Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was founded in 1741 by a group of Reformation-era Protestants from central Europe known as the Moravians. The Moravians were avid writers & faithful keepers of diaries; each member of a Moravian congregation was also charged with writing a kind of memoir called a lebenslauf, which translates into English as “course of life.”
1700s Diary Tells Of Capture By Indians Moravian Woman Escaped, Lived In Northampton County
September 10, 1986 by Jennifer Ritenour,
The Morning Call, Allentown, PA
"Some lucky people returned from Indian captivity, & Mariana Hoeth was one of them," the Rev. Vernon Nelson, archivist, told 50 people Sunday at the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem.
The life of Hoeth, who became a Moravian in 1760, five years after being captured by American Indians, was the subject of the first Moravian Archives lecture of the season.
Using Hoeth's memoir, which she dictated to a fellow Moravian shortly after her return to civilization, Nelson related the details of Hoeth's life & experiences, citing historical reasons that it is accurate.
According to Hoeth's memoir, her family moved from Germany to Philadelphia in 1748. Her father, Friedrich, being what she termed a "legalistic" man who feared the worldly city, moved his family to a farm beyond the Blue Mountains near the present-day town of Gilbert.
The family lived there peacefully for several years, until November 1755, when they began to hear rumors of an Indian war & the massacre at Moravian mission at Gnaden Huetten (now Lehighton).
The 18-year-old Hoeth tried to persuade her father to move the family to a more populous location, but he refused, confident that the Indians wouldn't attack. But despite her father's confidence, the young Hoeth was fearful: "I did not think about being taken captive," she wrote, "but I feared death."
Both came on Dec. 10, 1755. "They came shooting," Hoeth wrote, adding that her father went out to see what the commotion was & was immediately gunned down. Her mother & youngest sister also were killed on the spot. She & two remaining sisters were taken captive.
"I cannot describe how I felt - first to lose my dear parents in such a way & to be taken by the wild Indians," the young girl wrote.
The girls were forced to walk to Tioga, near the northern border of the state. On the walk, Hoeth met Susanna Nitschmann, a missionary at the Gnaden Huetten Moravian mission & a survivor of the Gnaden Huetten massacre who had been cruelly tortured by her Indian captor.
When they reached Tioga, the Indian killed Nitschmann & took Hoeth as his prisoner. But his cruelty earned Hoeth the sympathy of the other Indians. "They gave me to an old mother as her child," Hoeth wrote. "Then I had it good - in Indian fashion."
Several months later she was told to marry an Indian, but refused. "I hid in the woods for eight days," she wrote, but she was found & carried off to be burned at the stake. Her adopted brother lighted the fire at her feet, & she quickly decided to marry.
"He was a good person," she wrote of her Indian husband. "He loved me very much. He wished I were at home with the white people." But he had done nothing to return her to her kind, so while her husband was away, Hoeth, who stayed with her adopted mother near Pittsburgh, plotted to escape with her young son. She spent much time planning & soon boarded a wagon & escaped back to civilization - to the Moravian settlement at Lancaster, where she was given medical treatment, & later to the Moravians of Northampton County, where she spent the remainder of her life.
One of Hoeth's sisters later married a Frenchman & the other was never heard of.
But is Mariana Hoeth's tale true?
According to Nelson, it is. "Her facts hold up," the archivist said, noting that the Lancaster congregation's diary mentions her arrival with her 1 1/2 -year-old son on Sept. 12, 1759, & that her arrival in Bethlehem several weeks later was noted in the Bethlehem congregation's diary.
"Mariana's account was read at her funeral," Nelson added. "Moravians were very well acquainted with Indians & would not have read something they did not believe was true."
Furthermore, Nelson noted, Hoeth's account of meeting Nitschmann is accurate. "Mariana was perhaps the first white woman to know that Susanna Nitschmann was still alive after the massacre," he said, noting that the Moravians assumed she had been killed. Hoeth's account of Nitschmann's survival was confirmed in July 1756 by a group of Christian Indians passing through Bethlehem.
In addition, Nelson said, the matter of adoption has been well documented. And even though her adopted brother was the one to light the match under Hoeth's feet, Nelson said, it was not an act of cruelty, but an act to avoid bloodshed. If another were to have lit the fire, Nelson said, the brother would have had to defend Hoeth & kill yet another according to Indian law.
"Mariana did not know the cultural background of the things that happened to her," Nelson said. "Mariana had the experience of living with the Indians in their natural state." Because of this, Nelson said, her experience is valuable. "Even the dates check up."
The Hoeth farm in the Blue Mountains was purchased by Moravians to be turned into a mission in 1760. It seemed to make a statement, Nelson said, that "even at this place of death there should be life," & proved true the adage "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church."
Charles Grignion I (English engraver, 1717–1810) after Benjamin West (American, 1738-1820) Indians giving a talk to Colonel Bouquet in a conference at a council fire, near his camp on the banks of Muskingum Oct. 1764
Pontiac's Rebellion & early Biological Warfare
Pontiac's Rebellion was a war launched in 1763 by North American Indians who were dissatisfied with British policies in the Great Lakes region after the British victory in the French & Indian War/Seven Years' War (1754–1763). The conflict is named after its most famous participant, the Ottawa leader Pontiac. Warriors from numerous tribes joined the uprising in an effort to drive British soldiers & settlers out of the region.
Contributing to the outbreak of war was a religious awakening sweeping through Indian settlements in the early 1760s. The movement was fed by discontent with the British as well as food shortages & epidemic disease. Neolin, known as the "Delaware Prophet," who called upon Indians to shun the trade goods, alcohol, & weapons of the whites. Merging elements from Christianity into traditional religious beliefs, Neolin told listeners that the Master of Life was displeased with the Indians for taking up the bad habits of the white men, & that the British posed a threat to their very existence. "If you suffer the English among you," said Neolin, "you are dead men. Sickness, smallpox, & their poison [alcohol] will destroy you entirely."
The war began in May 1763 when American Indians, alarmed by policies imposed by British General Jeffrey Amherst, attacked a number of British forts & settlements. Eight forts were destroyed, & hundreds of colonists were killed or captured, with many more fleeing the region. Hostilities came to an end after British Army expeditions in 1764 led to peace negotiations over the next 2 years. The Indians were unable to drive away the British but did prompt the British government to modify the policies tward the Native Americans.
Colonists in western Pennsylvania fled to the safety of Fort Pitt after the outbreak of the war. Nearly 550 people crowded inside, including more than 200 women & children. Simeon Ecuyer, the Swiss-born British officer in command, wrote that "We are so crowded in the fort that I fear disease…; the smallpox is among us." Fort Pitt was attacked on June 22, 1763, primarily by Delawares.
For Amherst, who before the war had dismissed the possibility that the Indians would offer any effective resistance to British rule, the military situation over the summer became increasingly grim. He wrote his subordinates, instructing them that captured enemy Indians should "immediately be put to death." To Colonel Henry Bouquet at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who was preparing to lead an expedition to relieve Fort Pitt, Amherst made the following proposal on about June 29, 1763: "Could it not be contrived to send the small pox among the disaffected tribes of Indians? We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our power to reduce them."
Bouquet agreed, replying to Amherst on July 13: "I will try to inoculate the bastards with some blankets that may fall into their hands, & take care not to get the disease myself." Amherst responded favorably on July 16: "You will do well to inoculate the Indians by means of blankets, as well as every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race."
As it turned out, officers at the besieged Fort Pitt had already attempted to do what Amherst & Bouquet were still discussing, apparently without having been ordered to do so by Amherst or Bouquet. During a parley at Fort Pitt on June 24, 1763, Ecuyer gave representatives of the besieging Delawares two blankets & a handkerchief that had been exposed to smallpox, hoping to spread the disease to the Indians in order to end the siege. This was not the first time that a crude form of biological warfare had been attempted in the region: in 1761, American Indians had attempted to poison the well at Fort Ligonier using an animal carcass.
