In August 1777, General Herkimer took a 40 mile route from August 3 to 6 in an effort to relieve Fort Stanwix. On August 6, at the Battle of Oriskany, Herkimer's men fought St. Leger and his Indians in a clash regarded as the turning point of the Revolution. The route is associated with the memory of the men who passed along it and fought with General Nicholas Herkimer on the battlefield of Oriskany.