The War Whoops of John Mony
A Historic Asterisk And Aeronaut
Did you ever read a little bit of history or come across a story that, frankly, is a bit of a bore, but then one line or a weird mention of something unexpectedly drops you down a deep rabbit hole?
May I present John Mony of the 9th Regiment, who just happened to be the quarter master of General Johnny Burgoyne during the Battle of Fort Anne on July 8, 1777. So, today is the 247th anniversary of that battle as well.
What’s the big deal, you ask, plenty of those small town skirmishes, lots of rebels running around, tons of colonial forts. You’d be correct.
But over there in Fort Anne, NY, on a little information plaque situated directly in front of a corn field, there’s the tiniest of mentions that the American troops - on the verge of surrounding and capturing Burgoyne’s small advancing forces - were scared off by war whoops that indicated British reinforcements. But they weren’t. They were just one guy, war whooping away hidden in the bushes.
That guy was our friend John Mony. Oh, and John Mony was also a Dragoon. And he was also an aeronaut who crashed his balloon in the North Sea, was carried away on the current and spent seven hours struggling to keep his balloon basket afloat until a boat could come out and rescue him!
See! Rabbit Hole!
Anyway, back to the important part. So, it turns out after the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, the Americans were in retreat and huddled up at Fort Anne just down the road. Burgoyne underestimated how many of them were left and sent a small British contingent down there to round them up.
The Americans regrouped at Fort Anne, however, surrounded the British and were about to capture them. That is until our man, John Mony, had an idea. From a nearby forest area, John started war whooping. His efforts convinced the Americans that Native American reinforcements were employed by the British and heading their way.
The Americans turned tail and ran all the way back to Fort Edward, even further south. And so ended the Battle of Fort Anne, thanks to an aeronaut faking Native American battle cries in the woods.
I’m always struck by little moments like that in historic events and it’s interesting to consider what sort of butterfly effect a moment like that might ultimately have had on, well, everything.
Maybe in a future post will talk about John’s balloon-related exploits!
Now, that's a man I'd want on my side!