It is uncertain whether the British successfully infected the Indians. Because many American Indians died from smallpox during Pontiac's Rebellion, some historians concluded that the attempt was successful, but many scholars now doubt that conclusion. One reason is that the outbreak of smallpox among the Ohio Indians apparently preceded the blanket incident. Furthermore, the Indians outside Fort Pitt kept up the siege for more than a month after receiving the blankets, apparently unaffected by any outbreak of disease. The 2 Delaware chiefs who handled the blankets were in good health a month later as well. Because the disease was already in the area, it may have reached Indian villages through a number of vectors. Eyewitnesses reported that native warriors contracted the disease after attacking infected white settlements, & they may have spread the disease upon their return home.
The ruthlessness of the conflict was a reflection of a growing racial divide between British colonists & American Indians. The British government sought to prevent further racial violence by issuing the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which created a boundary between colonists & Indians.
Artist Benjamin West
Benjamin West (1738-1820) was the 10th child of a rural innkeeper in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in October, 1738, & died exaulted in London, in March, 1820. Before his ascension to historical allegory painter for English royalty, he began learning his craft as a humble portraitist in Philadelphia. West told John Galt, his biographer, that when he was a child, Native Americans showed him how to make paint by mixing some clay from the river bank with bear grease in a pot.
During his years painting in the British American colonies, his portraits exhibit a modest attempt to emulate the baroque & rococo styles, which he probably observed in Philadelphia. His modest American portrait compositions also exhibit some knowledge of English mezzotint portraits reflecting the works of Peter Lely (1618–160) & Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723). West told a friend that a "Mr. Hide (Haidt), a German," gave him instruction. Johann Valentine Haidt (1700-1780), a Moravian evangelist & trained artist, painted not just portraits, but also history & religious paintings. Apparently, Benjamin West became determined to paint inspiring historical & religious compositions as well.
He later wrote, "Most undoubtedly had not (I) been settled in Philadelphia I should not have embraced painting as a profession." However, his early move away from Philadelphia to England was necessary for him to work in a country where artists were commissioned to paint inspiring depictions of history's real & imagined indispensable men & women who made extreme sacrifices & performed noble deeds. In the American colonies, the gentry paid for portraits, not inspiration.
Benjamin West became a painter of historical scenes, sometimes including Native Americans, around & after the time of the American War of Independence & the Seven Years' War. During his 22 years in America, he was a fairly typical provincial artist; but his choice to leave the colonies in 1760, for Europe & England led to his appointment as the official painter at the court of King George III & to his becoming co-founder of the Royal Academy in London, where 3 generations of fellow American students would return home from his tutelage to impact the art of the emerging republic.
From Europe to the Atlantic coast of America & on to the Pacific coast during the 17C-19C, settlers moved West encountering a variety of Indigenous Peoples who had lived on the land for centuries.
By the 1760s, Native American Cherokees were well known in Britain. Here Three Cherokees visit London in 1762
Nancy Ward (c 1738-1822), Cherokee leader, was probably born at Chota, a Cherokee village on the Little Tennessee River near Fort Loudoun in Monroe County, Tennessee. Her father is said to have been a Delaware Indian who, following the custom in the matriarchal Cherokee society, had become a member of the Wolf clan, when he married Tame Doe, the sister of Atta-kulla-kulla (Little Carpenter), civil chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Nancy (an anglicized version of her Indian name, Nanye’hi), was married at an early age to Kingfisher of the Deer clan, by whom she had a son, Fivekiller, & a daughter, Catharine.
She first won notice in 1755, when her husband was killed during the battle of Taliwa (near present-day Canton, Ga.), a skirmish in the long rivalry between the Cherokees & the Creeks. At once taking his place in the battle line, she helped secure a decisive Cherokee victory. In recognition of her valor, she was chosen Agi-ga-u-e, or “Beloved Woman” of her tribe. In this capacity, she headed the influential Women’s Council, made up of a representative from each Cherokee clan, & sat as a member of the Council of Chiefs.
Her 2nd husband was Bryant (or Brian) Ward. Ward, an English trader who had fought in the French and Indian War, took up residence with the Cherokees & married Nancy in the late 1750s. Ward had a wife, but since Cherokees did not consider marriage a life-long institution, the arrangement apparently presented few problems. Ward & her English husband lived in Chota for a time & became the parents of a daughter, Elizabeth (Betsy).
Ward left the Cherokee Nation sometime prior to 1760, when the suddenly hostile Cherokees destroyed Fort Loudoun & massacred its British garrison. Ward moved back to South Carolina, where he lived the remainder of his life with his white wife & family. Nancy Ward and Betsy visited his home on many occasions, where they were welcomed and treated with respect.
Influenced perhaps by these associations, as well as by her uncle, Atta-kulla-kulla, usually a friend of the English, Nancy Ward seems to have maintained a steady friendship for the white settlers who were gradually establishing themselves along the Holston & Watauga river valleys of eastern Tennessee.
This friendship had important results during the American Revolution. In 1775 or 1776, Nancy Ward is credited with having sent a secret warning to John Sevier, a leader of the Tennessee settlers, of a planned pro-British Cherokee attack. When one settler, Mrs. William Bean, was captured by Cherokee warriors, Nancy Ward personally intervened to save her from death at the stake. Such was Nancy Ward’s repute among the settlers that in October 1776, when the Cherokee villages were devastated by colonial troops, Chota was spared.
Four years later, when another Cherokee uprising was imminent, she again sent a timely warning to the settlers, using an intermediary Isaac Thomas, a local trader. A countering raid was at once organized; as the expedition approached the Cherokee territory-according to the report later sent to Thomas Jefferson, governor of Virginia, noted, “the famous Indian Woman Nancy Ward came to Camp,…gave us various intelligence, & made an overture in behalf of some of the Cheifs [sic] for Peace”
Despite her efforts the Cherokee villages were pillaged, but again Nancy Ward & her family were given preferential treatment. At the subsequent peace negotiations conducted by John Sevier, Nancy Ward spoke for the new defeated Cherokees, again urging friendship rather than war. In 1785, at the talks preceding the Treaty of Hopewell, she again pleaded eloquently for a “chain of friendship” linking the 2 cultures.
Nancy Ward was described by one settler in 1772, as “queenly & commanding” & her residence as outfitted in “barbaric splendor” (Hale & Merritt, I, 59). While sheltering Mrs. Bean after her rescue in 1776, she had learned from her how to make butter & cheese, & soon afterward she introduced dairying among the Cherokees, herself buying the first cattle. In postwar years, she sought further to strengthen the economy of her people by cattle raising & more intensive farming.
Ward exerted considerable influence over the affairs of both the Cherokees & the white settlers & participated actively in treaty negotiations. In July 1781, she spoke powerfully at the negotiations held on the Long Island of the Holston River following settler attacks on Cherokee towns. Leader Oconastota designated Kaiyah-tahee (Old Tassel) to represent the Council of Chiefs in the meeting with John Sevier & the other treaty commissioners. After Old Tassel finished his persuasive talk, Ward called for a lasting peace on behalf of both white and Indian women. This unparalleled act of permitting a woman to speak in the negotiating council took the commissioners aback.
In their response, Colonel William Christian acknowledged the emotional effect her plea had on the men & praised her humanity, promising to respect the peace if the Cherokees likewise remained peaceful. Ward's speech may have influenced the negotiators in a more fundamental way, because the resulting treaty was one of the few where settlers made no demand for Cherokee land. Before the meeting, the commissioners had intended to seek all land north of the Little Tennessee River. Nevertheless, the earlier destruction of Cherokee towns & the tribe's winter food supply left many Indians facing hunger. As a result of the desperate circumstances, Ward & the very old Oconastota spent that winter in the home of Joseph Martin, Indian Agent to the Cherokees & husband of Ward's daughter Betsy.
Again, at the Treaty of Hopewell in 1785, Ward made a dramatic plea for continued peace. At the close of the ceremonies, she invited the commissioners to smoke her pipe of peace & friendship. Wistfully hoping to bear more children to people the Cherokee nation, Ward looked to the protection of Congress to prevent future disturbances and expressed the hope that the "chain of friendship will never more be broken." Although the commissioners promised that all settlers would leave Cherokee lands within six months and even gave the Indians the right to punish recalcitrant homesteaders, whites ignored the treaty, forcing the Cherokees to make addional land cessions.
