Battle of Fort Stanwix
(Cornelius Doxtator, son of Honyere Doxtator, Point of View)
Cornelius rubbed tiredly at his eyes as he studied the letter sitting on his desk. It had arrived only a half-hour ago, just as he had been getting ready for bed, carried by a young Tuscarora man who had ridden all the way down the Susquehanna river, who was now passed out on his apartment's couch.
In the thin, flickering light of couple lit candles, Cornelius had trouble making out the lettering on the thing, not helped by the shaky hand that had lettered them. Still, he had had rather a lot of practice reading similar letters in the past month, and so he was eventually able to make out the words, with the help of his newly purchased glasses.
For the eyes of Cornelius Doxtator, under the authority of War-Chief Skenandoa.
Cornelius blinked, leaning back slightly. He had gotten rather a lot of letters in the past month, but this was the first from the Chief, who, despite being a quite accomplished man, was not well versed in his lettering. He had learned the Latin script rather late into his life, as opposed to Cornelius, who had learned it when still a child.
Suddenly, he felt rather a lot less tired, and rather a lot more worried. He had kept up a correspondence with his father back home, and last he knew they had been gathering for an attack on the Mohawk raiders that had been terrorising the Oneida people since the fall of Boston.
What if they had lost the battle, or worse, what if his father or mother had died in the fighting? That would explain why it was Skenandoa writing to him, rather than anyone else.
Cornelius bit his lip for a moment, before shaking his head and reaching for his letter opener. It was no time to become stuck in his head, He could worry once he actually knew what was going on, which wouldn't be until he read the letter in front of him.
Sucking in a sharp breath, he sliced open the letters seal and began to read.
Cornelius Doxtator, I am writing to let you know that we have won an important battle against the Mohawk forces.
The main bulk of the Mohawk forces were camped at the abandoned Fort Stanwix, regrouping after a few inconclusive skirmishes farther into Oneida territory. Yesterday, as of the time I am writing this, we fought and defeated that force with the aid of Tuscarora warriors who arrived to aid us in the fight against the Mohawk.
We captured a few of their leaders, including the overall leader of the raids into our territory, John Johnston, the nephew of the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Guy Johnston, who we believe to currently be outside of Haudenosaunee land.
Your father, who commanded a part of the attack, was wounded, but will likely make a full recovery, having taken a glancing shot to the wrist that prevents him writing to you.
Perhaps the more important news is that the Tuscarora and Cayuga have joined with us against the Mohawk, though the Cayuga are only against the Mohawk, in retaliation for the raids on our land, and not against the British, though at this point I see little distinction. Sadly, however, the Onondaga are against us at this point, and have been skirmishing against the Cayuga, though events as I hear them are still inconclusive.
The Seneca, as ever, remain devoted to their neutrality, though individuals among them have expressed support for us, in the face of Mohawk raids.
It is my hope that the information contained within will help you to convince Congress to send some aid, as the Mohawk and Onondoga still have forces able to face us.
War-Chief Skenandoa.
Cornelius rubbed again at his eyes as he finished reading the letter. Objectively, it was good news, and yet Cornelius could feel a tinge of worry pervading his thoughts.
They had won a battle, sure, seemingly an important one. Yet, it seemed the Confederacy was hurtling headfirst into a war between itself. The Mohawk alone, maybe, could have been fine. A single revolting Nation, while damaging to the Confederacy, would no doubt be survivable.
But any chances of unity in this conflict had just died, though in truth they had died after Boston, where the Sachems had met at Onondaga City and failed to come to a consensus on their position in the war, implicitly leaving the decision up to the individual Nations.
That meeting had been a shitshow, Cornelius remembered, having attended, though he lacked the ability to vote. There had been raised voices and the terrifying possibility of a public fight. The Mohawk had almost carried the thing for the British, before word of their raids into Oneida territory had rather suddenly thrown the rest of the Nations against them, though obviously not enough against them for the Onondaga. Cornelius had been sent to Philadelphia soon after.
Honestly though, Cornelius hadn't made much progress in his request of assistance from Congress. He had only been able to meet with them once, where he had asked for aid, and they hadn't said much of anything that was definite. There was some word about an expedition, but Cornelius had only barely heard anything about that, and as yet it hadn't seemed to have actually materialised, only mentioned in connection with a few, hesitant names, like Halbert.
He hadn't even been given proper housing for his time in Philadelphia, instead rooming in the upper floor apartment of a friend of Reverend Kirkland.
It was hard not to feel bitter, sometimes, stuck in his apartment desperately hoping for word from Congress, talking with the few representatives who would listen to him. Still, he understood it was an important job, and that his people needed him to do it.
Cornelius looked back at the letter, considering. It wasn't much, yes, but it was something. And a victory, if minor, was more to offer than he had had before. Maybe, if he took news of it to the right people, the men he had been talking with before, who were sympathetic to his cause, then…
Then maybe he could make something happen.
Ignoring the late hour and the tiredness of his limbs, Cornelius Doxtator got to writing his own letters.
(AN: So yeah, this is my attempt at the Oneida Omake Bounty, though I'm not sure if it counts, or is good enough to be accepted. Still, I tried.
The people mentioned are historical, though Cornelius is basically just a name, mentioned once that I could find, in passing. I have him as around thirty, if that helps solidify your view of him.
Now, the fighting among the Iroquois. The Mohawk and the Oneida were already established as fighting, but the rest of it hasn't yet been, so-
The Tuscarora were the easiest, as they joined the Americans in real life, so in an outcome more heavily weighted towards America than that, they would probably join the Oneida. The rest wasn't so easy. It was actually mostly decided by dice roll, as I couldn't find enough information on the factors that would affect the conflict. The DC's were pretty high, too, as Onondaga, the lowest, as they were the closest to the Americans and farthest front he british, had a DC 50, rolling a 17, putting them firmly in the British Camp. The Cayuga and Seneca had DC's of 70 both, and both rolled over, though the Seneca got a 73, so they are only leaning American and haven't joined the fighting. Cayuga rolled a 86, and so is fighting the Mohawk and Onondaga, though not the British, as they are merely retaliating for the raids on the Oneida, at least in their eyes.
Also, Fort Stanwix hadn't yet been reoccupied by the American's, at least as far as I could find, hence the battle there not involving Americans.
That's my reasoning. Sorry if it's bad.)
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You'll still get rewards even if you post them late, you just won't get the big ones. Also, try not to spam these omakes; I want quality omakes everyone can enjoy, not words rushed without effort in order to get bigger numbers.
