The American Revolution was fought by men of unflinching resolve—none more so than frontiersman Timothy Murphy, whose legendary defiance during a pivotal 1780 battle has been detailed in historian Patrick K. O’Donnell’s new book Revolutionary Snipers.
A Wedding Interrupted
At just 24, Murphy was marrying his sweetheart Margaret Feeck in New York’s Schoharie Valley when news arrived: British forces under Sir John Johnson were advancing on nearby Fort Defiance (Middle Fort). Murphy—already famed for his marksmanship—and other riflemen abandoned the ceremony to mount a desperate defense.
Equipped with Pennsylvania Long Rifles accurate at 400 yards, Murphy’s band engaged in guerilla-style warfare against British regulars, Loyalists, and Native American allies. After a chaotic delaying action, they retreated inside the fort—their hunting shirts riddled with bullet holes.
The Defiant Stand
When British artillery failed to breach the fort, Major Johnson sent a surrender party under a white flag playing “Yankee Doodle.” Fort commander Major Melancthon Woolsey ordered them admitted—but Murphy fired a warning shot that sent the emissaries scrambling.
“When Woolsey threatened Murphy with a pistol,” writes O’Donnell, “the sniper coldly replied: ‘Sooner than see that flag enter this fort, will I send a bullet through your heart.'” After two more warning shots, the British abandoned negotiations.
The Rifles That Won a Revolution
The incident highlights how frontier riflemen like Murphy revolutionized warfare—replacing massed volleys with precision shooting from concealment. Their experience tracking game translated to lethal effectiveness against British officers. (Murphy had allegedly killed General Simon Fraser at Saratoga.)
Their defiance wasn’t just bravery: as O’Donnell notes, captured riflemen faced unimaginable torture at Native American hands. The alternative to holding Fort Defiance was unthinkable.
The standoff ended when the British withdrew—another victory for the “badasses” who, as O’Donnell argues, won independence through sheer willpower and superior marksmanship.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/11/10/exclusive-odonnell-american-badass-timothy-murphy-sooner-than-see-that-flag-enter-this-fort-will-i-send-a-bullet-through-your-heart/