Though too ill to be present, she sent a vigorous message to the Cherokee Council of May 1817, urging the tribe not to part with any more of its land. But other forces were stronger than her aged voice. At this time, the Cherokee moved from a matriarchal, clan-type of government to a republic much like our own. The new republican order supplanted the old hierarchy among the Cherokees, & by the Hiwassee Purchase on 1819, they gave up all the land north of the Hiwassee River.
Thus forced to leave Chota, Nancy Ward opened a small inn overlooking the Ocoee River in the southeastern corner of Tennessee, near the present town of Benton. She died there in 1822, & was buried on a nearby hill, in a grave later marked by a Tennessee D.A.R. chapter bearing her name. Her grave is beside the graves of her son Five Killer and her brother Long Fellow (The Raven). Thirteen years after her death the Cherokees surrendered all claim to their historic homeland & were transported to new territories in the Southwest.
Nancy Ward's Grave, once unmarked, near Benton, Tennessee
This posting based, in part, on information from Notable American Women edited by Edward T James, Janet Wilson James, Paul S Boyer, The Belknap Press of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1971
From Europe to the Atlantic coast of America & on to the Pacific coast during the 17C-19C, settlers moved West encountering a variety of Indigenous Peoples who had lived on the land for centuries.
Benjamin West (American artist, 1738-1820) The Treaty of Penn with the Indians. In 1771, Thomas Penn wanted a painting of his father meeting with the Native Americans. He commissioned Pennsylvania-born artist Benjamin West to capture the dramatic encounter on canvas.
William Penn & the Lenape Indians
William Penn (1644-1718) was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, early Quaker & founder of the English North American colony called the Province of Pennsylvania. He was an early advocate of democracy & religious freedom, especially noted for his good relations & successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans. Reportedly William Penn addressed the Native Americans, uttering the following which will be admired throughout the ages: “We meet on the broad pathway of good faith and good-will; no advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. We are the same as if one man’s body was to be divided into two parts; we are of one flesh and one blood.”
The reply of Tamanend, is equally noble: “We will live in love with William Penn and his children as long as the creeks and rivers run, and while the sun, moon, and stars endure.”
Since there in no written record of William Penn's Peace Treaty, some believe that it never took place. However, tradition reflects that since no land was being transferred, there was no reason to record a treaty. Most conservators of Penn’s Treaty with the Indians think that the event was more of a diplomatic mission, an “entente” of sorts, where Penn and the Indians met with mutual and complementary efforts on both sides, establishing a sense of compatible objectives, to come to foundation for a trusting relationship.
In August of 1683, about 10 months after Penn’s Treaty, William Penn wrote a long letter to the Free Society of Traders, in which he describes a council that he had with the Indians. The letter explains how a possible treaty with the Indians might have looked and been carried out:
"Their order is thus: The King sits in the middle of a half moon, and has his council, the old and wise on each hand. Behind them or at a little distance sit the younger fry in the same figure.
"Having consulated and resolved their business the King ordered one of them to speak to me. He stood up, came to me and in the name of his King saluted me, then took me by the hand and told me he was ordered by his King to speak to me, and that now it was not he, but the King who spoke, because what he should say was the King’s mind.
"Which done another made a speech to the Indians in the name of all the Sachamachers or Kings; first to tell what was done: next to charge and command them to love the Christians and particularly to live in peace with me and the people under my government; that they should never do mine or me any wrong. At every sentence of which they shouted, and in their way said, Amen.
"Great promises passed between us of kindness and good neighborhood, and that the English and Indians must live in love as long as the sun gave light.
The "Peace Treaty" between William Penn and the Native Americans was reported to have ended with these words of the Native Americans as quoted by Governor Gordon at the Council at Conestoga, May 26, 1728:
"We will be brethren, my people and your people, as the children of one father. All the paths shall be open to the Christian and the Indian. The doors of the Christian shall be open to the Indian and the wigwam of the Indian shall be open to the Christian.
"The Christian shall believe no false stories, the Indian shall believe no false stories, they shall first come together as brethren and inquire of each other; when they hear such false stories they shall bury them in the bottomless pit.
"The Christian hearing news that may hurt the Indian, or the Indian hearing news that may hurt the Christian, shall make it known the one to the other, as speedily as possible, as true friends and brethren.
"The Indian shall not harm the Christian, nor his friend; the Christian shall not harm the Indian, nor his friend; but they shall live together as brethren. As there are wicked people in all Nations; if the Indian or the Christian shall harm the one or the other, complaint shall be made by the sufferer, that right may be done; and when right is done, the wrong shall be forgotten, and buried in the bottomless pit.
"The Indian shall help the Christian, and the Christian shall help the Indian, against all evil men, who would molest them.
"We will transmit this League between us to our children. It shall be made stronger and stronger, and be kept bright and clean without rust or spot, between our children and our children’s children, while the creeks and rivers run, and while the sun, moon, and stars endure."
This League of peace and friendship has been passed down by the Native Americans to their children as witnessed repeatedly in the history of the Pennsylvania Council meetings between the years 1718 to 1735. In 1718 the Chief of the Conestoga Indians, amongst others, showed up at a Council in Philadelphia “to Renew the old League of friendship that had hitherto been between us and them,” and as late as 1734 John Penn, William Penn's son, stated at a Council meeting in Philadelphia: "I desire you to assure all the Indians, and particularly my good friends of the Six Nations, that it shall be my constant care to strengthen that firm League and Chain of Friendship which my Father first began, and has since been carefully preserved between the Indians and all the People within this Government."
Artist Benjamin West (1738-1820) was the 10th child of a rural innkeeper in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in October, 1738, & died exaulted in London, in March, 1820. Before his ascension to historical allegory painter for English royalty, he began learning his craft as a humble portraitist in Philadelphia. West told John Galt, his biographer, that when he was a child, Native Americans showed him how to make paint by mixing some clay from the river bank with bear grease in a pot.
During his years painting in the British American colonies, his portraits exhibit a modest attempt to emulate the baroque & rococo styles, which he probably observed in Philadelphia. His modest American portrait compositions also exhibit some knowledge of English mezzotint portraits reflecting the works of Peter Lely (1618–160) & Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723). West told a friend that a "Mr. Hide (Haidt)," a German, gave him instruction. Johann Valentine Haidt (1700-1780), a Moravian evangelist & trained artist, painted not just portraits, but also history & religious paintings. Apparently, Benjamin West became determined to paint inspiring historical & religious compositions as well.
He later wrote, "Most undoubtedly had not (I) been settled in Philadelphia I should not have embraced painting as a profession." However, his early move away from Philadelphia to England was necessary for him to work in a country where artists were commissioned to paint inspiring depictions of history's real & imagined indispensable men & women who made extreme sacrifices & performed noble deeds. In the American colonies, the gentry paid for portraits, not inspiration.
Benjamin West became a painter of historical scenes, sometimes including Native Americans, around & after the time of the American War of Independence & the Seven Years' War. During his 22 years in America, he was a fairly typical provincial artist; but his choice to leave the colonies in 1760, for Europe & England led to his appointment as the official painter at the court of King George III & to his becoming co-founder of the Royal Academy in London, where 3 generations of fellow American students would return home from his tutelage to impact the art of the emerging republic.
1798 John Fairburn British Engraver
From Europe to the Atlantic coast of America & on to the Pacific coast during the 17C-19C, settlers moved West encountering a variety of Indigenous Peoples who had lived on the land for centuries.
