By Louis Myers
August 13, 1777
In the Summer of 1777, British General John Burgoyne advanced from Canada towards Albany, his strategy was to rely upon converging columns.
One of these, the western thrust, was led by Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger, who was to advance east through the Mohawk Valley. His goal was to join forces with Burgoyne near Albany.
St. Leger’s success would be dependent upon Loyalist (Tory) support and the crown's Native American allies.
The Schoharie Valley, a fertile and important region west of Albany, was a proverbial hotbed of both Patriot and Tory sympathizers. In early 1777, influential Tories like Captain John McDonell, Adam Crysler, and Captain George Mann began organizing a small Tory force of local militia with support from nearby Mohawk allies. Mann, a tavern owner and former Captain of the 15th Albany Militia, had been relieved of his command a year earlier over concerns about his Tory sympathies.
In March 1777, McDonell reportedly traveled to Canada to confer with British officials and promised Tory support for a local uprising. Loyalists began secretly organizing and preparing to rise in coordination with St. Ledger's push through the Mohawk Valley. Their assembly point was Adam Crysler's farm, a low-lying, marshy plain along Foxes Creek known to German-speaking locals as Die Flache or “ The Flats “(later corrupted to "Flockey").
Patriot forces were led by Colonel John Harper who had received intelligence of Tory plans moved swiftly. Harper elicited support from a 28-man detachment of the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons under Captain Jean-Louis de Vernejoux. They first relieved Fort Defiance then moved south to confront the Loyalists laying in wait at the Flockey.
Battle
On August 13th 1777, just seven days after the Bloody Battle of Oriskany was fought and lost by Tryon County Militia the Continental Dragoons approached the Flockey. Tory militia opened fire - killing a dragoon and wounding two others.
Captain De Vernejoux immediately ordered a cavalry charge, which routed the Loyalists and many fled into the woods rather than stand and fight. No further pursuit occurred due to darkness and the muddy terrain. Patriot casualties totaled two killed and one wounded. Tory losses remain unspecified in official records, though several may have been wounded or dispersed; no contemporary Loyalist casualty roll survives.
Significance
The Battle of the Flockey was a small but notable victory for American Patriot forces during the Revolutionary War. It marked the first recorded use of a cavalry charge by the Americans during the war. The engagement, while strategically insignificant, helped suppress Loyalist support and activity in the Schoharie Valley for a while.
References
Simms, Jeptha (1845). History of Schoharie County, and the Border Wars of New York... Albany, NY: Munsell & Tanner. pp. 245, 248.Talman, James (1946). "Loyalist Narratives from Upper Canada". Crysler Journal. 27: 57.
” Revolutionary War, Schoharie County". visitschohariecounty.com. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
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