Generally speaking, the European settlers in North America coined
the phrase 'Indian' or 'Red Indian' to describe the
Native North American
tribes they found while they were settling what is now the
USA. To the
north of this vast collection of varying regions and climates were
the native settlements of what is now
Canada, while
to the south were the various peoples of modern
Mexico, most
especially the
Aztecs. The
Unami were located in the modern state of Delaware, with their
immediate neighbours being the Susquehannock to the west, the
Unalachtigo
to the north, and the Powhatan confederacy to the south.
The Lenape called themselves 'Lenni-Lenape' (also recorded as Leni-Lenape),
which literally means 'men of men', but is translated to mean 'original
people'. From the early 1600s, the European settlers called the Lenape
people 'Delaware Indians', although there was never a single tribe
called either Delaware or Lenape. Overall though, they formed
the most important collection of Algonquian-speaking groups in the
region along the mid-Atlantic coastline, and once had occupied the
Lower Hudson river valley, the western part of Long Island, the whole
of the modern state of New Jersey, and as far south as Delaware Bay.
They spoke two Algonquian dialects - Munsee and Unami (or Wename
before 1682) - the 'people down river'.
History
suggests that in the dim recesses of time the
Lenni-Lenape were
united with the Mahican,
but split quite early on. Their two main tribes -
Munsee and Unami
- together with the Unami subsidiary, the Unalachtigo, consisted of a
plethora of sub-tribes which have been listed within their appropriate
main groups (see the main Lenni-Lenape list, which shows leaders and
groups that cannot definitively be associated with any tribe, along
with the separate pages for the Delaware tribes themselves). The
Lenape had three clans (or phratries) - Wolf, Turtle, and Turkey -
which traced their descent through the female line. For example, if
a mother belonged to the Turtle Clan, then each of her children also
belonged to the same clan. The sons had to marry women from other
clans, and their children belonged to their mother's clan. Thanks
to this system, affinity with any one clan was no guarantee of
affinity with any one tribe. (More information about this people
is available via the compendium link, right.)
Amongst the many Unami sub-tribes were the Aquackanonk,
Hackensack, Haverstraw, Navasink, Raritan,
and Tappan, plus several other sub-tribes who have a more
tentative pedigree amongst the Lenni-Lenape; the Gachwechnagechg
or Lehigh (records appear uncertain about either the naming of
this group or its affiliations), plus the Nyack Band who rate
as 'may have' belonged to the Unami.
There is more than one list of Lenape chiefs available, and not all of
them agree. The details shown below incorporate a fusion of all of the
available names, with further details where possible. One major list
of names has been compiled by the Lenape Nation (see external links,
below). They state that at one time there were both 'war chiefs' and
'peace chiefs'. The position of peace chief was hereditary, which
corresponded to the Iroquois sachems. The title of war chief
could be bestowed upon any brave warrior at a time of need. Europeans
helped to distil the idea of having only one principal chief to govern
everyone. These were usually chosen from the chiefs of the Turtle totem
group (clan or phratry), the Lenape believing the turtle to be the
receptacle for the creation of man.
It is thought that the three clans correspond to the three tribes,
with the Turtle forming the Unami, the Wolf forming the Munsee, and
the Turkey forming the Unalachtigo. However, as mentioned above,
thanks to the complexities of the Lenape matrilineal system there
could be, for example, Turtle chiefs from all three groups, making
any attempt to define clear group boundaries an impossible task. In
the 1800s, with the tribal structure breaking down under the weight
of European land purchases and laws, chiefs were chosen from local
communities or family groups. This continued until the early 1920s
when chiefs were elected by the general membership of the 'Nation'.
(Information by Mick Baker, with additional information from Everyday
Life of the North American Indian, Jon Manchip White (1979), from
The Encyclopaedia of North American Indian Tribes, Bill Yenne
(1986), from The Native Tribes of North America - A Concise
Encyclopaedia, Michael Johnson (1993), from the Atlas of Indians
of North America, Gilbert Legay (1995), from The Delaware Indians,
C A Weslager, from The Munsee Indians: A History, Robert S Grumet,
and from External Links:
First
Nations: Issues of Consequence, Lee Sultzman, and
Legends
of America, and
Lenape Delaware History (FTP), and
Lenape Nation,
and Delaware
History.)
1611
After years of being victimised by European slave raids, the
Lenape on the New Jersey
coast are now unfriendly. Before entering the Hudson River on behalf of his
Dutch
employers in 1611, Henry Hudson anchors for a short time off Sandy Hook
where he has a hostile encounter with the Navasink (of the Unami Delaware).
However, Hudson presses on and enters the river, stopping near the northern
end of Manhattan Island. A fog descends and when it clears the crew suddenly
see a group of Wappinger canoes approaching, and the nervous sailors
apparently fire first. The response is a barrage of arrows which kills
one crewmember and wounds two others. Hudson starts home in October.
Passing the lower river, he has another skirmish with the Wappinger
before reaching the open sea and returning to Europe.