Sketch & Narrative From Henry Howe's 1852 book Historical Collections of the Great West, "Slaughter of Moravian Leanpe Indians 1781"
A melancholy disaster, about the same time, befell a body of one hundred & seven United States troops, under Capt. Laherty, on their way down the Ohio to Fort Steuben, at the Falls of the Ohio. They were attacked by an overwhelming force of Indians, near the mouth of the Great Miami, and, although making a brave resistance, were compelled to retreat, with the loss of about fifty slain. Massacre of the Moravian or Christian Indians. As early as the year 1762, the Moravian missionaries, Post & Heckewelder, established a mission among the Indians on the Tuscarawas. Before the close of the war of the revolution, they had three flourishing stations Or villages, viz: Shoenbrun, Gnadenhutten & Salem. These were respectively about five miles apart, & stood near fifty miles west of the site of Steubenville, Ohio. In the war, their position was eminently dangerous. They were midway between the hostile towns on the Sandusky & the frontier settlements, & being on the direct route of war parties of either, were compelled occasionally to give sustenance & shelter to both. This excited the jealousy of the contending races, although they preserved a strict neutrality, & looked with horror upon the shedding of blood. In February, 1782, many murders were committed upon the upper Ohio & the Monongahela, by the hostile Indians. The settlers believing that the Moravians were either concerned in these murders, or had harbored those who were, determined to destroy their towns, the existence of which, they deemed dangerous to their safety. Accordingly, in March, about ninety volunteers assembled under the command of Col. David Williamson, in the Mingo Bottom, just below the site of Steubenville. Arriving in the vicinity of Gnadenhutten, they, on the morning of the 8th, surrounded & entered the town, where they found a large party of Indians in a field, gathering corn. They informed the Indians that they had come on an errand of peace & friendship that they were going to take them to Fort Pitt for protection. The unsuspecting Indians, pleased at the prospect of their removal, delivered up their arms which they used for hunting, & commenced preparing breakfast for themselves & guests. An Indian messenger was dispatched to Salem, to apprise the brethren there of the new arrangement, & both companies then returned to Gnadenhutten. On reaching the village, a number of mounted militia started for the Salem settlement, but ere they reached it, found that the Moravian Indians at that place had already left their corn-fields, by the advice of the messenger, & were on the road to join their brethren at Gnadenhutten. Measures had been adopted by the militia to secure the Indians whom they had at first decoyed into their power. They were bound, confined in two houses, & well guarded. On the arrival of the Indians from Salem, (their arms having been previously secured without suspicion of any hostile intention,) they were also fettered, & divided between the two prison-houses, the males in one, the females in the other. The number thus confined in both, including men, women & children, have been estimated from ninety to ninety-six. A council was then held to determine how the Moravian Indians should be disposed of. This self-constituted military court embraced both officers & privates. The late Dr. Dodridge, in his published notes on Indian wars, says:
"Colonel Williamson put the question, whether the Moravian Indians should be taken prisoners to Fort Pitt, or put to death?" requesting those who were in favor of saving their lives to step out & form a second rank. Only eighteen out of the whole number stepped forth as advocates of mercy. In these, the feelings of humanity were not extinct. In the majority, which was large, no sympathy was manifested. They resolved to murder (for no other word can express the act) the whole of the Christian Indians in their custody. Among these were several who had contributed to aid the missionaries in the work of conversion & civilization two of whom emigrated from New Jersey after the death of their spiritual pastor, the Rev. David Brainard. One woman, who could speak good English, knelt before the commander & begged his protection. Her supplication was unavailing. They were ordered to prepare for death. But the warning had been anticipated. Their firm belief in their new creed was shown forth in the sad hour of their tribulation, by religious exercises of preparation. The orisons of these devoted people were already ascending the throne of the Most High! the sound of the Christian's hymn & the Christian's prayer found an echo in the surrounding woods, but no responsive feeling in the bosoms of their executioners. With gun, & spear, & tomahawk, & scalping-knife, the work of death progressed in these slaughter-houses, until not a sigh or moan was heard to proclaim the existence of human life within all, save two two Indian boys escaped, as if by a miracle, to be witnesses in after times of the savage cruelty of the white man toward their unfortunate race. Of the number thus cruelly murdered by the backwoodsmen of the upper Ohio, between fifty & sixty were women & children some of them innocent babes. No resistance was made; one only attempted to escape. The whites finished the tragedy by setting fire to the town, including the slaughter-houses with the bodies in them, all of which were consumed. A detachment was sent to the upper town, Shoenbrun, but the people having received information of what was transpiring below, had deserted it. Those engaged in the campaign, were generally men of standing, at home. When the expedition was formed, it was given out to the public that its sole object was to remove the Moravians to Pittsburgh, & by destroying the villages, deprive the hostile savages of a shelter. In their towns, various articles plundered from the whites, were discovered. One man is said to have found the bloody clothes of his wife & children, who had recently been murdered. These articles, doubtless, had been purchased of the hostile Indians. The sight of these, it is said, bringing to mind the forms of murdered relations, wrought them up to an uncontrollable pitch of frenzy which nothing but blood could satisfy. In the year 1799, when the remnant of the Moravian Indians were recalled by the United States to reside on the same spot, an old Indian, in company with a young man by the name of Carr, walked over the desolate scene, & showed to the white man an excavation, which had formerly been a cellar, & in which were still some moldering bones of the victims, though seventeen years had passed since their tragic death the tears, in the meantime, falling down the wrinkled face of this aged child of the Tuscarawas. Crawford's Defeat. At the time of the massacre, less than half of the Moravian Indians were at their towns, on the Tuscarawas, the remainder having been carried off, by the hostile Indians, to Sandusky, had settled these in their vicinity. Immediately after the return of Williamson's men, what may be called a second Moravian campaign, was projected; the object being first to finish the destruction of the christian Indians, at their new establishment, on the Sandusky, & then destroy the Wyandot towns on the same river.
The long continuance of the Indian war, the many murders & barbarities committed upon the frontiers, had so wrought upon the inhabitants, as to create an indiscriminate thirst for revenge. Having had a taste of blood & plunder, in their recent expedition, without loss or danger on their part, it was now determined not to spare the lives of any Indians who might fall into their hands, whether friends or foes. On the 25th of May, 1782, four hundred & eighty men, principally from the upper Ohio, assembled at the Old Mingo towns, near the site of Steubenville. At this place, they chose Col. Wm. Crawford commander, his competitor being Col. Williamson. Crawford* accepted the office with great reluctance. Soon after, his men exhibited such an utter disregard to military order, that he was depressed with a presentiment of evil. Notwithstanding the secrecy & dispatch of the enterprise, the Indian spies discovered their rendezvous, on the Mingo Bottom, knew their number & destination. They visited every encampment on their leaving it, & saw written on the barks of trees & scraps of paper, that " no quarter was to be given to any Indian, whether man, woman or child." Their route was by the "Williamson trail," through the burnt Moravian towns. On the 6th of June, they arrived at the site of the Moravian villages, on a branch of the Sandusky. Here, instead of meeting with Indians & Elunder, they found nothing but vestiges of desolation. A few huts, surrounded by high grass, alone remained; their intended victims having, some time before, moved to the Scioto, some eighteen miles south. A council then decided to march on north one day longer, & if then, no Indian towns were reached, to retreat. About 2 o'clock, the next day, while on their march through the Sandusky plains, the advanced guard were driven in by Indians concealed in great numbers in the high grass. The action then became general, & the firing was incessant & heavy until dark, for In this battle, the whites had the advantage, & lost but a few men. The Indians were driven from the woods & prevented from gaining a strong position on the right flank, by the vigilance & bravery of Major Leet. During the night, both armies lay upon their arms behind a line of fires, to prevent surprise. The next day, the Indians were seen in large bodies traversing the plains, while others were busy carrying off their dead & wounded. At a council of officers, Col. Williamson proposed marching, with one hundred & fifty volunteers, to upper Sandusky; but the commander opposed it, stating that the Indians, whose numbers were hourly increasing, would attack & conquer their divided forces in detail. The dead were buried, & preparations made for a retreat after dark. The Indians perceiving their intention, about sunset, attacked them with great fury in all directions, except that of Sandusky. In the course of the night, the army commenced their retreat, regained their old trail by a circuitous route, & continued on with but slight annoyance from the enemy. Unfortunately, when the retreat commenced, a large number erroneously judging that the Indians would follow the main body, broke off into small parties & made their way toward their homes, in different directions. These the Indians, for days, pursued in detachments, with such activity that but very few escaped, some being killed almost within sight of the Ohio River.
