Brant's Volunteers, also known as Joseph Brant's Volunteers, were an irregular unit of

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

and Indigenous volunteers raised 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

by Mohawk war leader,

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...

(Mohawk: ''Thayendanegea''). Brant's Volunteers fought on the side of the British on the frontier of New York and in the

Ohio Country The Ohio Country (Ohio Territory, Ohio Valley) was a name used for a loosely defined region of colonial North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of Lake Erie. Control of the territory and the region's fur trade was disputed i ...

. As associators they were not provided uniforms, weapons, provisions, or pay by the British government, and survived by

foraging Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...

and

plundering Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting ...

Formation and history

Brant began recruiting Mohawk and Loyalist volunteers in 1777 from his base at Onaquaga. The initial size of his

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

company was about 100 men. About 20 were Mohawk allies of the British, and about 80 were Loyalists. Later in the war, Brant was able to attract a larger number of Indigenous warriors to his unit, which grew to over 300 members. The Loyalists were mostly of English, Scottish, and Irish descent recruited from the upper Susquehanna and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

river valleys. Although Brant received a captain's commission in the Six Nations Indian Department in 1780, other members of the group were Loyalist and Indigenous associators (volunteers). They were not paid by the British, and relied upon plunder and foraging for their compensation. Brant often needed to purchase supplies for his volunteers on credit. In 1779, Governor Frederick Haldimand authorized clothing, rations, and medical care, but no monetary payments. Since the unit had no official recognition, many Loyalist members later transferred to

Butler's Rangers Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. T ...

or the King's Royal Regiment of New York. Brant's Volunteers participated in the 1777 Siege of Fort Stanwix and the Battle of Oriskany. They fought in 1778 at the

Battle of Cobleskill A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and the Attack on German Flatts. Following the destruction of Onaquaga by Lieutenant Colonel William Butler in October 1778, Brant moved his base of operations to

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great L ...

. Brant's Volunteers were part of the expedition to Cherry Valley, however, most of them refused to participate in the actual attack because of how they had been treated by the expedition's commander, Captain Walter Butler of Butler's Rangers. In 1779, Brant's Volunteers defeated the American militia at the Battle of Minisink, but were brushed aside by the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

at the Battle of Newtown. In 1780, Brant and his volunteers destroyed Kanonwalohale, the principal village of the pro-American Oneidas, and participated in a large-scale raid on the

Schoharie Creek Schoharie Creek is a river in New York (state), New York that flows north from the foot of Indian Head Mountain (New York), Indian Head Mountain in the Catskill Mountains, Catskills through the Schoharie Valley to the Mohawk River. It is twice ...

and

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

valleys that culminated in the inconclusive Battle of Klock's Field. The following year Brant operated in the Ohio Country and in August participated in a successful

ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

of a detachment of Brigadier General

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

's army.

Uniforms

Lacking uniforms, Brant's Loyalist volunteers frequently dressed and painted themselves as Indigenous warriors. When they wore civilian clothing in battle, Brant had them attach yellow lace to their hats so they could be easily identified as Loyalists.

Post-war

By late 1783, just 15 Loyalists remained with Brant's Volunteers. Many of these later settled with Joseph Brant and the Mohawk on the reserve established in 1784 along the Grand River in what is now Ontario.

References

{{Reflist New York (state) in the American Revolution Loyalist military units in the American Revolution Native American people in the American Revolution