Cornstalk, Chief of the Shawnee Indians
Cornstalk is believed to have been 1712 in Pennsylvania and died November 10, 1777). He was a Shawnee leader in the Ohio Country in the 1760s and 1770s. His known names were: Hokoleskwa, Colesquo, Keigh-tugh-qua, Wynepuechsika.
"As the British colonies expanded westward, both Virginia and Pennsylvania claimed the Ohio country and formed distinctive policies toward its Native American inhabitants. The French also maintained a presence in the area until the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763. There are undocumented reports that Cornstalk led raids into the Virginia frontier on behalf of the French during that war, and he was also said to have led several attacks on settlers in the Greenbrier region during Pontiac's Rebellion of 1763–1764. The earliest documented reference to Cornstalk is in the record of the peace conference in November 1764 at which Henry Bouquet, a British colonel, held him and five other hostages at Fort Pitt to ensure the Indians' cooperation. Cornstalk soon escaped and remained a powerful advocate of peaceful relations between Indians and whites." (Dictionary of Virginia Biography)
The French built Fort Dequesne at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers which forms the Ohio River in 1757. It was a site for trade and settlers in the Ohio country. The battles with the Shawnee and other Indian tribes continued through 1761 and beyond 1772.
During the early part of 1758 sixty persons were murdered by Indians in the far west (Augusta County, Virginia). The inhabitants of the surrounding county had taken shelter from the Indians. No Indians having yet appeared, a youth named John Dyer and his sister went outside one day only to be astonished by a full view of forty or fifty Shawnees going towards the fort. As the children rushed to give the alarm, they were captured.
Captain Seybert determined that they could not escape without a vigorous fight, so decided to surrender, despite the objection of some of the people. The gate to the fort was thrown open and money and other articles were given over to the Indians. Afterwards, the Indians arranged the people in two rows and tomahawked most of them while others were carried off as slaves. Young Dyer was the only captive whoever returned!
Dyer was taken to the Indian villages of Logstown, then to Muskingum, and later to Chillicothe where he remained a prisoner for nearly two years. When the Indians left for Fort Pitt, he hid and was able to return home.
1772. October The Shawnees Battle at the Head of the Ohio River. Despite the end of the French and Indian Wars and local mountain wars with various Indian tribes, the threat of marauding Indians persisted in the far West. By 1772, the white population had progressively increased across the frontier. Hence, the Colonial Governor of Virginia, Lord Dunsmore, (1772) called up the militia companies of all of Virginia.
The Virginia companies were late arriving, and the two volunteer militia companies of Botetourt County left the area in boats, paddling up the Mississippi River to the head of the Ohio falls. It was there that Chief Cornstalk was assembled ready for battle, arrayed in his feather-crown, anxiously awaited. No sooner than the militia had alit the boats; than the Indian chief wasted no time in launching his attack. The bloody battle lasted all day long, with heavy casualties on both sides. Afterwards, in order to retreat with his casualties and regroup later, the Shawnee chief did what other chiefs did in a lost battle, and signed a Peace Treaty.
In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, problems with Indian attacks from the Shawnee and Cherokees continued as Indian tribes were bribed to fight for the British. The Virginia militia was again called upon. An examination of county records in Chesterfield, Fincastle and Montgomery Counties, Virginia reveal that throughout the Revolution, it was the frontiersmen who provided cattle, grain, lead, horses and other materials necessary to keep the American troops in the field. Hence, they were frequently called upon to provide meals for the men and fodder for their horses.
Every year the British would send beads, earrings, finger-rings, knives, guns, shot, powder, cloth and other presents to the Indian tribes. The red men were very proud to have such items and they thought highly of the English people.
William Christian qualified as a captain of the Militia during the French and Indian War, serving from 1759 to its end. In 1764 he commanded the expeditions on the James and New Rivers. So it was that when word came in August of 1776 that Indians had attacked settlements on the Holston and Watauga Rivers, Christian and other officers were ordered back to the frontier. Christian led his forces into Cherokee towns, destroying homes, grain and cattle. This left the Indians begging for a treaty.
Hugh Simpson served under Captain James Thompson during the fall of the year 1777; they were ordered on an expedition to guard a garrison near the mouth of New River, where there was an ongoing battle with the Shawnee Indians. In 1778, Simpson served three months under Colonel William Campbell on the New River, to fight the Tories. Some Indians were taken prisoners, while others were killed. They hung one Indian. Later, Simpson served under Colonel Campbell on two other expeditions. Source: Revolutionary War Pension S31363.
William Tracy volunteered in n August 1777 in this County for twelve months under Capt. Charles Watkins; marched to old Boonesboro in Kentucky for the purpose of protecting the fort and frontier settlers against the Indians and British. He served under Lieutenant William Milam part of the time when Daniel Boone was absent. In February of 1778, he was at Big Blue Licks in Kentucky (Nicholas County) with twenty prisoners taken by the Shawnee Indians. Daniel Boone was taken prisoner one day while the soldiers were at the licks making salt for the garrison at the fort. Tracy was kept as a prisoner of war by the Indians for over five years. He was first carried to Chillicothe Town (in Ohio), then high up the river, then to Piqua Towns and many other high places on Big Miami (Great Miami River); then to Detroit. Before the end of the war, he was sold to the British on Lake Erie. Other prisoners were John Hargis, Thomas James, Adam Ore, and John Sevier, who had been taken at different times and were discharged along with Tracey. Source: Revolutionary War Pension S7751.
The Fate of Cornstalk, Shawnee Chief
In 1777 a fort was established at Point Pleasant (West Virginia) which was garrisoned by a small force of men. Some unfriendly Indians were in the area.
Colonel Skillern of Botetourt who commanded several companies raised in Augusta and Botetourt counties; arrived at Point Pleasant with a company of men from Greenbrier. Captains Stuart and Arbuckle of Greenbrier were also present. Then something peculiar occurred. Chief Cornstalk, accompanied by Chief Redhawk came to the fort pretending to warn the soldiers that the Shawnee intended to join with the British troops against the Virginians. Although the Indian tribes did soon join with the British, nevertheless, the chiefs were detained as hostages. It was not long afterward when Elinipsico, the son of Cornstalk, arrived to inquire about his father. Conditions remained unstable, as only recently had two young men, Gilmore and Hamilton from Kerr's Creek belonging to a company commanded by Captain James Hall, go to the Kanawha to hunt. Upon their return, as they approached the river, some Indians hiding in the weeds fired upon them. Gilmore was killed and scalped, but Hamilton was rescued by some of his comrades. As the bloody body of Gilmore was taken across the river, a cry arose to kill the Indians in the fort. Thus, Hall's men, with the captain at their head, rushed in and killed the two chiefs, Cornstalk and Red Hawk.
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Sources:
The Annals of Augusta County Virginia 1726-1871 by Joseph A. Waddel, Preston Register, p. 154-158; Campbell's History of Virginia, page 500; Travels through the States of North America by Isaac Weld (1799); Early Adventurers on the Western Waters, Volume 1, by F. B. Kegley, pp 338.
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