Valley, it was agreed that Brant would return to Onaquaga and prepare to raid settlements in New York. Battle Major Butler with 110 Butler's Rangers and 464 indigenous warriors departed Tioga Point on June 27, and arrived at the head of the Wyoming Valley three days later. Most of the indigenous warriors were Seneca and Cayuga led by Sayenqueraghta, Cornplanter, and Fish Carrier, but contingents of Munsee Delaware, Onondaga, and Tuscarora were also present. The Americans were alerted to their approach when 12 settlers working in a field and nearby tannery were attacked. The inhabitants fled to the forts scattered throughout the Wyoming Valley including Forty Fort, Fort Wyoming (Wilkes-Barre) and Fort Pittston. Meanwhile, the Patriot militia assembled at Forty Fort under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Zebulon Butler, an officer of the Continental Army home on leave. On July 1, Fort Wintermoot at the north end of the valley surrendered without a shot being fired. The next morning the smaller Fort Jenkins surrendered. The terms of the surrender for both forts promised that the inhabitants would not be harmed. Demands for Forty Fort to surrender were rebuked. Lieutenant Colonel Butler and his senior officers, Colonel Nathan Denison and Lieutenant Colonel George Dorrance, advocated remaining in the fort, however, their subordinates, led by Lazarus Stewart, were overwhelmingly in favour of marching out to meet the enemy. Butler gave in and by mid-afternoon on July 3, a force of roughly 360 men, organized into five companies of militia and one company of Continentals, sallied from the fort. Every movement by the Americans was observed by indigenous scouts. Major Butler ordered Fort Wintermoot burned in order to trick the Americans into thinking that he was withdrawing. Butler positioned his forces in a "fine open wood" with the Rangers on the left and his indigenous allies on the right. He ordered his men to lie on the ground and wait for the order to fire. The Americans deployed into a line of battle as they approached Fort Wintermoot. After firing three unanswered volleys they had advanced to within 100 yards of Major Butler's position, unaware that they had been flanked by the Seneca and Cayuga. Following a devastating volley from the Rangers and their indigenous allies, the Seneca and Cayuga broke cover and attacked the Americans with maul, tomahawk and spear. The battle lasted about 30 minutes. An attempt to reform the American