Fort Stanwix

St. Leger had served the British army for more than forty years.  So General Burgoyne was quite confident in his ability to take Fort Stanwix from the small contingent of 60 Amercan soldiers. He sent St. Leger off with 1,800 troops, half of which were indians, to take the fort and then continue on to Albany. On August 3, 1777, St. Leger and his men surrounded the fort. Unbenknownst to them, there were actually 750 soldiers inside, led by Colonel Ganesvoort.  An indian friendly to the Patriot cause took word of St. Leger’s plan to New York, where General Herkimer and his 800 men immediately set off to help their fellow Americans. But St. Leger’s spies weren’t to be outdone. They heard of Herkimer’s march and Leger prepared an ambush that cut down a large number of the unsuspecting Americans. General Herkimer was wounded but continued to command his troops from a nearby tree, eventually stricking back at the British.  St. Leger had made the mistake of using most of his men in the ambush, leaving just a few to watch the fort. From inside the fort, Colonel Gansevoort sent out 250 men that frightened the few remaining British into the surroundeing woods. They then relieved the British of 21 wagonloads full of needed supplies. They burned what couldn’t be taken and went back to the safety of ther fort. When St. Leger returned to his encampment, he was furious, and even more determined to take the fort.  When word of the seige reached General Schuyler, only one man would step forward to defeat St. Leger. Benedict Arnold.  He raced toward the fort with 1,000 volunteers, sending forward exagegrated news of a large army coming to defeat the British. He then sent a half-crazy indian named Hon-Yost to tell St. Leger that a large army was coming. When Leger asked how many, Hon-Yost pointed to a tree with thousands of leaves, indicating that the army was vast. St. Leger was decieved. His 900 indians left immediately and St. Leger followed in retreat. Arnold had won without even making it to the battlefield.