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Skenandoah was born in 1706 as a Conestoga but became Oneida soon after through a “requickening” (absorption and reidentification) ritual. After an embarrassing episode in Albany in 1755, he abstained from alcohol for the rest of his life. According to one observer, he “possessed a vigorous mind, and was alike sagacious, active and persevering.” In 1775, he accompanied a Presbyterian missionary friend to the new army camp outside Boston, where they met Washington and the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Because of his allegiance to the Revolution, he was imprisoned by the British at Niagara in 1779-1780 and under a sort of house arrest until 1784. His engagement in the treaty negotiations with the British in this period was something for which some Oneida people never forgave him. He died in 1816, aged about 110.

Mary Hanonwayele, also known as Wale (possibly the Oneida pronunciation of “Mary”), was a member of the Oneida Bear Clan. Her brother, Thomas Sinavis, was one of the Oneida warriors at Valley Forge and was killed at the Battle of Barren Hill on May 20, 1778. Unfortunately, Revolutionary commissioners overlooked her in distributing condolence gifts. In 1794, she finally received a small sum for this purpose as part of larger treaty negotiations between the United States and native groups. She lived until at least 1800.

Cornelius Ojistalak, also known as Grasshopper, was Odatshehdeh, the first sachem (or leader) of the Oneida. As early as 1776, he was gathering intelligence regarding Haudenosaunee/Iroquois allegiances for Revolutionary leaders in New York. In March 1778, Cornelius Ojistalak addressed a council of Six Nations representatives at Johnstown, tacitly endorsing Oneida warriors who had sided with the Revolutionaries while also indicting Six Nations warriors who had forced the nations into conflict. In 1781, the French presented him with an embroidered uniform that he wore on future formal occasions, and he was likely part of the Oneida group that accompanied the armies to Yorktown. After the war, he helped petition the U.S. government on behalf of the Oneida and for personal compensation. He died in 1788.

Tegahsweangalolis ("The Sawmill"), also known as Paul Powless, was born in the 1750s as a member of the Bear Clan of the Oneida who lived at Kanonwalohale in upstate New York. On Aug. 2, 1777, he spotted members of Theyendanega’s (also known as Joseph Brant) party as it approached Fort Schuyler. This meeting, as recalled by his son in the 19th century, is recreated in the live-action portion of the film, with dialogue inspired by the incident but drawn from a 1778 speech by Grasshopper. He was known as a fast runner, and after conversing with Brant he escaped to warn the Oneida who were outside of the Fort. He died about 1847.

Painted by Xavier della Gatta, 1782

Richard Mansergh St. George remembered Paoli as a “nocturnal bloody scene” and helped create the detailed painting of the battle reproduced here. The painting merges different moments from the battle into one action-packed view. It provides a rare, eyewitness glimpse into the violence of the Revolutionary War.

Museum of the American Revolution

Painted by Xavier della Gatta, 1782

Richard Mansergh St. George worked with Italian artist Xavier della Gatta to create the painting of the Battle of Germantown reproduced here. The painting merges different actions into one scene, including the moment Richard Mansergh St. George was carried off the battlefield after he was wounded.

Museum of the American Revolution 

George Washington called the Hudson River the “Key of America.” With the Mohawk River to the West and Lake George and Lake Champlain to the North, the Hudson was part of a system of waterways that reached from the Great Lakes, to Canada, and down to New York City. During the Revolutionary War, Americans clustered their Hudson River fortifications around three narrows– West Point in the North, the Popolopen Creek in the middle, and King’s Ferry to the South. These posts were between 45 and 60 miles from New York City. In 1781, French troops and a portion of the Continental Army crossed the Hudson River at King’s Ferry on their way to Yorktown, Virginia, a crossing that is now recognized as part of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. By the summer of 1782, the American Army had secured its control of this region. Along the 15-mile stretch of the Hudson River, Washington maintained a force of over 11,000 soldiers. At the same time, 13,000 British troops occupied New York City. West Point was the Continental Army’s strongest fortification. Verplanck’s Point and Stony Point, on either side of King’s Ferry, were the front line against the British to the south.