Bloody Mohawk

The French and Indian War & American Revolution on New York's Frontier

By: Richard Berleth

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

In this narrative history of the Mohawk River Valley and surrounding region from 1713 to 1794, Professor Richard Berleth charts the passage of the valley from a fast-growing agrarian region streaming with colonial traffic to a war-ravaged wasteland. The valley's diverse cultural mix of Iroquois Indians, Palatine Germans, Scots-Irish, Dutch, English, and Highland Scots played as much of a role as its unique geography in the cataclysmic events of the 1700s - the French and Indian Wars and the battles of the American Revolution.

Patriots eventually wrenched the valley from British interests and the Iroquois nations, but at fearsome cost. When the fighting was over, the valley lay in ruins and as much as two-thirds of its population lay dead or had been displaced. But by not holding this vital inland waterway - the gateway to the West, "the river between the mountains" - America might have lost the Revolution, as well as much or all of the then-poorly-defined province of New York.

©2009 Richard Berleth (P)2018 Tantor

excellent

View of an obscure and often overlooked area of American History. As a people we often pass towns throughout America wholly devoid of knowledge collectively as to the experiences and origins of our fellow forefathers. This book does an excellent job of remedying this problem.

Detail, Characters and History

An excellent and easy to follow chronicle of the epic four-sided conflict between and among Europeans and Indigenous peoples.

Writing and narrative flow well.

A very good Read…

Very thorough and researched. Objective as well. A very good read for those who are interested in history and specifically the history during the French and Indian war and revolution.

Incredible..

The 2 reasons I stay in NY State still is its rich revolutionary history like this and the beautiful geography such as the Mohawk River, the Adirondack Mountains, Saratoga, the Genesee River Valley and the southerntier.
THIS BOOK is incredible. One cannot fathom the incredible detail on the role NYS played in early American life. Bloody Mohawk explains in great detail the life settlers lived in the Valley and its relationship with the Mohawk Natives of the Iroquois confederacy. The River itself was one of the hardest fought for regions in all of NYS in my opinion for it played as a key route for the main interest, trade and settlement and war.
This book leaves no detail of the Mohawk Valley's key figures and events unturned. Here you will learn about people like Sir William Johnson, Chief Joseph Brant, General Montcalm, General Herkimer, Guy Johnson, and many many more! If you live in NYS or are a historian of the early Americas, READ THIS BOOK!!

It is very educational, honest and brutal.

It is very helpful in understanding how things went down historically, and why some Indians were willing to fight for the white men, as they called them. The vicious fights and things they did to each other, like make boots out of their fallen enemies. Not even children were safe.

Would pay for it

Even though it was included with membership, I definitely would have paid for this title.

Slow start, but WOW it picks up. Great history of Indian and colonists, especially during American War of Independence.

Slow start, but stick with it, well worth the time. A great history of the New York region packed with interesting characters and their stories, both heroes and villains.

Not what I expected

I was expecting the book to be more about the Mohawks. Most of the book was about the revolutionary war and the generals fighting it. It does mention the Native Americans contribution to the war effort but it was not the main focus.

A painfully vivid, profoundly insightful history

Wonderfully detailed, gut-wrenching trip back in time; the major players as well as forgotten heros and miscreants are engagingly brought to life. Told with great compassion for the place and all its people. Highly recommended for students of colonial history, Native American affairs, or anyone with a family connection to the Mohawk Valley--made my own Palatine ancestry much more meaningful to me. Readers will benefit if they come to the book with a fair grasp of the larger story of the two wars, and the time line of events, as the narrative structure focuses in on a series of key characters and is not strictly chronological.

Fabulous Mohawk!

This book puts you in the time and place of America’s foundation. You meet the people. Witness events. Experience the beauty and harsh brutality of a conflict of civilizations against the backdrop of a beautiful landscape