Timothy Murphy (1751–1818) was an Irish-American scout and elite marksman in Colonel Daniel Morgan’s Provisional Rifle Corps, a unit feared for its guerrilla tactics and deadly accuracy. His actions at the Second Battle of Saratoga and Middle Fort altered the course of the American Revolution.

Turning the Tide at Saratoga During the Second Battle of Saratoga in October 1777, British Brigadier General Simon Fraser was successfully rallying his troops and threatening to break American lines. General Benedict Arnold ordered Morgan to neutralize him. Climbing into a tree roughly 300 yards away with a double-barreled rifle, Murphy fired three shots, mortally wounding Fraser.

Fraser’s death destroyed British morale, forced General John Burgoyne to surrender days later, and secured essential French support for the American cause.

Defiance at Middle Fort In October 1780, Loyalist forces and allied Native Americans under Sir John Johnson and Joseph Brant attacked the Schoharie Valley, surrounding Middle Fort in present-day Middleburgh. When the fort’s commander attempted to surrender under a white flag, Murphy defied him. He fired warning shots at every British envoy approaching under the truce flag, forcing them back.

Murphy’s actions shamed the garrison into fighting. Without heavy artillery to breach the fort, the raiders eventually withdrew, saving the settlement.

After the war, Murphy farmed and raised his family in Schoharie County until his death. His monument in Middleburgh Cemetery stands as a tribute to the rifleman whose defiance helped shape an independent nation.