who had flown raids over Vietnam a few hours earlier. Oriskany had been put in danger when a magnesium parachute flare exploded in the forward flare locker of Hanger Bay 1, beneath the carrier's flight deck. Her crewmen performed fantastic feats in jettisoning heavy bombs which lay within reach of the flames. Other men wheeled planes out of danger, rescued pilots, and helped quell the blaze through three hours of prompt and daring actions. Medical assistance was rushed to the carrier from sister aircraft carriers Constellation (CVA-64) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42).
Oriskany steamed to Subic Bay 28 October, where victims of the fire were transferred to waiting aircraft for transportation to the United States. A week later, the carrier departed for San Diego, arriving 16 November. San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard completed repairs 23 March 1967 and Oriskany, with Carrier Air Wing 16 embarked, underwent training. She then stood out of San Francisco Bay 16 June to take station in waters off Vietnam. Designated flagship of Carrier Division 9 in Subic Bay 9 July, she commenced "Yankee Station" operations 14 July. While on the line, 26 July, she provided medical assistance to the fire-ravaged attack carrier Forrestal (CVA-59).
Oriskany returned to the Naval Air Station pier at Alameda Calif., 31 January 1968, and entered San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard 7 February for an eight month overhaul. Upon completion of work, the carrier underwent refresher training and flight qualifications before deploying to the Far East in April 1969.
Redesignated as a multi-mission aircraft carrier (CV 34) 30 June 1975, but role did not change. Decommissioned to reserve 15 May 1976; was last Essex in commission as a warship. Stricken for disposal 25 July 1989. Sold for scrapping 26 Jan 1993; scrapper defaulted and ship was repossessed without having left Navy custody. Resold for scrapping 29 Sept 1995, towed to San Francisco 1 May 1996; subsequently moved to Mare Island for scapping, but scrap contract revoked 1 July 1997. Remained at Mare Island pending disposal. As of 15 December 2000, NVR reported her to be at Beaumont TX.
In mid October 2003 the Navy awarded a contract to clean the Oriskany in preparation for her sinking as an artificial reef. The Maritime Administration began accepting bids from states interested in having the carrier sunk off their coasts. Florida has earmarked a spot 24 miles off the Pensacola coast. Oriskany was towed from Beaumont TX to Corpus Christi on 21 January 2004 for her environmental cleanup.
Oriskany received two battle stars for Korean Service and five for Vietnamese service.
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