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The Battle of Johnstown was fought in Johnstown, New York. It was one of the last battles in the Northern theatre of the American Revolutionary War, with approximately 1400 engaged at Johnstown on October 25, 1781. Local American forces, led by Colonel Marinus Willett of Johnstown, ultimately put the British forces under the command of Major John Ross of the King's Royal Regiment of New York and Captain Walter Butler of Butler's Rangers to flight. This was the first time so many British regular army troops participated in a border raid in this area. The British retreated northwards and Marinus Willett marched to German Flatts to cut them off. ==Background== New York's Mohawk Valley had been a major area of internecine warfare throughout the American Revolution. By 1780, raids conducted by British soldiers, mercenaries, loyalist militia, and their Mohawk allies had devastated the valley. The 1780 fall crop had been destroyed before harvest, and a number of small settlements had been abandoned as settlers sought safety from the attacks.〔254 families abandoned their farms during 1780.〕 In addition to the hundreds of buildings burned and the civilian casualties, amounting to 197 dead in 1780 alone, these raids threatened the American supply routes to Fort Plain and Fort Stanwix on the frontier. Repeated raids further depleted the ranks of the local militia, already decimated by the Battle of Oriskany, by desertions, abandonment of the valley, and occasional casualties. In response to these increasing threats, the Governor of New York, George Clinton, sent Colonel Marinus Willett to take charge of the militia and organize the defense of the valley.〔 That spring and summer, there were a series of small clashes between the opposing forces. On July 9, a Mohawk raiding party attacked Currytown (also known as Corrystown), but was later chased down and defeated by Willett's men. Another raiding force soon after was forced to retreat after one of its members warned local settlers. Willett's militia was successful in warding off these and other attacks.〔 In the fall, however, a much larger force made up of British regulars, loyalists, and Mohawk warriors entered the valley, several hundred strong. On October 24, 1781, they once again captured Currytown, but did not burn it to prevent rising smoke from warning Willett and the militia of the raid. The raid was discovered by a pair of militia scouts and warning of their presence was spread throughout the county. Before Willett was able to organize the valley's defense, the raiding party attacked a number of small towns and homesteads, burning buildings and killing settlers along the way.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Johnstown」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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