The Timothy Murphy Trail

Timothy Murphy was Schoharie County's Revolutionary hero, a sharpshooter who owned one of the first double-barreled rifles and was known to the Indians as the magic man whose gun would shoot without reloading. As a member of Morgan's Rifles, he fired the shot that killed British General Simon Fraser at the Battle of Saratoga on October 7, 1777, depriving the English of leadership during the crucial battle that became the turning point of the Revolution. In 1780, while stationed at the Middle Fort, he faced a Tory and Indian attack sweeping down the Schoharie Valley plundering and killing; although Major Woolsey was ready to surrender and Murphy was threatened with being shot for insubordination, he fired at the enemy and drove them off, saving the day and the valley and winning a place in the heart of every Schoharian.

Fulton, New York · United States