The American Revolution pitted neighbor against neighbor and Indian tribe against Indian tribe.  Some tribes allied with the American cause while others sided with the British for one reason or another.  Even tribes that supported the American cause were in danger of destruction.  The Oneida was one such tribe.  Even General Washington was willing to destroy those who supported him because when he saw an Indian face, he assumed he was an enemy. 

From the very founding of Newgate, there was an agreement with a neighboring Oneida village that the people would always be protected.  On January 4, 1779, the chief of the village led his people to the town of Newgate to seek refuge from a maniacal colonel who believed all Indians were savages that had to be destroyed. 

When Colonel Simon Morgan was a child living in the Mohawk Valley, it was during the French and Indian War.  His father was away fighting in Canada when Mohawks attacked their farm.  He was playing hide-and-seek when the attack took place and hiding in a tree he had climbed which overlooked his cabin.  When he saw the braves sneaking up to the door, he remained as still as possible about 15 feet above the ground, hidden by the leaves of the tree. 

The savages broken in the door with their axes, grabbed his mother, sister, and other brother, and dragged them outside.  They were scalped as they cried and pleaded with the warriors for mercy which they didn’t receive.  Their skulls were smashed and as they lay dead on the ground, the cabin was looted.  After they removed everything they wanted, they burned the cabin to the ground. 

Young Simon watched the savages take the chickens and livestock and sacks of grain from the barn before they torched it too.  He didn’t cry.  He became angry.  He knew that he couldn’t take on the killers at the time.  But he made a vow that whenever he had the ability, he would punish Indians for what they did to his family.  Then when he learned that Indians had killed his father in an attack, the news stiffened his resolve. 

Simon moved to Albany to live with his uncle and aunt on their farm.  They too resented Indians because of what they had done to Simon’s family.  When he was old enough to join the rebellion against the British which he blamed in part for not protecting his family he enlisted in the Continental Army.  By 1778, due to his bravery and leadership qualities, he was promoted to colonel.