Johannes Justus (Hon Yost) Schuyler (January 1, 1744 – 1810) was a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

with

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

roots, who was used by American General Benedict Arnold to repel the British and Indian forces of Colonel Barry St. Leger and Joseph Brant from their siege of

Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built ...

following the Battle of Oriskany during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

Early life

He was the son of Peter D. Schuyler (b.1723) and Elisabeth Barbara Herkimer. His mother was the sister of American General Nicholas Herkimer (1728–1777) and loyalist

Johan Jost Herkimer Johan Jost Herkimer (Herchmer or Hercheimer c. 1732 – August 1795 ) was a Loyalist born in 1732, the second of five sons of Johan Jost Herkimer and Anna Catherine Petri of German Flatts, Province of New York. He was the younger brother of the Am ...

(1732–1795). His father was a cousin of American General

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

(see Schuyler family). Hon Yost grew up in the Mohawk Valley in the

Colony of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Unit ...

, prior to the

. Hon Yost's parents were poor and apparently he socialized more with the Mohawks (who sided with the British during the war) than with the white patriots of the area. He has been variously described as dim-witted, coarse and ignorant, a half idiot, a madman, and a lunatic, but also as possessing "no small degree of shrewdness." Whatever the traits of this "singular being", the Mohawks saw him as special — perhaps as a prophet in contact with the supernatural. Hon-Yost tended to dress the part, adopting

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

manners as well as clothing. Tory leaders are said to have used his influence with the Mohawks to help maintain their support in defeating the revolutionary Americans.

Captured by the Patriots

This influence was turned against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1777, when Hon Yost was captured along with Lieutenant Walter N. Butler (Colonel John Butler's son) from St. Leger's army at a meeting of Tories at the home of a Mr. Shoemaker in German Flatts, near

Fort Dayton {{coord, 43, 01, 45, N, 74, 59, 24, W, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Fort Dayton was an American Revolutionary War fort located on the north side of the Mohawk River at West Canada Creek, in what is now Herkimer, New York. A fort had prev ...

. Butler was sentenced to be hanged, but eventually escaped. Hon Yost Schuyler was also condemned to death. His mother and brother Nicholas Schuyler traveled from their home in

Little Falls, New York Little Falls is a city in Herkimer County, New York. The population was 4,946 at the time of the 2010 census, which is the second-smallest city population in the state, ahead of only the city of Sherrill. The city is built on both sides of the ...

to Fort Dayton where he was being held, presumably around the same time that General Arnold's force arrived to aid in the defense of Fort Stanwix, which had recently been captured and rebuilt by the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

and renamed

Fort Schuyler Fort Schuyler is a preserved 19th century fortification in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It houses a museum, the Stephen B. Luce Library, and the Marine Transportation Department and Administrative offices of the State University o ...

. As Mrs. Schuyler pleaded with Arnold to spare her son's life, it was suggested that, because of Hon Yost's influence with the Mohawks and Tories, he be sent to Fort Stanwix to alert St. Leger's forces of Arnold's intention to attack, and to greatly exaggerate the number of forces. His mother offered to allow herself to be taken hostage to insure her son's return. Arnold agreed however to take Hon Yost's brother Nicholas hostage in her place. Hon Yost's clothing was hung up and shot to make it look like he had narrowly escaped his capture by the patriots. Then he and an Oneida messenger (Oneidas sided with the Americans during that war) traveled by different routes to the vicinity of Fort Schuyler. Separately they talked up the size of Arnold's army among both Brant's warriors and St. Leger himself. Hon Yost is said to have looked up and pointed to leaves in the trees when asked how many men Arnold had. The

rejected Hon Yost's tale, but gave up the siege when reports from other Iroquois messengers arrived with increasing estimates. The Iroquois and British left the siege through

Oneida Lake Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York state, with a surface area of . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It feeds the Oneida River, a tributary of the Oswego River, which flows into Lake Ontari ...

. Hon Yost followed the British forces a short way and then returned to Fort Dayton. His brother was released, but Hon Yost soon ran away to rejoin the Tories.

References

;Sources
James Thomas Flexner, ''How a Madman helped save the Colonies'', American Heritage Magazine, 1956
*

Elizabeth Eggleston Seelye Elizabeth Eggleston Seelye (December 15, 1858 - November 11, 1923) was an American writer and biographer. Her story "The A.O.I.B.R.", which appeared in ''Harper's Bazaar'' in 1889 with an illustration of a child reading, is cited by the Rockwell ...

''Brant and Red Jacket, Ch. 30, How a Simpleton Raised the Siege'',1879
* ttp://earlyamerica.com/review/2000_fall/oriskany.html Kevin Scott Gould, Ambush At Oriskanybr>Hubert H. Bancroft, ed. ''The Great Republic by the Master Historians'': Benson J. Lossing, ''The Expedition Against Fort Schuyler''George Peck, D.D, '', Wyoming; Its History, Stirring Incidents and Romantic Adventures'' 1858Robert Leckie, ''George Washington's War: The Saga of the American Revolution'', HarperCollins, 1992James Kirby Martin, ''Benedict Arnold, Revolutionary Hero: An American Warrior Reconsidered'', New York University Press, 1997
* ''The Mohawk Valley During the Revolution'', by Harold Frederic, 1877 (WikiSource) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuyler, Hon Yost 1744 births 1810 deaths Loyalists in the American Revolution from New York (state) American people of Dutch descent Schuyler family

Early life

Captured by the Patriots

See also

References