Book Quote #2-The Sullivan Expedition

The Sullivan expedition reached Genesee on the afternoon of September 14. The next morning, the army set to work on the process of ravaging the town, burning houses, and then turning to the crops, eradicating 3,000 bushels of beans and approximately 60,000 bushels of corn. Sullivan then decided that the expedition’s mission was complete and began the return trip back to Tioga.  As they moved back toward their original base, they found that the region was totally devoid of people, as the Native Americans had fled toward the British forts and away from the path of Sullivan. Anything they had failed to destroy on their way northward, they certainly made sure to destroy on their way back. The expedition finally reached Easton, Pennsylvania, on October 15.  The immediate results of the expedition were obvious. Sullivan and his men had destroyed over forty villages as well as many isolated homes. They had ruined approximately 160,000 bushels of corn, vegetables, and fruit and had lost only 40 men on the entire expedition. A week after Sullivan began his march back to Tioga, 5,036 Native Americans had arrived at Fort Niagara looking for help from the British, fortunately avoiding starvation with the arrival of supplies. With the devastation so thorough, the British were forced to feed and clothe the Indians, since the supply of vegetables and fruit that had been destined for British storehouses had dried up. For the time being, the frontier settlements were now safe with the Native Americans driven out of central and western New York.

There was an unexpected outcome of the Sullivan campaign, outside of the widespread destruction. It had the effect of breaking down stereotypes of the native peoples held by the ordinary soldier. Instead of coming upon “savages,” the soldiers marveled in their journals at the high degree of sophistication of their society. The houses were not bark huts, but were sturdy, well-built houses, with ordinary windows with glass and doors, along with wood floors. Some of the houses had two levels, and even some were painted. The Native Americans had extensive orchards, vegetable gardens, and massive cornfields. They also held livestock of all kinds. Adam Hubley, wrote in his journal that Genesee “contained 107 well-finished houses” and that the “corn, beans, Potatoes & other vegetables . . . were in quantity immense and in goodness unequal’d by any I ever yet saw.” The invasion also had the unintended consequence for soldiers facing the fact that many of these Native Americans were living better than they were back in civilian life. Thus, after the war was over, many of them would search out their own land among that they had once trod. But, for the time being, even for Adam Hubley, the invasion had been “a glorious achievement . . . [in which] the real good effects & advantages of which posterity will more particularly enjoy.” For the Native Americans, it was a devastating act of destruction and displacement, a “scorched earth” policy aimed at eradicating their settlements and their way of life. While some found the expedition to be one of cultural and physical upheaval, others focused on the resilience and survival of their people despite the depredations.