With Fort Stanwix facing peril as the British advanced upon it during the American Revolution, Gen. Nicholas Herkimer – the namesake of Herkimer County – led a contingent of 800 American troops to lend support. But they were ambushed in a small valley by Redcoats and Indian loyalists. More than half died in this marsh, making this one of the bloodiest battles of the war. (Herkimer suffered a mortal wound to his leg in the initial volley of shots, dying 10 days later, though he still directed his troops while sitting beneath a tree on the battlefield.) While Herkimer’s troops never made it to Stanwix, they also wound up keeping the battlefield when the Indians retreated and the British were left to follow.