Year of the Hangman

the long version

Confident that the American rebellion would be crushed in 1777, Britain devised a bold new strategy. Turning its attention to the frontiers, especially those of western New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, Britain enlisted its provincial rangers, Tories, and allied warriors from the Iroquois Confederacy, to wage a brutal backwoods war. Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga went shock waves through the British command, but the efforts along the frontier appeared to be impairing the American ability to conduct the war. Following massacres at the colonial settlements of Wyoming, Pa., and Cherry Valley, N.Y., the Continental Congress persuaded General Washington to conduct a decisive offensive to end the threat. Brewing for years, the conflict between the Iroquois and colonists would now reach its deadly climax. The campaign ended the political and military influence of the Iroquois and sealed Britain's fateful decision to seek victory in the south.--From publisher description.