The Battle of Galudoghson took place in December 1742, at a site near present-day Glasgow, Virginia, when the Augusta County militia engaged in combat with Onondaga and Oneida Indians.

The altercation remained without any formal title until the 1995 posthumous publication of a collection of papers and analysis compiled by historian Lyman Draper, in which it was designated "the Battle of Galudoghson," using the Iroquois name for the James River.

[1] At a series of conferences in Pennsylvania during the 1730s, the Six Nations repeatedly stated that they did not feel they had been fairly compensated for traditional homelands appropriated by European settlers.

When a group of twenty-two Onondaga and seven Oneida Indians warriors entered Virginia in December 1742 and began harassing settlers and killing livestock, many people believed that this was a sign that an attack was imminent, however the local militia commander, Colonel James Patton, attempted to prevent bloodshed by sending a militia company, under the command of Captain John McDowell, to escort the warriors out of Augusta County.

The militia encountered the war party on 17 December near the homestead of John Peter Salling, and followed them at a distance for two days, until one of the Indians fell behind, then made a detour into the forest near Balcony Falls, possibly to relieve himself, at which point a militiaman fired at him.

He reported that the Indians immediately opened fire, and that Captain McDowell was shot three times: in the head, chest and abdomen, and that "eight men of each side were killed.

"[1]: 15  Samuel McDowell states that the militia opened fire first, but places the blame for the battle on the warriors' refusal to respect the property rights of Virginia settlers, by killing their livestock.

[10]: 643–646  The grandson, who was among the warriors who took part in the battle, stated that, after they had crossed the Potomac River, they found no deer and would have "starved to death if they had not killed a hog now and then."

When they reach the Shenandoah Valley, a group of white settlers, suspecting that this war party planned to raid Virginia settlements, surrounded them and tried to confiscate their guns.

Two days later, the warriors were confronted by ten settlers, armed with pitchforks, who accompanied them to a "big House" full of white people.

"[10] McKee, in his deposition, reports that the Indians admitted to having entered a settler's home uninvited, and engaged in a struggle with the owner, who let them go after being threatened with a knife.

Ten warriors accompanied the wounded back to Great Island, (present-day Lock Haven, Pennsylvania) arriving on 12 or 13 January.

"[9] Within days of the battle, Governor Gooch convened the Virginia Council, which ordered that powder and shot be sent to Patton and alerted the militia in Orange and Fairfax counties.

Thomas did not think the Indians had planned any aggression on Virginia settlers, saying that "Had they design'd hostilities, it is not probable they would have trust'd themselves in any of the white Inhabitants' houses, as some of them did upon their invitation.

[10]: 655 The battle was one of the motivating factors that led colonial authorities to negotiate with Native American leaders for the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster, one of several Six Nations land cessions during the 18th century.