NICHOLAS HERKIMER

Nicholas Herkimer (1728-1777) was an American military officer during the Revolutionary War. Herkimer was born to German immigrants near German Flatts, a town in the Colony of New York. During the French and Indian War, he was a militia captain and helped defend German Flatts. In 1776, the Provincial Congress commissioned him as a brigadier general of the Tryon County militia. At the Battle of Oriskany in 1777, he led his militia to help relieve the siege of Fort Stanwix. He died from injuries he sustained during the battle, which was one of the bloodiest engagements of the Revolutionary War.