In 1779, Generals John Sullivan and James Clinton, appointed by George Washington, led a punitive expedition against hostile tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy and sought to capture the British forts at Oswego and Niagara in order to protect defenseless frontier settlements and strengthen claims to the rich lands of western New York and Pennsylvania. Sullivan marched north from Pennsylvania, while Clinton started southwest from Canajoharie on the Mohawk River. On August 29, 1779, Sullivan encountered a force of Indians and Tories at Newtown, southeast of what is now Elmira, and defeated them in the campaign’s only pitched battle. Because expected reinforcements did not arrive, neither American column approached the British forts. By destroying Indian villages and crops, the campaign reduced the Iroquois’ ability to wage war and left them dependent upon the British for food and shelter.