{Col. W. Crawford was a native of Virginia, but at this time was residing near Brownsville, Pa. He was a captain in the old French war, & in the revolution, raised a regiment of continentals by his own exertions. He was an intimate friend of Washington a man of character, & of noted bravery. At this time, he was about fifty years of age. The battle was fought three miles north of upper Sandusky. The large tree on the right of the engraving (Eng. p. 110) & others in the vicinity, even to the present day, show marks of the bullets.}
Soon after the retreat began, Col. Crawford having missed his son & several of his connections, halted & unsuccessfully searched the line for them as it passed on, & then, owing to the weariness of his horse, was unable to overtake the retreating army. Falling in company with Dr. Knight & others, they kept on until the third day, when they were attacked, & Crawford & Knight captured. They were taken to an Indian encampment in the vicinity, where they found nine other prisoners, & all, the next morning, were conducted toward the Tyemochte, by Pipe & Wingenund, Delaware chiefs, except four of them, who were killed & scalped on the way. At a Delaware town on the Tyemochte, a few miles northwesterly from the site of upper Sandusky, preparations were made for the burning of Col. Crawford. In the vicinity, the remaining five of the nine prisoners were tomahawked & scalped by squaws & boys. Crawford's son & son-in-law were executed at a Shawanese town. The account of the burning of Crawford is thus given by Dr. Knight, his companion, who subsequently escaped. When we went to the fire, the colonel was stripped naked, ordered to sit down by the fire, & then they beat him with sticks & their fists. Presently after, I was treated in the same manner. They then tied a rope to the foot of a post about fifteen feet high, bound the colonel's hands behind his back & fastened the rope to the ligature between his wrists. The rope was long enough for him to sit down or walk round the post once or twice, & return the same way. The colonel then called to Girty, & asked if they intended to burn him? Girty answered, yes. The colonel said he would take it all patiently. Upon this, Captain Pipe, a Delaware chief, made a speech to the Indians, viz: about thirty or forty men, & sixty or seventy squaws & boys. When the speech was finished, they all yelled a hideous & hearty assent to what had been said. The Indian men then took up their guns & shot powder into the colonel's body, from his feet as far up as his neck. I think that not less than seventy loads were discharged upon his naked body. They then crowded about him, & to the best of my observation, cut off his ears; when the throng had dispersed a little, I saw the blood running from both sides of his head in consequence thereof. The fire was about six or seven yards from the post to which the colonel was tied; it was made of small hickory poles, burnt quite through in the middle, each end of the poles remaining about six feet in length. Three or four Indians, by turns, would take up, individually, one of these burning pieces of wood, & apply it to his naked body, already burnt black with the powder. These tormentors presented themselves on every side of him with the burning fagots & poles. Some of the squaws took broad boards, upon which they would carry a quantity of burning coals & hot embers, & throw on him, so that in a short time, he had nothing but coals of fire & hot ashes to walk upon. In the midst of these extreme tortures, he called to Simon Girty, & begged of him to shoot him; but Girty making no answer, he called to him again. Girty then, by way of derision, told the colonel he had no gun, at the same time turning about to an Indian who was behind him, laughed heartily, & by all his gestures, seemed delighted at the horrid scene. Girty then came up to me & bade me prepare for death. He said, however, I was not to die at that place, but to be burnt at the Shawanese towns. He swore by G d I need not expect to escape death, but should suffer it in all its extremities. Col. Crawford, at this period of his sufferings, besought the Almighty to have mercy on his soul, spoke very low, & bore his torments with the most manly fortitude.
He continued in all the extremities of pain for an hour & hour & three quarters or two hours longer, as near as I can judge, when at last, being almost exhausted, he lay down on his belly; they then scalped him, & repeatedly threw the scalp in my face, telling me, " that was my great captain." An old squaw (whose appearance every way answered the ideas people entertain of the devil) got a board, took a parcel of coals & ashes & laid them on his back & head, after he had been scalped; he then raised himself upon his feet & began to walk round the post; they next put a burning stick to him, as usual, but he seemed more insensible of pain than before. The Indian fellow who had me in charge, now took me away to Captain Pipes house, about three-quarters of a mile from the place of the colonel's execution. I was bound all night, & thus prevented from seeing the last of the horrid spectacle. Next morning, being June 12th, the Indian untied me, painted me Black, & we set off for the Snawanese town, which he told me was somewhat less than forty miles distant from that place. We soon came to the spot where the colonel had been burnt, as it was partly in our way; I saw his bones lying among the remains of the fire, almost burnt to ashes; I suppose, after he was dead, they laid his body on the fire. The Indian told me that was my big captain, & gave the scalp halloo. Most of the prisoners taken in this campaign, were burned to death, with cruel tortures, in retaliation for the massacre of the Moravian Indians, who were principally Delaware's. This invasion was the last made from the region of the upper Ohio during the war. But the Indians, encouraged by their successes, overran these settlements with scalping parties. In September, three hundred Indians, for three days, unsuccessfully invested the fort at Wheeling. A detachment of one hundred of these, made an attack upon Rice's Fort, twelve miles north. Although defended by only 6 men, they were obliged to retire with loss.
"A Indian Camp” From the Drawings and Journal of Philip Georg Friedrich von Reck (1710–1798) drawn when He Sailed from Germany to Georgia in the 1730s
In 1736, Philip Georg Friedrich von Reck, (1710–1798) then only in his 20s, sailed with other colonists from Germany to Georgia. One of his intentions, expressed in a letter before he left Europe, was to bring back from America "ocular proof" of what he called "this strange new world." Idealistic nad enthusiastic, well-educated and blessed with an amazing artistic gift, von Reck kept a travel diary, wrote separate descriptions of the plants, animals and Indians he discovered in Georgia and drew some 50 watercolor and pencil sketches of what he saw. Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck was a noble baron of Hanover who after making two journeys to the Colony of Georgia in 1730s. He wrote about Native Americans:
"They are very courteous, friendly, and hospitable towards strangers, with whom they quickly become acquainted. Their table is open to everyone, and one can sit at it uninvited. When an Indian want to assure someone of his friendship, he strikes himself with his right hand on his left breast and says, my breast is like your breast, my and your breast is one breast the equivalent of my and your heart is one heart, my heart is closely bound with your heart, etc. And it is all so a sign of friendship and welcome to light a pipe of tobacco and hold it up before the arriving stranger so that he can take a couple of draws on it, also to hold up a bottle of rum, so he can take a swallow from it. ... They are satisfied with the little that they have, even if it consists only of a gun, kettle, and mirror. They keep their word, and hate lies. When they praise a European, they say that he has never told them an untruth. They are affectionate and live peaceably with their wives."
Removing the Miami
Miami, January 1790 - August 1795. In the late 1780's a confederacy of hostile Indians, chiefly Miamis, in the northern part of present-day Ohio & Indiana restricted settlement largely to the Ohio Valley. Three separate expeditions were required to remove this obstacle to expansion.
U.S. Army General Josiah Harmar 1753-1813, by artist Raphaelle Peale
Late in 1790 a force of 320 Regulars & 1,000 Kentucky & Pennsylvania militiamen under Brig. Gen. Josiah Harmar 1753-1813 moved north from Fort Washington (Cincinnati) & was badly defeated in two separate engagements on 18 & 22 October 1790 in the vicinity of present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Governor Arthur St. Clair 1737-1818 of the Northwest Territory by Charles Willson Peale
Congress then commissioned Governor Arthur St. Clair 1737-1818 of the Northwest Territory as a major general, & he collected a force of about 2,000 men consisting of two regiments of Regulars (300 men each), 800 levies, & 600 militiamen. This force advanced slowly north from Fort Washington in September 1791, building a road & forts as it progressed. On the night of 3 - 4 November 1791 some 1,000 Indiana surrounded 1,400 of St. Clair's men (one Regular regiment was in the rear) near the headwaters of the Wabash. The force was routed, & St. Clair, having lost 637 killed & 263 wounded, returned to Fort Washington.
Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne 1745-1796 by James Peale
Congress reacted to these disasters by doubling the authorized strength of the Regular Army in 1792 & appointing "Mad Anthony" Wayne to succeed St. Clair. Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne 1745-1796 joined his troops near Pittsburgh in June 1792, & reorganized his Regulars to form a "Legion" composed of four sub-legions, each a "combat team" consisting of 2 battalions of infantry, a battalion of rifles, a troop of dragoons, & a company of artillery. After intensive training the Legion moved to Fort Washington in the spring of 1793 where it joined a force of mounted riflemen, Kentucky levies.
Early in October 1793, after peace negotiations had failed, Wayne's troops advanced slowly along St. Clair's route toward Fort Miami, a new British post on the present site of Toledo. They built fortifications along the way & wintered at Greenville. In the spring of 1794 a detachment of 150 men under Capt. Alexander Gibson was seat to the site of St. Clair's defeat where they built Fort Recovery. At the end of June, more than 1,000 warriors assaulted this fort for ten days, but the Indiana were effectively beaten & forced to retreat. Wayne moved forward in July with a force of some 3,000 men, including 1,400 levies from Kentucky, paused to build Fort Defiance at the junction of the Glaize & Maumee, & resumed pursuit of the Indians on 15 August. At Fallen Timbers, an area near Fort Miami where a tornado had uprooted trees, the Indians made a stand. On 20 August 1794 the Indians were thoroughly defeated in a two-hour fight that was characterized by Wayne's excellent tactics & the able performance of his well-trained troops. Wayne's men destroyed the Indian villages, including some within sight of the British guns of Fort Miami.
Jay's Treaty (1794) resulted in the evacuation of frontier posts by the British. By the Treaty of Greenville, 3 August 1795, the western tribes of the region ceded their lands in southern & eastern Ohio, & the way was opened for rapid settlement of the Northwest Territory.
1736 Georgia Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) Indians going a-hunting. From the Drawings and Journal of Philip Georg Friedrich von Reck drawn when he Sailed from Germany to Georgia in the 1730s
In 1736, Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) then only 25 years old, sailed with other colonists from Germany to Georgia. One of his intentions, expressed in a letter before he left Europe, was to bring back from America "ocular proof" of what he called "this strange new world." Idealistic & enthusiastic, well-educated & blessed with an amazing artistic gift, von Reck kept a travel diary, wrote separate descriptions of the plants, animals & Indians he discovered in Georgia & drew some 50 watercolor & pencil sketches of what he saw.
The Coyaha people, sometimes known as the Yuchi, (also spelled Euchee & Uchee), are people of a Native American tribe who traditionally lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee in the 16C. The Coyaha were mound builders. During the 17C, they moved south to Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina. After suffering many fatalities due to epidemic disease & warfare in the 18C, several surviving Coyaha were removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s, together with their allies the Muscogee Creek. Some who remained in the South were classified as "free persons of color;" others were enslaved. Some remnant groups migrated to Florida, where they became part of the recently formed Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The origin of the Coyaha has long been a mystery. The Coyaha language does not closely resemble any other Native American language. In 1541, the tribe was documented by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto as a powerful tribe living in what is now central Tennessee. They were recorded at that time as Uchi, & also associated with the Chisca tribe. European colonial records from the 17C note the Coyaha.
Both historical & archaeological evidence exists documenting several Coyaha towns of the 18C. Among these was Chestowee in southeastern Tennessee. In 1714, instigated by 2 fur traders from South Carolina, the Cherokee attacked & destroyed Chestowee. The Cherokee were prepared to carry their attacks further to Coyaha settlements on the Savannah River, but the colonial government of South Carolina did not condone the attacks. The Cherokee held back. The Cherokee destruction of Chestowee marked their emergence as a major power in the Southeast.
Coyaha towns were also documented in Georgia & South Carolina, as the tribe had migrated there to escape pressure from the Cherokee. "Mount Pleasant" was noted as being on the Savannah River in present-day Effingham County, Georgia, from about 1722 to about 1750. It was first a Coyaha town. To take advantage of trade, the British established a trading post & small military garrison there, which they called Mount Pleasant.
"Euchee Town" (also called Uche Town), a large settlement on the Chattahoochee River, was documented from the middle to late 18C. It was located near Euchee (or Uche) Creek about ten miles downriver from the Muscogee Creek settlement of Coweta Old Town. The naturalist William Bartram visited Euchee Town in 1778, & in his letters ranked it as the largest & most compact Indian town he had ever encountered, with large, well-built houses. US Indian agent Benjamin Hawkins also visited the town & described the Coyaha as "more orderly & industrious" than the other tribes of the Creek Confederacy. The Coyaha began to move on, some into Florida, & during the Creek War of 1813–1814, many joined the Red Sticks party, traditionalists opposed to the Creek of the Lower Towns. Euchee Town decayed. The tribe became one of the poorest of the Creek communities, at the same time gaining a bad reputation. The archaeological site of the town, designated a National Historic Landmark, is within the boundaries of present-day Fort Benning, Georgia.
Colonists noted Patsiliga on the Flint River in the late 18C. Other Coyaha towns may have been those on the Oconee River near Uchee Creek in Wilkinson County, Georgia, & on Brier Creek in Burke County, Georgia or Screven County, Georgia. A Coyaha town was sited at present-day Silver Bluff in Aiken County, South Carolina from 1746 to 1751.
During the 18C, the Coyaha consistently allied with the British, with whom they traded deer hides & Indian slaves. The population of the Coyaha plummeted in the 18C due to Eurasian infectious diseases, to which they had no immunity, & to war with the Cherokee, who were moving into their territory & were much more powerful. After the American Revolution, Coyaha people maintained close relations with the Creek Confederacy. Some Coyaha migrated south to Florida along with the Creek, where they became part of the newly formed Seminole people.
In the 1830s, the US government removed the Coyaha, along with the Muscogee Creek, from Alabama & Georgia to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). The Yuchi settled in the north & northwestern parts of the Creek Nation. Three towns which the Coyaha established in the 19C continue today: Duck Creek, Polecat, & Sand Creek.
Today the Coyaha live primarily in the northeastern Oklahoma area, where many are enrolled as citizens in the federally recognized Muscogee Creek Nation. Other Coyaha are enrolled as members of other federally recognized tribes, such as the Absentee Shawnee Tribe & the Cherokee Nation.
1736 Georgia Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) An Indian woman weaving a basket of reed
In 1736, Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) sailed with other colonists from Germany to Georgia. One of his intentions, expressed in a letter before he left Europe, was to bring back from America "ocular proof" of what he called "this strange new world." Idealistic & enthusiastic, well-educated & blessed with an amazing artistic gift, von Reck kept a travel diary, wrote separate descriptions of the plants, animals & Indians he discovered in Georgia & drew some 50 watercolor & pencil sketches of what he saw.
The Coyaha people, sometimes known as the Yuchi, (also spelled Euchee & Uchee), are people of a Native American tribe who traditionally lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee in the 16C. The Coyaha were mound builders. During the 17C, they moved south to Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina. After suffering many fatalities due to epidemic disease & warfare in the 18C, several surviving Coyaha were removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s, together with their allies the Muscogee Creek. Some who remained in the South were classified as "free persons of color;" others were enslaved. Some remnant groups migrated to Florida, where they became part of the recently formed Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The origin of the Coyaha has long been a mystery. The Coyaha language does not closely resemble any other Native American language. In 1541, the tribe was documented by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto as a powerful tribe living in what is now central Tennessee. They were recorded at that time as Uchi, & also associated with the Chisca tribe. European colonial records from the 17C note the Coyaha.
Both historical & archaeological evidence exists documenting several Coyaha towns of the 18C. Among these was Chestowee in southeastern Tennessee. In 1714, instigated by 2 fur traders from South Carolina, the Cherokee attacked & destroyed Chestowee. The Cherokee were prepared to carry their attacks further to Coyaha settlements on the Savannah River, but the colonial government of South Carolina did not condone the attacks. The Cherokee held back. The Cherokee destruction of Chestowee marked their emergence as a major power in the Southeast.
