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16 Comments

  1. Joe Ferrero
    January 25, 2016 @ 9:46 pm

    Another excellent post! Although I don’t often comment, I often read what you write! A true treasure to read your work!

  2. David Bradley
    January 27, 2016 @ 1:32 pm

    Excellent article

  3. Jim Robinson
    January 27, 2016 @ 9:33 pm

    The only criticism I have with this is the notion that the Senecas were not going to let settlers take their property without a fight. This was the Revolutionary War the nation as well as the Iroqouis Confederacy were split and the Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga and Mohawk sided with England and the Loyalist cause who were raiding and terrorizing Patriot settlers, Sullivan’s campaign of retribution was in response to the Loyalist and Iroqouis Cherry Hill Massacre and the fear of the colonies being split. Lose the second paragraph of revisionism.

    Otherwise very informative.

  4. NJR2
    February 7, 2016 @ 8:24 pm

    had nothing to do with anyone taking land (i am part seneca). most of the iroquois sided with england, under brant the mohawk some iroquois with some english loyalists conducted the cherry valley and wyoming valley massacres, killing women children, even babies. it was at this point washington decided the iroquois needed to be punished. the seneca were the largest, most warlike, and most wealthy in resources of the belligerent nations, so invading there lands was the key to the destruction of the tribes that had sided with england. the assault on the seneca had nothing to do with land, nor did little beards revenge on the scouts.this article is poorly researched, or intentional revisionist history in the name of political correctness. the seneca were a proud warrior people…NOT THE STUPID FOOL POOR LITTLE WUSSIES THAT SOME WHITES WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE. the seneca and mohawk choose to take part in a war they did not have to get involved in, and choose the wrong side. what happened to them was no more than what the iroquois did with their vanquished enemies..

    • Bernie Peterson
      September 16, 2021 @ 2:19 pm

      This post is spot on. The Seneca were by far the largest and by most accounts the most fierce of the Six Nations Confederacy from all I have read though I am not a New York native and am of European descent . The Clinton and sullivan campaign was motivated as noted as retribution for the raids at cherry valley and wyoming valley, but also to try to sever the British and Tory elements from the material support provided by the Seneca in terms of warriors and food supplies. At least George III provided land in what is now Ontario for those natives who chose to relocate after the peace of the Revolutionary War and the Patriot victory. Those Seneca who chose to move fared better under king George than the Oneida or Tuscarora who allied themselves with the Patriot cause.

    • lorr
      March 28, 2023 @ 12:40 pm

      so true with the cherry tree valley masscare my relatives were involved that. lots of people do not know but the iroquois were cannibals.. read the missonary logs. they were sickos and yes i have mohawk blood in me these indians were out of control.

  5. Anna
    October 8, 2016 @ 5:33 pm

    How is this known to be true? Were the two beheaded corpses found with their intestines wrapped around the tree…? What is the source of the report on the incident?

    • Chris
      October 8, 2016 @ 5:39 pm

      Hey Anna–

      There are a number of different reports that have been written about the events surrounding this story. Throughout this post there are hyperlinks inserted to the sources. You’ll find most of the links within the third paragraph.

      • Broken Arrow
        November 30, 2019 @ 9:12 pm

        Out of 1,000 treaties with the US government 999 treaties have been broken to this day they only kept One Promise and that was to take our land

    • Joe L.
      October 26, 2019 @ 7:03 am

      Much of what is known about the condition of the corpses is taken from the diaries of soldiers who were on the expedition. Some of these are in the restricted collection of the Genesee Valley collection at Milne Library on the SUNY Geneseo campus.

  6. shaun
    February 3, 2018 @ 11:32 am

    I have lived in the Vally all my life and researched this engaement extensively through the Sullivan transcripts, Marry Jamison’s Biography and a few other sources.There is (some) truth in this article but it is very limited. I have to say that it do’s fascinate me how history gets distorted with time. I have heard and seen even (Historians) passing off false information as fact.

    • Chris Clemens
      February 3, 2018 @ 12:45 pm

      Thanks for reading, Shaun. I consider myself only as someone who is interested in learning more about our region’s history, and in that pursuit, I’ve found the same thing you have found. I’ve never discovered a single resource for this incident that matched another exactly. My hope with posting here was to help people be aware of a site they may pass in their travels and the importance it has for our region.

      • shaun
        February 11, 2018 @ 1:23 pm

        Chris , my comment wasn’t to insult anyone. I admire your interest being that very few understand the rich history of this part of the plant even before the invasion of the europeans. Good job Chris.

  7. Gary Woodruff
    October 25, 2019 @ 5:01 pm

    My understanding is that the tree that stands there now is not the original torture tree. I had read that in multiple reports over the years.

  8. The Story of Horseheads, NY | Exploring Upstate
    July 9, 2020 @ 5:31 pm

    […] and real history; from the term “scorched earth” to horse skulls to buried gold to a “torture tree,” the story of the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign is amazing. This is the first in a series exploring […]

  9. Carrie
    April 7, 2022 @ 6:31 am

    So are their actual remains buried back in or near the torture tree now and the Boulder there is their grave stone/marker?