Indigenous Peoples and the American Revolution: The Sullivan Expedition of 1779
September 16, 2026
6:30 PM
–8:00 PM
Historic Rock Ford's Untold Stories of the American Revolution Lecture Series welcomes Mary Ann Levine as she presents “Indigenous Peoples and the American Revolution: The Sullivan Expedition of 1779."
In the late summer of 1779, under direct orders from George Washington, General John Sullivan led an army of several thousand men on a campaign against the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee. The goal of the campaign was to break the confederacy’s ability to support and supply British forces; the tactic deployed was to destroy food stores, burn villages, and drive the Haudenosaunee out of both Pennsylvania and New York. During the Sullivan expedition and its aftermath, an estimated 50%-60% of the Haudenosaunee died from direct military violence, disease, starvation, and exposure. In the early 20th century, dozens of memorials to the Sullivan campaign were erected over hundreds of miles of Sullivan’s march. This talk explores the Sullivan expedition, the memorialization of the campaign through commemorative markers in PA and NY, the Seneca village of Catharine’s Town, and the ways that Indigenous peoples are reframing the narrative around the campaign.
This presentation will begin at 6:30 PM in the Langmuir Education Room on the first floor of the Rock Ford Barn. It will be approximately 1.5 hours in length. Please note that admission is for the lecture and does not include the Snyder Gallery.
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