The Cherry Valley massacre prompted calls for reprisal against Britain's Iroquois allies, directly triggering the 1779 Sullivan Expedition.
Key Facts
- Date
- November 11, 1778
- Non-combatant deaths
- 30 killed
- Overall commander
- Walter Butler
- Primary Iroquois forces
- Senecas and Mohawks
- Location
- Cherry Valley, central New York
- Subsequent response
- 1779 Sullivan Expedition
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Seneca anger over accusations of atrocities at the Battle of Wyoming and the colonists' destruction of their forward bases at Unadilla, Onaquaga, and Tioga created a volatile context. British commander Walter Butler had little effective authority over the Indigenous warriors, partly due to his poor treatment of Mohawk leader Joseph Brant, leaving the raiding force poorly disciplined.
On November 11, 1778, a mixed force of Loyalists, British soldiers, Senecas, and Mohawks under Walter Butler attacked the fort and town of Cherry Valley in central New York. Despite prior warnings, the defenders were unprepared. The Seneca targeted non-combatants extensively, with reports recording 30 civilian deaths in addition to armed defenders killed.
The Cherry Valley massacre became one of the most notorious frontier attacks of the American Revolutionary War. It intensified colonial outrage and demands for military retaliation against Britain's Iroquois allies, directly contributing to the Sullivan Expedition of 1779, which resulted in the total military defeat of the British-allied Iroquois in Upstate New York.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
4 belligerents
Walter Butler, Joseph Brant.
Side B
1 belligerent