The 2nd Baronet of New York

Sir John Johnson

It's somewhat uncommon to feature consecutive profiles of Loyalists, but I've been meaning to highlight a member of a family that shaped British–native relations in the mid-to-late 18th century: Sir John Johnson. John Johnson's father was the renowned Agent of the Crown to the Indians of New York. In that role, Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York, served as the primary intermediary for British interests and managed to establish fairly good relations between the settlers and the Iroquois nations in central New York. This was no easy task, as migrants from New England and other eastern regions sought land, and the Iroquois, known as the most formidable warriors of their time, were not to be taken lightly. William Johnson’s death and the onset of the American Revolution sparked a final conflict between these forces.

Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York

Thrown into this frontier chaos was Johnson’s heir and hesitant negotiator, John Johnson, 2nd Baronet of New York. The younger Johnson was born on November 5, 1741, at Mount Johnson near New Amsterdam, New York. His mother was a local woman of Dutch descent, Catherine Wysenberk.

Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet

French & Indian Fighter

John Johnson spent most of his childhood at Fort Johnson on the Mohawk River. After briefly attending Benjamin Franklin’s College and Academy in Philadelphia in 1757, Johnson returned home to answer the call of war drums. At age 13, Johnson joined his father as a volunteer in the French and Indian War. He participated in expeditions to Niagara and Detroit with him. He also attended most of Sir William’s conferences with the Indians, including the one at Fort Stanwix (Rome), N.Y., in 1768 that established the boundary between encroaching white settlers and the Iroquois.

Sir William Johnson hosted Indian conferences at
Johnson Hall

Indian Fighter

The younger Johnson also performed well during Pontiac’s Rebellion in 1763 when he led a successful expedition into the Ohio territory. Two years later, his father sent him to England to broaden his horizons and establish himself as a man of means and social standing. The journey achieved its goals, and Johnson was knighted by King George III in preparation for inheriting his father’s impressive estates in America.

The younger Johnson distinguished
himself during Pontiac's Rebellion

Gentleman Farmer

Johnson returned from Britain as a strong supporter of the crown and looked down on anyone who dared to oppose royal policies. He settled at Fort Johnson and took Clarissa Putman as his common-law wife. But someone of Johnson’s status needed a proper match, and in 1773 he finally agreed to his father’s wish to marry into the New York aristocracy. Johnson left Clarissa Putman, but he still supported her and their two children. He was now able to marry Mary Watts and brought her to Fort Johnson.

John Johnson settled in at Fort Johnson
after inheriting the Baronetcy

The 2nd Baronet

In 1774, Sir William died. John became the 2nd Baronet of New York and inherited over 200,000 acres along with many tenants. However, he did not follow his father’s wish to become the next superintendent of northern Indians. Instead, John lived as a country gentleman in his grand home—Johnson Hall. Due to his social standing and wartime experience, Johnson was made a major general of the militia just before the Revolutionary War began.

At the outbreak of war, the NY
militiamen would have to choose sides

Loyalist Leader

In the lead-up to war, Johnson expressed Loyalist sympathies and started recruiting from his tenants, many of whom were Scottish and English war veterans. This created a sort of personal militia. Johnson even approached the Royal Governor, William Tryon, with a proposal to organize the entire Mohawk Valley in support of the crown. His actions alarmed the local patriots, and when the time came, he became a target.

Governor William Tryon was a key
figure in the run-up to the American Revolution

In January 1776, the Continental Congress authorized General Philip Schuyler, a well-known New York landowner, to organize an army and confront Johnson to remove the threat he and his followers posed to the Albany area. Schuyler fulfilled his task. Johnson’s supporters and followers were disarmed, and Johnson vowed to remain neutral. Still, the local patriots stayed cautious of his intentions.

Fellow New York aristocrat led
efforts against Johnson

A King's Commission

Tensions rose and suspicions grew over the following months. Fearing arrest, Johnson fled with his family and supporters to Quebec in May 1776. Johnson then offered his services to the Governor-General of Canada, Guy Carleton. Carleton appointed him as a lieutenant-colonel of a new unit, the King’s Royal Regiment. Johnson was instructed to use his connections with the Indians to keep them neutral.

