(Reprinted from August/September 1994 Oneida Indian Nation Newsletter)
The greatest Oneida hero of the Revolutionary War is considered to be
Honyere Tehawenkarogwen (He Who Takes Up The Snowshoe), head warrior of
the Wolf Clan in the village of Oriska. He is remembered as a gentleman
and fearless leader around the time of the Revolutionary War.
Early in the war, Honyere organized a military unit composed of Oneidas
in Oriska. As the Tryon County Militia passed near the settlement on its way
to life the British siege of Fort Stanwix on August 6, 1777, the Oneida troop
numbering about 60 joined the American column marching toward an ambush
prepared by Loyalists and fellow Iroquois led by Joseph Brant, a Mohawk.
BRAVE AND FEARLESS LEADER
A contemporary newspaper reference to the ferocious Battle of Oriskany
describes Honyere as "a friendly Indian, with his wife, Tyonajanegen (Two
Kettles Together), and son, distinguished themselves remarkably on that
occasion. The Indian killed nine of the enemy when, having received a ball
through his wrist that disabled him from using his gun, fought with
his tomahawk. His son killed two, and his wife on horseback, fought by his
side with pistols during the whole action," the report documented.
BATTLE OF ORISKANY
Pitting Iroquois against one another, the Battle of Oriskany disrupted
the League of the Six Nations and started the spiral of revenge and
counter-reprisal typical of what the Oneidas experienced during the
Revolution.
Dining with American General Philip Schuyler in Albany on September 19,
1777 Honyere was asked to leave immediately to aid the army of Horatio Gates
opposing a British invasion advancing toward the New York capital. Within a
week, according to Schuyler, the Oneidas, led by Honyere and others, had
"already taken about 30 prisoners, and intercepted some dispatches from
General Burgoyne to General Powel, commanding at Ticonderoga."
The Oneidas were reluctant to undertake further American service without
protection for their settlements. The young French aristocrat Lafayette
arranged to have fortifications built at present day Oneida Castle, then
advanced money enabling Oneida soldiers to join the Continental Army.
Accordingly, 50 Oneidas (probably including Honyere) arrived at Valley Forge
in mid-May, 1778, and almost immediately participated in the action called
Barren Hill under Lafayette's command. The only hostile engagement of this
curious battle occurred when the Oneidas confronted a mounted British company
(dragoons). A newspaper of the time reported that following an Oneida volley
of shot and war whoops, "the horses of the British cavalry were terrified at
the unusual sound, and scampered off in such hot haste as to lose many of the
cloaks of their riders, which became the prize of the Indians, and were
speedily converted into leggings."
MADE A CAPTAIN
Commissioned captain in the American army in June, 1779, Honyere served
throughout the duration of the war. His precise activities over the next
several years are unknown, although he probably engaged in scouting and
intelligence activities against the Loyalist Rangers and anti-
American Iroquois. Honorably discharged, he received a land bounty from
Congress in 1782 and petitioned New York State for military payment in 1785.
SWINDLED OUT OF LAND
Although guaranteed their holdings and promised rewards for supporting
the American cause, the Oneidas were heartlessly swindled out of land after
the Revolution. Assuming they had leased certain lands, they had unknowingly
agreed to "cede and grant all their lands to the people of the State of New
York forever."
After these fraudulent transactions, when the actual loss of lands became
apparent, Oneida leaders spoke out, "These poor people of Oriska found with
you," pleaded the Oneida sachem Good Peter. "We submit it to you whether it
would not be reasonable to take some care of them and let them possess that
small spot of land at Oriska." New York officials were unmoved.
Honyere would participate in no more of the land cessions. His
sister-in-law testified many years later that "Captain Honyere
Tehawenkarogwen" died in 1839. However, Honyere's disappearance from the
documentary record after 1790 and the ages of his children participating
in important events during the war suggest that he died in 1793.
-- Ray Halbritter, Nation Representative/Enterprises C.E.O.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The facts and accounts in this article were extracted from a
number of historical and reference publications. A complete list of these
reference books can be obtained from the Nation.)
A copy of this file can also be found in the Oneida Indina Nation Home
page in the directory "Little Know Historical Facts". The URL of the
Oneida Nation Home Page is http://nysernet.org/oneida/