Year of the Hangman

[Mike the Lab Rat]

"Year of the Hangman" by Glenn F. Williams

If any of you dig Revolutionary War military history, pick this one up.

It goes over the period from 1777 (the "year of the hangman" in the title) through 1779, describing the nature of the Iroquois Confederacy, their alliance with the Brits, the slash-and-burn tactics (and massacres) they visited upon the colonists in NY and Pennsyltucky, and Washington's response (the Clinton-Sullivan campaign).

The author does a great job demolishing the myth of the Iroquois as mere defenders of their land, victimized by Washington's "genocidal" military response. The tactics that the Iroquois used in conquering and assimilating their fellow indigenous tribes is described at the beginning of the book, so it is made clear that they were a fully mature, impressive military and political power who knowingly chose to side with the British king against the colonists (well, the Oneidas and Tuscaroras split the Confederacy by siding with us...). It also helped that the Brits promised the Iroquois that their own settlements would be protected and their food supplies would be taken care of.

The brutal tactics of the Tories/Redcoats/Iroquois are described in detail (showing how reneging on promises of quarter and safety of property was hardly a white guy's monopoly), as is the colonists frustration with the inability of Washington and colonial governments to address the threat for a long time. By the time the colonists finally get the military backing they need, Brant and the Iroquois were damned cocky (helping to lead to their defeat at Newtown).

Of particular interest to me was the section involving the Groveland Ambuscade, the capture and torture of American patriots Boyd and Parker, and the laying waste to Little Beard's Town and Big Tree (the latter of which became the site of present-day Geneseo). The Groveland Ambuscade has a monument now commemorating the incident, and there's a park in nearby Cuylerville that claims to still have the infamous "Torture Tree" (the Seneca cut a hole in the abdomen of Boyd and/or Parker, pulled out part of their intestine and nailed it to an oak, and marched them around the tree, their intestines unwinding as they walked. There's a flagstone path around "the" alleged tree now.)

The author does a nice job at the end breaking down whether or not the Sullivan campaign "succeeded." A lot of folks ding Sullivan for not pressing his attack to Fort Niagara, but he was only supposed to go as far as Genesee. He did what he set out to do. The Iroquois Confederacy was never as strong, and the Indians saw that their British allies honestly couldn't protect them as promised (nor could they feed and shelter them as promised). Sure, the Mohawks and Seneca continued to raid towns for several years, but there was nothing on the frequency and scale as prior to Sullivan's mission.

Good read, really informative. You get a nice view of the rationale for the mission, the tactics of both sides, and IMNSHO, you come away from the book thinking that any and all accusations of the mission being racist or genocidal as laughably naive and ignorant.