German Flatts, New York

German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,258 at the 2010 census. The town is in the south part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, across from the Village of Herkimer and southeast of Utica.HistoryHerkimerThis was one of the original areas of the Burnetsfield Patent in the province of New York, where in 1722–1723, Governor Burnet granted Palatine German immigrants leases to purchase land from the Mohawk, one of the powerful nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. It was the first land sold to Europeans west of Schenectady. During the 18th century warfare in the valley, the village was attacked by French and Iroquois forces during the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War), and many women and children were taken to Canada as captives.On September 17, 1778 Mohawk chief and Loyalist leader Joseph Brant lead a force of 150 Iroquois Indians and 300 Loyalists under the command of Captain William Caldwell in a surprise attack on the area of German Flatts, New York. German Flatts, now known as Herkimer, New York, was left virtually undefended by Patriot troops prior to the raid.