Soldier of the King's Royal Regiment

A Failed Campaign

In the summer of 1777, Johnson joined Lieutenant-Colonel Barry St. Leger on his expedition up the Mohawk River. This was part of a three-pronged attack on Albany to control the New York waterways and divide the colonies. Johnson’s men and Indian allies helped St. Leger lay siege to Fort Stanwix (now Rome, NY). St. Leger learned of a relief column marching west to lift the siege. This militia force was led by Colonel Nicholas Herkimer. Johnson’s Indian allies found the perfect ambush spot near Oriskany, and on August 6, a combined Indian-Loyalist force defeated Herkimer, who was mortally wounded.

The Battle of Oriskany

But when news of another relief column, this time led by Benedict Arnold, reached them, Saint Lager’s forces retreated back to Canada, and Johnson went with him. In a fitting irony, the man who avoided taking over his father's role as Indian Superintendent ended up spending much of his time managing Indian affairs for the British, as many hundreds had fled their lands to escape the destruction caused by American settlers.

The failed siege of Fort Stanwix was
a foretaste of the failed British strategy to split the colonies

Guerilla Warrior

But Johnson also found time to conduct an on-and-off guerrilla campaign in central New York. Over the next three years, he gained notoriety in the Mohawk Valley for his raids involving Loyalist and Native forces. Johnson frequently teamed up with Loyalist Colonel John Butler and Loyalist Iroquois Chief Joseph Brant. This formidable group of crown supporters caused chaos.

Chief Joseph Brant was a key ally
of Johnson, and a tireless fighter for the
Iroquois and the Crown

Perhaps his greatest success was in 1780 when Johnson’s strike force raided and burned settlements at Schoharie, Caughnawaga, and Fort Hunter. He even managed to retake his homestead, Johnson Hall. Johnson’s guerrilla tactics caused significant economic hardship and lowered the morale of the American settlers in the area. However, overall, they failed to have a major impact on the war.

Johnson's Raid was his major operation, but in the
 end, the mix of Loyalists and Iroquois could not
hold central New York

Superintendent General

In 1782, Governor-General Frederick Haldimand appointed Johnson as brigadier general on the American establishment, and by a commission dated March 14, 1782, he named him Superintendent General and Inspector General of the Six Nations Indians and those in the Province of Quebec. In accepting this role, he succeeded his cousin Guy Johnson, who was removed due to financial irregularities. This was a challenging position. The war was ending poorly, not just for the Loyalists who were forced to Canada. Johnson had to explain to the disgruntled Iroquois that much of their land was being surrendered to the Americans.

Johnson would not receive the one
appointment he wanted in later life

 A Canadian Founder

After the war, Johnson returned to England like many Loyalists to file claims for compensation from the crown. When he came back to Canada, he became a leader in resettling Loyalists and Indigenous people at Cataraqui (now Kingston, ON). He did remarkable work for the refugees, to the point where he believed he would be appointed as the first governor-general of the new province of Upper Canada. However, when the position was awarded to the other Loyalist, John Graves Simcoe, Johnson was crushed.

Loyalist leader John Graves Simcoe would
receive the appointment Johnson hoped for

After spending several more years in England, Johnson moved to Quebec, where he was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada. He became a prominent figure among the United Empire Loyalists and a supporter of Indian rights.

A Last Tribute

Sir John Johnson died in Montreal on January 4, 1830. Johnson is regarded as one of Canada's founding fathers. He received a military funeral attended by a large crowd of friends, relatives, acquaintances, and admirers. Additionally, over 300 Native Americans attended, and Chief Joseph Brant delivered the eulogy. During the ceremony, Brant called him the Indians’ “friend and fellow warrior.” Sir John's body was then taken to Mount Johnson for burial.