Coyaha towns were also documented in Georgia & South Carolina, as the tribe had migrated there to escape pressure from the Cherokee. "Mount Pleasant" was noted as being on the Savannah River in present-day Effingham County, Georgia, from about 1722 to about 1750. It was first a Coyaha town. To take advantage of trade, the British established a trading post & small military garrison there, which they called Mount Pleasant.
"Euchee Town" (also called Uche Town), a large settlement on the Chattahoochee River, was documented from the middle to late 18C. It was located near Euchee (or Uche) Creek about ten miles downriver from the Muscogee Creek settlement of Coweta Old Town. The naturalist William Bartram visited Euchee Town in 1778, & in his letters ranked it as the largest & most compact Indian town he had ever encountered, with large, well-built houses. US Indian agent Benjamin Hawkins also visited the town & described the Coyaha as "more orderly & industrious" than the other tribes of the Creek Confederacy. The Coyaha began to move on, some into Florida, & during the Creek War of 1813–1814, many joined the Red Sticks party, traditionalists opposed to the Creek of the Lower Towns. Euchee Town decayed. The tribe became one of the poorest of the Creek communities, at the same time gaining a bad reputation. The archaeological site of the town, designated a National Historic Landmark, is within the boundaries of present-day Fort Benning, Georgia.
Colonists noted Patsiliga on the Flint River in the late 18C. Other Coyaha towns may have been those on the Oconee River near Uchee Creek in Wilkinson County, Georgia, & on Brier Creek in Burke County, Georgia or Screven County, Georgia. A Coyaha town was sited at present-day Silver Bluff in Aiken County, South Carolina from 1746 to 1751.
During the 18C, the Coyaha consistently allied with the British, with whom they traded deer hides & Indian slaves. The population of the Coyaha plummeted in the 18C due to Eurasian infectious diseases, to which they had no immunity, & to war with the Cherokee, who were moving into their territory & were much more powerful. After the American Revolution, Coyaha people maintained close relations with the Creek Confederacy. Some Coyaha migrated south to Florida along with the Creek, where they became part of the newly formed Seminole people.
In the 1830s, the US government removed the Coyaha, along with the Muscogee Creek, from Alabama & Georgia to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). The Yuchi settled in the north & northwestern parts of the Creek Nation. Three towns which the Coyaha established in the 19C continue today: Duck Creek, Polecat, & Sand Creek.
Today the Coyaha live primarily in the northeastern Oklahoma area, where many are enrolled as citizens in the federally recognized Muscogee Creek Nation. Other Coyaha are enrolled as members of other federally recognized tribes, such as the Absentee Shawnee Tribe & the Cherokee Nation.
1736 Georgia Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) An Indian who lived with us for a time
In 1736, Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) then only 25 years old, sailed with other colonists from Germany to Georgia. One of his intentions, expressed in a letter before he left Europe, was to bring back from America "ocular proof" of what he called "this strange new world." Idealistic & enthusiastic, well-educated & blessed with an amazing artistic gift, von Reck kept a travel diary, wrote separate descriptions of the plants, animals & Indians he discovered in Georgia & drew some 50 watercolor & pencil sketches of what he saw.
The Coyaha people, sometimes known as the Yuchi, (also spelled Euchee & Uchee), are people of a Native American tribe who traditionally lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee in the 16C. The Coyaha were mound builders. During the 17C, they moved south to Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina. After suffering many fatalities due to epidemic disease & warfare in the 18C, several surviving Coyaha were removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s, together with their allies the Muscogee Creek. Some who remained in the South were classified as "free persons of color;" others were enslaved. Some remnant groups migrated to Florida, where they became part of the recently formed Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The origin of the Coyaha has long been a mystery. The Coyaha language does not closely resemble any other Native American language. In 1541, the tribe was documented by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto as a powerful tribe living in what is now central Tennessee. They were recorded at that time as Uchi, & also associated with the Chisca tribe. European colonial records from the 17C note the Coyaha.
Both historical & archaeological evidence exists documenting several Coyaha towns of the 18C. Among these was Chestowee in southeastern Tennessee. In 1714, instigated by 2 fur traders from South Carolina, the Cherokee attacked & destroyed Chestowee. The Cherokee were prepared to carry their attacks further to Coyaha settlements on the Savannah River, but the colonial government of South Carolina did not condone the attacks. The Cherokee held back. The Cherokee destruction of Chestowee marked their emergence as a major power in the Southeast.
Coyaha towns were also documented in Georgia & South Carolina, as the tribe had migrated there to escape pressure from the Cherokee. "Mount Pleasant" was noted as being on the Savannah River in present-day Effingham County, Georgia, from about 1722 to about 1750. It was first a Coyaha town. To take advantage of trade, the British established a trading post & small military garrison there, which they called Mount Pleasant.
"Euchee Town" (also called Uche Town), a large settlement on the Chattahoochee River, was documented from the middle to late 18C. It was located near Euchee (or Uche) Creek about ten miles downriver from the Muscogee Creek settlement of Coweta Old Town. The naturalist William Bartram visited Euchee Town in 1778, & in his letters ranked it as the largest & most compact Indian town he had ever encountered, with large, well-built houses. US Indian agent Benjamin Hawkins also visited the town & described the Coyaha as "more orderly & industrious" than the other tribes of the Creek Confederacy. The Coyaha began to move on, some into Florida, & during the Creek War of 1813–1814, many joined the Red Sticks party, traditionalists opposed to the Creek of the Lower Towns. Euchee Town decayed. The tribe became one of the poorest of the Creek communities, at the same time gaining a bad reputation. The archaeological site of the town, designated a National Historic Landmark, is within the boundaries of present-day Fort Benning, Georgia.
Colonists noted Patsiliga on the Flint River in the late 18C. Other Coyaha towns may have been those on the Oconee River near Uchee Creek in Wilkinson County, Georgia, & on Brier Creek in Burke County, Georgia or Screven County, Georgia. A Coyaha town was sited at present-day Silver Bluff in Aiken County, South Carolina from 1746 to 1751.
During the 18C, the Coyaha consistently allied with the British, with whom they traded deer hides & Indian slaves. The population of the Coyaha plummeted in the 18C due to Eurasian infectious diseases, to which they had no immunity, & to war with the Cherokee, who were moving into their territory & were much more powerful. After the American Revolution, Coyaha people maintained close relations with the Creek Confederacy. Some Coyaha migrated south to Florida along with the Creek, where they became part of the newly formed Seminole people.
In the 1830s, the US government removed the Coyaha, along with the Muscogee Creek, from Alabama & Georgia to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). The Yuchi settled in the north & northwestern parts of the Creek Nation. Three towns which the Coyaha established in the 19C continue today: Duck Creek, Polecat, & Sand Creek.
Today the Coyaha live primarily in the northeastern Oklahoma area, where many are enrolled as citizens in the federally recognized Muscogee Creek Nation. Other Coyaha are enrolled as members of other federally recognized tribes, such as the Absentee Shawnee Tribe & the Cherokee Nation.
1736 Georgia Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) The supreme commander of the Yuchi Indian nation, - Kipahalgwa.
In 1736, Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) sailed with other colonists from Germany to Georgia. One of his intentions, expressed in a letter before he left Europe, was to bring back from America "ocular proof" of what he called "this strange new world." Idealistic & enthusiastic, well-educated & blessed with an amazing artistic gift, von Reck kept a travel diary, wrote separate descriptions of the plants, animals & Indians he discovered in Georgia & drew some 50 watercolor & pencil sketches of what he saw.
