After the Revolutionary War, Oriskany Battlefield changed dramatically as New York’s frontier pushed westward and the construction of new settlements, canals, railroads, and modern highways altered its character. Starting in 1795, the battlefield’s dense forest was gradually clear cut, creating open fields and pastures extending from this high ridge north to the banks of the Mohawk River. The historic military road alignment became obscured. Soon, the only features to remain untouched were the larger farm land forms left by ancient glaciers and a small grove of descendent hemlocks on the northeast edge of the bloody ravine. From 1861 to 1952, a second era of agricultural use and new land divisions further modified the battlefield’s appearance.