It's early November. Captain Walter Butler leads a Loyalist army up the Susquehanna Valley. The army consists of about 250 of Butler's Rangers, 50 British soldiers, Chief Sayenqueraghta with about 300 of his Seneca warriors, and Joseph Brant with 20 or so Mohawk warriors. They're going to American-held Fort Alden, just west of Albany, New York.

An Oneida warrior has secretly warned the Americans, but there have been many similar warnings in the past months. All were false alarms. The American settlers ask the fort's commander, Colonel Alden, for protection. He tells them not to worry.

Col. Alden sends out a 10-man detachment to patrol the fort's approaches. The night before November 11, the patrol beds down by a large bonfire. Their leader, a Sergeant Hunter, is so sure the warning of attack is groundless he doesn't even bother to post sentries. Hunter awakes to find Butler and his army surrounding him.

A Seneca warrior shoots two men on the outskirts of the village by the fort. The surprise attack is foiled. One man is killed outright. The other, though badly wounded, runs back to the fort in time to raise the alarm. The American soldiers close the gates just before Butler and his men arrive. Meanwhile the Seneca break with the rest of the allied British-native force and go on a rampage, killing 16 American soldiers, including Colonel Alden. They also go on to kill about 30 citizens, mostly women and children. Joseph Brant, who knows most of these people, tries to stop the killing, but the Seneca warriors won't listen to him. All Brant can do is capture as many people as possible and protect them by claiming them as his personal prisoners.

Butler soon realizes he can't take over the fort. Instead, his men plunder the town and burn all the buildings except a few houses belonging to known British sympathizers. They leave the next day, taking 70 prisoners with them. Two days later, Butler releases most of the prisoners, taking only a few with him to Fort Niagara. He plans to exchange the prisoners for his own mother and his young siblings who are captives of the Americans.