4th Tryon County Militia - Revolutionary War Reenactors: History

Map of the Mohawk Valley by Charlie Kane A Brief History of the 4th Battalion, Tryon County Militia
In the summer of 1775, the Tryon County Committee of Safety replaced the Loyalist officers of the Tryon militia with Patriots. Officers of the 4th Battalion included the following: Peter Bellinger - Colonel, Frederick Bellinger - Lieutenant-Colonel, John Eisenlord - First Major, and William Petry - Surgeon. The battalion was composed of men from the German Flatts-Kingsland area (this area includes modern Frankfort, Ilion, Herkimer, Mohawk and Little Falls).
The first active part the 4th Tryon played in the war was in January of 1776 as part of a larger detachment of Tryon and Albany County Militia under General Philip Schuyler. Their mission was to confiscate the arms and ammunition of Sir John Johnson and his Loyalist tenants at Johnstown, and to gain Sir John's pledge of non-interference in the coming conflicts. The rest of 1776 was spent by the battalion in helping to build and garrison various fortifications in their area, such as Forts Herkimer and Dayton (in modern Herkimer), and with scouting duties.
In January of 1777, a detachment of the 4th Tryon joined men from the other three Tryon battalions at Ft. Ticonderoga. Here they helped to build the floating bridge between the fort and Mount Independence, and were also employed in garrison and scouting duties.
In May of 1777 the battalion began furnishing men to aid the garrison of Ft. Schuyler (Stanwix) in readying the fort for the expected attack of the British, Loyalists and Indians under Brevet General Barry St. Leger. These duties included clearing the road between Ft. Dayton and Ft. Schuyler, felling trees along Wood Creek to slow the enemy's advance and guarding supplies destined for the fort. Detachments of the battalion also helped to garrison the fort. These various duties lasted until July.
In conjunction with the aforementioned duty, men of the 4th Tryon also made up part of a detachment of 200 Tryon County Militia that marched to Unadilla in June for a conference between General Nicholas Herkimer and Joseph Brant and his Mohawks. Despite Herkimer's efforts to sway the Mohawks to the patriot side, or at least keep them neutral, the conference on June 27^th ended with Brant and his men remaining loyal to the King.
With August of 1777 came the siege of Ft. Schuyler and the march of General Herkimer and 800 of the Tryon County Militia from Ft. Dayton in an attempt to relieve Ft. Schuyler. On August 6^th, the militia was ambushed by St. Leger's Loyalists and Indians at Oriskany. In the ensuing battle, (often referred to as the bloodiest battle of the Revolution) General Herkimer was badly wounded (he later died from the wound) and many of the principle officers of the militia and committee of safety were killed or captured. Losses for the militia ranged anywhere between 150 to 500 killed, wounded and captured. The 4th Tryon's losses were heavy, with 26 killed, 12 wounded and 2 taken prisoner. One of the men taken was Lt. Col. Bellinger, who was later paroled on January 1^st, 1778. Surviving members of the battalion later made up part of the Relief force under General Benedict Arnold that finally broke the siege of Ft. Schuyler on August 22^nd.
The years of 1778 and 1779 found the 4th Tryon involved in garrison, guard and scouting duties. On September 17^th of 1778, the battalion successfully defended Forts Dayton and Herkimer during Joseph Brant's raid on German Flatts. In 1779 the battalion was involved in the organizing and transporting of supplies for the upcoming Clinton-Sullivan expedition against the Iroquois.
In October of 1780, the 4th Tryon made up part of a 500 to 600 man Tryon and Albany County Militia force under General Robert Van Rensselaer that met Sir John Johnson's British, Loyalists and Indians that were burning the Mohawk Valley. Johnson's force had already laid waste to the Schoharie Valley and defeated Colonel John Brown's troops at Stone Arabia before being brought to battle at Klock's Field (near modern St. Johnsville) on October 19^th. Although trapped between the Mohawk River and the militia, Johnson's force finally managed to break off the fight and retreat across the river under cover of darkness.
The 4th Tryon was again called out against the enemy in October of 1781, to help in Colonel Marinus Willet's pursuit of a raiding party under Major John Ross. The raiders had earlier been defeated at the Battle of Johnstown by Willet and were now retreating towards Canada. Members of the 4th Tryon made up part of the force that caught up with the enemy's rear guard under Captain Walter Butler at West Canada Creek on October 30^th. During the skirmish, Butler and several of his men were killed.
During 1782 and 1783 the 4th Tryon continued to guard against possible enemy attacks into the valley. On July 15^th, 1782, the battalion once again successfully defended Forts Dayton and Herkimer from a second attack by raiders under Joseph Brant. The battalion remained on alert until the Treaty of Paris brought peace to the Mohawk Valley in April of 1783.