Tyonajanegen ("Two Kettles Together")Glatthaar and Martin, 149. was an

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

woman who fought in the August 6, 1777

Battle of Oriskany The Battle of Oriskany ( or ) was a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the bloodiest battles in the conflict between the Americans and Great Britain. On August 6, 1777, a party of Loy ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Armed with two pistols, she rode into battle and fought alongside her husband, Han Yerry, and her son, Cornelius. Tyonajanegen helped her husband reload his gun after a musket ball struck him in the wrist. After the battle she rode on horseback to bring news of the outcome to local rebels and Indians. An article in the September 3, 1777 ''Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser'' described the incident.

... a friendly Indian, with his wife and son, who distinguished themselves remarkably on the occasion. The Indian killed nine of the enemy, when having receiv da ball through his wrist that disabled him from using his gun, he then fought with his
tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...
. His son killed two, and his wife on horseback, fought by his side, with pistols during the whole action, which lasted six hours.

Han Yerry was a head warrior throughout the

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British ...

and was assisted by Tyonajanegen who transported messages for the rebels. General

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battl ...

ordered Colonel

Peter Gansevoort Peter Gansevoort (July 17, 1749 – July 2, 1812) was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also ...

to "deliver to her Three Gallons of Rum, for a Winter's supply for her Family" as a reward for her services. In the 1750s, Tyonajanegen married Han Yerry Tewahangarahken ("He Who Takes Up the Snow Shoe"), a chief warrior of the Wolf Clan. The couple settled and helped found Oriska, an Oneida village near the mouth of the

Oriskany Creek Oriskany Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 river in New York, United States. It rises in Madison County and flows northeastward, primarily thr ...

. The couple had three sons and a daughter and prospered on an expansive farm; Han Yerry having become one of the wealthiest Oneida. By 1777, the family had a frame house, a barn, wagon and sleigh. They grew a variety of crops and raised livestock and other animals including 15 horses, 100 chickens, 60 hogs, six turkeys, six cattle and two sheep. Tyonajanegen cooked meals in kettles made of brass and copper and served guests on pewter plates. The family catered to people from the nearby

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 ...

as well as travelers. After the Battle of Oriskany, a pro-British

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 ...

war party attacked Oriska, destroying the village and the family's house and belongings. Han Yerry died sometime prior to November 1794. One account relates that Tyonajanegen went blind before she died circa 1822. Much of what is known of Tyonajanegan is taken from the manuscripts of

Lyman Draper Lyman Copeland Draper (September 4, 1815August 26, 1891) was a librarian and historian who served as secretary for the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at Madison, Wisconsin. Draper also served as Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisco ...

, a 19th-century historian. "Hon Yerry's wife was Sarah Martin – taken prisoner with her sister Katy from the Shawanoes, & remained with the Mohawks."

Notes

References

* *{{cite book, last1=Robinson, first1=Gary, last2=Lucas, first2=Phil, title=From Warriors to Soldiers: A History of American Indian Service in the United States Military, year=2010, publisher=Universe, isbn=978-1-936236-00-8, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fAmwoZ6skEIC&q=%22Tyonajanegen%22&pg=PA87 Native American women in warfare Native Americans in the American Revolution Oneida people Year of death uncertain Year of birth uncertain Women in the American Revolution People of New York (state) in the American Revolution 18th-century Native American women