The Coyaha people, sometimes known as the Yuchi, (also spelled Euchee & Uchee), are people of a Native American tribe who traditionally lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee in the 16C. The Coyaha were mound builders. During the 17C, they moved south to Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina. After suffering many fatalities due to epidemic disease & warfare in the 18C, several surviving Coyaha were removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s, together with their allies the Muscogee Creek. Some who remained in the South were classified as "free persons of color;" others were enslaved. Some remnant groups migrated to Florida, where they became part of the recently formed Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The origin of the Coyaha has long been a mystery. The Coyaha language does not closely resemble any other Native American language. In 1541, the tribe was documented by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto as a powerful tribe living in what is now central Tennessee. They were recorded at that time as Uchi, & also associated with the Chisca tribe. European colonial records from the 17C note the Coyaha.
Both historical & archaeological evidence exists documenting several Coyaha towns of the 18C. Among these was Chestowee in southeastern Tennessee. In 1714, instigated by 2 fur traders from South Carolina, the Cherokee attacked & destroyed Chestowee. The Cherokee were prepared to carry their attacks further to Coyaha settlements on the Savannah River, but the colonial government of South Carolina did not condone the attacks. The Cherokee held back. The Cherokee destruction of Chestowee marked their emergence as a major power in the Southeast.
Coyaha towns were also documented in Georgia & South Carolina, as the tribe had migrated there to escape pressure from the Cherokee. "Mount Pleasant" was noted as being on the Savannah River in present-day Effingham County, Georgia, from about 1722 to about 1750. It was first a Coyaha town. To take advantage of trade, the British established a trading post & small military garrison there, which they called Mount Pleasant.
"Euchee Town" (also called Uche Town), a large settlement on the Chattahoochee River, was documented from the middle to late 18C. It was located near Euchee (or Uche) Creek about ten miles downriver from the Muscogee Creek settlement of Coweta Old Town. The naturalist William Bartram visited Euchee Town in 1778, & in his letters ranked it as the largest & most compact Indian town he had ever encountered, with large, well-built houses. US Indian agent Benjamin Hawkins also visited the town & described the Coyaha as "more orderly & industrious" than the other tribes of the Creek Confederacy. The Coyaha began to move on, some into Florida, & during the Creek War of 1813–1814, many joined the Red Sticks party, traditionalists opposed to the Creek of the Lower Towns. Euchee Town decayed. The tribe became one of the poorest of the Creek communities, at the same time gaining a bad reputation. The archaeological site of the town, designated a National Historic Landmark, is within the boundaries of present-day Fort Benning, Georgia.
Colonists noted Patsiliga on the Flint River in the late 18C. Other Coyaha towns may have been those on the Oconee River near Uchee Creek in Wilkinson County, Georgia, & on Brier Creek in Burke County, Georgia or Screven County, Georgia. A Coyaha town was sited at present-day Silver Bluff in Aiken County, South Carolina from 1746 to 1751.
During the 18C, the Coyaha consistently allied with the British, with whom they traded deer hides & Indian slaves. The population of the Coyaha plummeted in the 18th century due to Eurasian infectious diseases, to which they had no immunity, & to war with the Cherokee, who were moving into their territory & were much more powerful. After the American Revolution, Coyaha people maintained close relations with the Creek Confederacy. Some Coyaha migrated south to Florida along with the Creek, where they became part of the newly formed Seminole people.
In the 1830s, the US government removed the Coyaha, along with the Muscogee Creek, from Alabama & Georgia to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). The Yuchi settled in the north & northwestern parts of the Creek Nation. Three towns which the Coyaha established in the 19C continue today: Duck Creek, Polecat, & Sand Creek.
Today the Coyaha live primarily in the northeastern Oklahoma area, where many are enrolled as citizens in the federally recognized Muscogee Creek Nation. Other Coyaha are enrolled as members of other federally recognized tribes, such as the Absentee Shawnee Tribe & the Cherokee Nation.
1736 Georgia Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) The Mico of the Yuchi named Senkaitschi
In 1736, Philipp Georg Friedrich von Reck (German artist, 1710–1798) sailed with other colonists from Germany to Georgia. One of his intentions, expressed in a letter before he left Europe, was to bring back from America "ocular proof" of what he called "this strange new world." Idealistic & enthusiastic, well-educated & blessed with an amazing artistic gift, von Reck kept a travel diary, wrote separate descriptions of the plants, animals & Indians he discovered in Georgia & drew some 50 watercolor & pencil sketches of what he saw.
The Coyaha people, sometimes known as the Yuchi, (also spelled Euchee & Uchee), are people of a Native American tribe who traditionally lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee in the 16C. The Coyaha were mound builders. During the 17C, they moved south to Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina. After suffering many fatalities due to epidemic disease & warfare in the 18C, several surviving Coyaha were removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s, together with their allies the Muscogee Creek. Some who remained in the South were classified as "free persons of color;" others were enslaved. Some remnant groups migrated to Florida, where they became part of the recently formed Seminole Tribe of Florida.
The origin of the Coyaha has long been a mystery. The Coyaha language does not closely resemble any other Native American language. In 1541, the tribe was documented by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto as a powerful tribe living in what is now central Tennessee. They were recorded at that time as Uchi, & also associated with the Chisca tribe. European colonial records from the 17C note the Coyaha.
Both historical & archaeological evidence exists documenting several Coyaha towns of the 18C. Among these was Chestowee in southeastern Tennessee. In 1714, instigated by 2 fur traders from South Carolina, the Cherokee attacked & destroyed Chestowee. The Cherokee were prepared to carry their attacks further to Coyaha settlements on the Savannah River, but the colonial government of South Carolina did not condone the attacks. The Cherokee held back. The Cherokee destruction of Chestowee marked their emergence as a major power in the Southeast.
Coyaha towns were also documented in Georgia & South Carolina, as the tribe had migrated there to escape pressure from the Cherokee. "Mount Pleasant" was noted as being on the Savannah River in present-day Effingham County, Georgia, from about 1722 to about 1750. It was first a Coyaha town. To take advantage of trade, the British established a trading post & small military garrison there, which they called Mount Pleasant.
"Euchee Town" (also called Uche Town), a large settlement on the Chattahoochee River, was documented from the middle to late 18C. It was located near Euchee (or Uche) Creek about ten miles downriver from the Muscogee Creek settlement of Coweta Old Town. The naturalist William Bartram visited Euchee Town in 1778, & in his letters ranked it as the largest & most compact Indian town he had ever encountered, with large, well-built houses. US Indian agent Benjamin Hawkins also visited the town & described the Coyaha as "more orderly & industrious" than the other tribes of the Creek Confederacy. The Coyaha began to move on, some into Florida, & during the Creek War of 1813–1814, many joined the Red Sticks party, traditionalists opposed to the Creek of the Lower Towns. Euchee Town decayed. The tribe became one of the poorest of the Creek communities, at the same time gaining a bad reputation. The archaeological site of the town, designated a National Historic Landmark, is within the boundaries of present-day Fort Benning, Georgia.
Colonists noted Patsiliga on the Flint River in the late 18C. Other Coyaha towns may have been those on the Oconee River near Uchee Creek in Wilkinson County, Georgia, & on Brier Creek in Burke County, Georgia or Screven County, Georgia. A Coyaha town was sited at present-day Silver Bluff in Aiken County, South Carolina from 1746 to 1751.
During the 18C, the Coyaha consistently allied with the British, with whom they traded deer hides & Indian slaves. The population of the Coyaha plummeted in the 18C due to Eurasian infectious diseases, to which they had no immunity, & to war with the Cherokee, who were moving into their territory & were much more powerful. After the American Revolution, Coyaha people maintained close relations with the Creek Confederacy. Some Coyaha migrated south to Florida along with the Creek, where they became part of the newly formed Seminole people.
In the 1830s, the US government removed the Coyaha, along with the Muscogee Creek, from Alabama & Georgia to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma). The Yuchi settled in the north & northwestern parts of the Creek Nation. Three towns which the Coyaha established in the 19C continue today: Duck Creek, Polecat, & Sand Creek.
Today the Coyaha live primarily in the northeastern Oklahoma area, where many are enrolled as citizens in the federally recognized Muscogee Creek Nation. Other Coyaha are enrolled as members of other federally recognized tribes, such as the Absentee Shawnee Tribe & the Cherokee Nation.
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