with Brant to further his public and private dealings with the Mohawk and other Iroquois nations. Brant's role as Johnson's domestic and political partner was well known. "Before the age of forty," writes Feister and Pulis, "she was already a legendary figure...." William Johnson died in July 1774. In his will he left a total of 25,000 acres of land, in addition to money and slaves to Brant and their children; He left Johnson Hall to John Johnson, his eldest son by his first common-law wife, Catherine Weisenberg, a Palatine German immigrant. Molly returned to Canajoharie with her children, personal belongings, and slaves. There she lived a comfortable life in a large house, and prospered as a fur trader. American Revolution Brant supported the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War. From her home in Canajoharie, she provided food and assistance to Loyalists who were fleeing from New York to Canada. Despite harassment from local Patriots, she remained at Canajoharie for the first two years of the war. A turning point came in 1777 when British forces invaded New York from Canada and laid siege to Patriots in Fort Stanwix. In August, when Brant learned that a large body of Patriot militia was on its way to relieve the fort, she sent Mohawk runners to alert the British commander of the danger. This information enabled a British, Mohawk, and Seneca force to ambush the Patriots and their Oneida allies in the Battle of Oriskany. The Iroquois were divided in their loyalties. The Oneida allied with the Patriots, while most bands of the other four nations allied with the British. After this battle, in which Iroquois warriors of these nations fought on both sides, the war in the Mohawk Valley became particularly brutal. The Oneida and rebel Americans retaliated against Brant by pillaging Canajoharie. Brant fled with her children to Onondaga, the central city of the Iroquois Confederacy. Her departure was so precipitate that she had to leave most of her belongings behind. At Onondaga, the leaders of the Iroquois nations held a council to discuss what course to take. Most of the nations and their leaders favored assisting the British, but after the Battle of Saratoga, it seemed unlikely that the British could win. Sayenqueraghta, a Seneca chief, urged the nations to withdraw from the war. Brant criticized Sayenqueraghta's advice, invoking the memory of Sir William to convince the council