Sir John was interred in a family vault
at Mount Johnson

Stone Arabia

The Place

The lead-in title might make you think of a Crusader-era battle cry or pot advocates targeting the Middle East. But it’s actually about a place—a location in central New York with fertile fields and lush forests, bordered by freshwater and settled by Germans. The name itself, spelled and pronounced in various ways, has long sparked curiosity, speculation, and myth—and may always do so. The terms Stone Arabia, Steen Rabi, or Steen Raby, in their Dutch spellings, are found in Dutch writings long before they appeared in America. 

Regardless of its origins, Stone Arabia, in the eastern Mohawk Valley, became a land of promise for different groups of settlers, especially Germans from the Palatinate and Swiss who arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries. Interestingly, the name was sometimes used to describe areas on the west side of the Hudson near Kingston, the site of today's North Troy, and finally the central Mohawk Valley. According to land records, just before the Revolution, Stone Arabia referred to a region later called the Palatine District, stretching from the Nose to the Falls and northward to Canada. However, on March 8, 1773, it lost this broader meaning, and from then on, the name was limited to the land patent in the Mohawk region.

The Valley

Sir William Johnson, His Majesty's agent to the Indians
of New York

The Mohawk Valley was controlled by Sir William Johnson, a well-known British representative to the Indians in central New York. From the early 1700s until the start of the American Revolution, the area experienced white settlement and frequent conflicts with the native Iroquois. British policy aimed to limit settlement by whites and to pacify the Indians. Johnson generally succeeded in carrying out this policy. However, tensions between the natives and settlers always simmered just below the surface and sometimes erupted into violence. Sir William's influence over both whites and Indians helped keep the peace, though he had to work hard to maintain order, restrain unruly settlers, and calm the natives when their pride or sense of justice was offended. 

To the Indians, as well as to Johnson and his British superiors, the white settlers appeared land hungry. Johnson sought to curb land settlement and maintain a balance with the natives. These tensions set the stage for violent conflicts when the American War for Independence broke out, making Stone Arabia the western edge of the fighting. By the time the Revolution started, Stone Arabia was well populated and its economy thriving. Churches, schools, stores, mills, blacksmith shops, lime kilns, taverns, and boatyards dotted the landscape along the Mohawk. Each farm boasted an orchard, often serving as the family’s burial ground. Crops such as wheat, flax, potatoes, corn, fruit, hemp, hay, peas, and oats were cultivated, with wheat being the primary crop. The wheat flour from the Valley was worth more in New York City than any other product. The first homes were built of logs; later ones were made of frame or stone. The area was a diverse melting pot of German, Dutch, English, and Indian influences—often called the Mohawk Dutch.

The Revolution Comes to the Valley

Many settlers of Stone Arabia became members of the Valley militia of New York. Before the war, they met regularly for training and were subject to call to arms during emergencies. The Stone Arabia company was part of the 2nd battalion of the Palatine militia. When the struggle for independence broke out, Stone Arabia's settlers were generally patriots. In fact, almost two years before the declaration of independence, the Stone Arabia farmers drafted their own declaration of American Principles on August 27, 1774, at the White Tavern, owned by Adam Loucks. These resolutions read in part as follows:

III [in part]. That We think it is our undeniable Privilege to be taxed only with our own Consent given by ourselves (or by our Representative). That Taxes otherwise laid and exacted are unjust and unconstitutional....
IV. That the Act for blocking up the Port of Boston is oppressive and arbitrary, injurious in its principles and particularly oppressive to the Inhabitants of Boston, who we consider as Brethren suffering in the Common Cause.
V (in part). ...that we will join and unite with our Brethren of the Rest of this Colony in anything tending to support and defend our Rights and Liberties.

A Major Zielly and Andrew Dillenback (who was later killed at Oriskany) were appointed to a committee to gather material for war. In keeping with the spirit of pre-war revolutionary fervor, the people of Stone Arabia stayed alert and informed. And for good reason: they would soon find themselves at a key location in the struggle's Northern Department. The fertile Mohawk Valley and the fields, especially in Stone Arabia, served as supply sources for the Continental Army throughout the long war. In 1780, Washington relied on the wheat and oats of Stone Arabia to feed his army and was determined to prevent them from falling into the hands of the British Loyalists in the area. This set the stage for a small but fierce conflict whose only goal was destruction.

