Battle of Kingsbridge
Hudson Valley
August 31, 1778
British victory
Continental Army Captain Daniel Nimham was the last leader, or sachem, of the Wappinger tribe native to New York’s Hudson Valley. On August 31, 1778, while on a scouting expedition, Nimham, his son, Abraham, and the Stockbridge Company were ambushed by two of the British Army’s most notorious units, the Queen’s Rangers and Tarleton’s Dragoons. It is estimated that the Stockbridge Company lost as many as 40 men, including Sachem Nimham and Abraham.
“Ambuscade of the Indians at Kingsbridge, August 31st 1778,” from Lieutenant Colonel J.G. Simcoe’s journal, c. 1844. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The Chief Nimham Memorial in New York City’s Van Cortlandt Park.
Courtesy of New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.
The Wappinger Sachem Daniel Nimham sculpture by Michael Keropian in the Town of Fishkill. Courtesy of Michael Keropian.