Cherry Valley Raid

(Nov. 11, 1778) Attack during the American Revolution by Iroquois Indians on a New York frontier settlement.

In retaliation for earlier assaults on two Indian villages, the Iroquois chief Joseph Brant joined with British loyalists to lead the attack on the fortified village at Cherry Valley. Thirty militiamen and settlers were killed.

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▪ United States history

      (November 11, 1778), during the American Revolution, Iroquois Indian attack on a New York frontier settlement in direct retaliation for colonial assaults on two Indian villages. Earlier in the year the Americans had decided to increase military pressure against Britain's Indian allies in the West who had been intensifying their depredations of frontier settlements. In the fall a small American army annihilated the Indian villages of Oghwaga and Unadilla. Enraged, Iroquois chief Joseph Brant (Brant, Joseph) joined Tory captain Walter Butler in a surprise raid on Cherry Valley, New York, one of the few remaining fortified villages south of the Mohawk River. The town was destroyed; 30 of its defenders were killed and 71 wounded or captured before the invaders withdrew.

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