The Fighting Frontier

Mohawk Valley settlers were defeated
 at the Battle of Oriskany in 1777

The region played a key role in the British campaign of 1777, with many Palatinate Dutch serving at Fort Stanwyck and fighting at Oriskany. Two forts, Keyser and Paris, were built on Stone Arabia soil. Fort Keyser, a stone house from the 1740s built by Johannes Keyser, was palisaded and garrisoned by militia troops under Lt. John Zeiley. Fort Paris, originally built in 1737 by Isaac Paris, was a fortified farmhouse and trading post. Inside the palisade, there was also a barracks for 100 men and a blockhouse. Despite—or because of—the forts, the Loyalists and Indian allies struck Stone Arabia twice. The first attack was the Ephratah-Dillenburgh raid in 1778. 

On April 20, 1778, while a small company of twenty militia was drilling, a band of Indians and Loyalists appeared and began destroying homes and barns. Most of the militia went to defend their homes, but a few pursued the attackers. In a skirmish, several militiamen, including a boy of four, were killed. The Loyalists withdrew, but stragglers from the band took a boy captive at Kringsbush and killed a young woman in sight of Fort Klock. These raids, along with others north of the Mohawk River, so frightened the inhabitants that most of those missed by the Indians and Tories moved into the Mohawk Valley to seek protection in the forts. As for the northern slope of the valley, the British effort to scare people away from their farms was a great success.

Fort Klock, Home of Colonel Jakob Klock
of the Palatine Regiment of the Tryon County Militia

Battle of Stone Arabia

Map of the Johnson Raid on Stone Arabia, 1780

Sir John Johnson

On October 19, 1780, Sir John Johnson, William's son and a controversial Loyalist leader, led an army of 900 Loyalists and British Regulars in an invasion of the Mohawk Valley. After following a winding route across southern New York State, they moved north through the Schoharie Valley, entering the Mohawk Valley at Fort Hunter, where the army turned west toward the Canajohary and Palatine Districts. The invaders camped on the evening of October 18 near the Noses, a geological feature that marks the great divide in the Appalachian Mountain chain. 

The next day, they crossed the Mohawk River at Keator’s Rift. They burned Jellis Fonda’s mill before proceeding to attack the settlement of Stone Arabia, located a mile and a half north of the Mohawk River in the Palatine District. Colonel John Brown of the Massachusetts Militia marched his 380 militiamen out of Fort Paris to meet the enemy on a field about a mile from the fort. Outnumbered nearly 3 to 1, he was shot from his horse, and his men fled the field. Brown, who had served at Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 and participated in the Quebec invasion, died on the battlefield. With its defenders defeated, Stone Arabia was completely destroyed by the enemy, including the twin Dutch Reformed and German Lutheran churches. Both churches were rebuilt after the war ended and still stand today.

Left in ashes by the raid, the Dutch Reformed Church
was rebuilt in 1788

The Legacy

The raid of 1780, with its widespread destruction, delivered a significant blow to the cause. It is worth noting that there was greater unity among the Palatine farmers in opposition to the British policy than in some other districts in the Valley. However, hardly a family was not split between loyalty to the crown and loyalty to the cause. 

Despite this, we find New York Governor George Clinton (later the 4th Vice President of the U.S.) giving a fitting testament to the spirit of the Stone Arabia settlers in 1781: "Most of Tryon and Schoharie have been destroyed. They are not however abandoned; the inhabitants having recovered themselves, continue to improve their farms and assist in the general defense."

NY Gov Clinton

Stone Arabia exemplified many of the hundreds of localized conflicts that made up a significant but often overlooked part of the American War for Independence. The political struggles and fierce fighting among British, Loyalists, Indians, and Patriots in and around Stone Arabia played a crucial role in early New York history and in shaping an independent America.