Sullivan's Monument / Newton Battle field, Elmira, NY
NB-01
NB-02
NB-03
NB-04
NB-05
NB-06
NB-07
NB-08
|
In 1779, General George
Washington ordered General John Sullivan to gather an army
 and
form an offensive against the Iroquois Nations and their allies.
Because of repeated attacks against the white settlers, his orders were to
drive the Indians out of the wilderness of New York, to burn their
villages and destroy their crops so they could not return. The army was to
push its way northward to the shores of Lake Erie and to capture the
British Forts Oswego and Niagara.
As the army of about 5,000 soldiers pushed northward from Pennsylvania,
they came to this hill and here, on August 29, 1779, near an Indian
Village called New Town, they engaged in a battle...
The Battle of Newtown: General Sullivan and his army left from Easton,
Pennsylvania in the late summer of 1779, traveling along the Susquehanna
River. General Clinton and his smaller army left from Albany, New York and
traveled along the Mohawk River, crossing overland to Otsego Lake, then
down the Susquehanna to meet with Sullivan's army near Tioga (present day
Athens, PA). General Brodhead pushed north from Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh),
but never joined with the main army. As the two joined armies of around
5,000 men proceeded north, they came to the base of a mountain next to the
Chemung River. There, on August 29, 1779, near an Indian village called
New Town, Sullivan's scouts discovered the army was about to be the victim
of an ambush. A one-half mile long breastworks had been constructed and
was manned by Joseph Brant's warriors and Col. John Butler's Loyalist
forces. Sullivan's armies were moved into position, cannons were readied
and aimed at the breastworks, and the battle commenced -- The Battle of
Newtown. |