This painting by Edward Moran in 1898 was entitled 'Sir Henry
Hudson entering New York Bay, September 11, 1609, with Indian
family watching on shore in foreground'
1624 - 1629
Handicapped by their inland location, the Iroquois still have to contend
with the powerful Mahican
confederacy in order to trade with
New Netherland, and it takes
four years of war between 1624-1628 before the Mohawk emerge as the
pre-eminent trading partner of the
Dutch
in the Hudson Valley.
The Susquehannock, however, have an easier time against the numerous
- but peaceful and disorganised - Delaware tribes who trade with the
Dutch along the lower Delaware. The Delaware - and also the Dutch -
are attacked by the Susquehannock from the Susquehanna Valley to the
west. Long-time enemies of the Iroquois, the Susquehannock not only
seek better access to the Dutch but are concerned that, if the Mohawk
defeat the Mahican, they will also seize the Delaware Valley. There
have long been wars between the Lenape and Susquehannock, but the
sheer numbers of Lenape (three to one) has always been enough to keep
the highly-organised Susquehannock at bay.
1628
The
competition between the Mohawk and
Mahican also affects
the Munsee. As early
as 1615, the Mohawk had begun taking hunting territory from them which
formerly had been shared. As a result, some Munsee support the Mahican
during the war, and by 1628 several of the northern Munsee groups have
been conquered by the Mohawk and forced to pay tribute. The Unami and
Unalachtigo to
the south also pay a price for their trade with the
Dutch.
1630
By
this time, the Susquehannock have forced many Delaware groups either
south into what will become the state of Delaware or across the river
into New Jersey. The
Dutch
of New Netherland accept
the outcome, but when they begin to trade with the Susquehannock, they
are pleased to discover that the Susquehannock (skilled hunters and
trappers) have more (and better) furs than the Delaware.
1639
The
number of
Dutch
colonists of
New Netherland increases,
and settlements spread to the Bronx and across the Hudson to the
Hackensack Valley and Staten Island. The Dutch are required by law to
purchase the lands which they occupy, but it is common for sales to
involve brandy and fraud. Even when transactions are conducted honestly,
problems arise from differing native and European concepts of land
ownership.
A Dutchman - David De Vries - purchases land on Staten Island from the
Raritan (a Unami sub-group) believing, in the European custom, that he
has obtained exclusive rights to its use. However, the Raritan believe
they have only agreed to share the land. In any event, the Raritan do
not think the sale has anything to do with their right to hunt the animals
that live there, including those pigs that the Dutch farmers are raising.
This also means that they roam freely in the woods, which often results
in their invading the unfenced native corn fields. The Dutch farmers demand
to be compensated for their losses. To the Raritan, the idea of someone
owning animals is ridiculous. This is the forerunner of the 'Pig War'
that develops in 1642.
Also in 1639, a new director-general arrives at New Amsterdam - Governor
Kieft - who chooses to deal with the neighbouring tribes through
intimidation rather than negotiation. One of his first acts is to send an
armed sloop to the Tappan villages (another Unami sub-group) to demand a
tribute of corn and wampum. The Tappan have always been peaceful and have
even sold some of their land to the Dutch. They reluctantly pay but
cannot believe that the Dutch have treated them this way.
The Lenni-Lenape were distributed as shown in this map, located
mainly in New Jersey and adjacent territories, including the
western section of Long Island, with a questionable group of
possible Munsee speakers alongside them (click on map to view
full sized)
1640
In
July, several pigs disappear from the De Vries plantation on Staten Island.
The obvious conclusion is that the Raritan are responsible, but as it turns
out, the culprits are
Dutch.
New Netherland's Governor Kieft
chooses to deal with this 'major crisis' with a show of military force. In
September, he sends a hundred men to Staten Island to punish the Raritan for
the theft. Several Raritan are killed; one of their sachems taken
hostage, and the corpse of another is mutilated.
1642
The
Raritan retaliate in the
New Netherland 'Pig
War' by burning De Vries' plantation and killing four of his
field-hands. Governor Kieft responds by ordering the extermination
of the Raritan and offers a bounty of ten fathoms of wampum for each
Raritan head brought to him at Fort Amsterdam. Only a few 'Metoac'
warriors from Long Island 'take up the hatchet' against the Raritan,
and the people themselves retreat westwards into New Jersey. Kieft's
generous offer nets him only one head.
However, other problems arise. The 'Whiskey War' is triggered
later in the year, also in New Jersey. The Hackensack tribe (another
Unami sub-tribe) are alienated when the son of one of their
sachems is made drunk and robbed. The sachem's son
retaliates by killing a
Dutchman.
Kieft makes his usual demand for the surrender of the killer and receives
the usual response - the warrior has fled to another tribe. The Hackensack,
however, are ready to resolve things in the traditional manner with a
payment of wampum to 'cover the dead'. Unfortunately, their sachems
refuse to visit Fort Amsterdam to make arrangements because they are
certain that the madman Kieft will put them in his jail. Meanwhile,
Raritan and Wecquaesgeek sachems try to restore peace with the
Dutch.
1643 - 1644
At
a time in which basic picket fences denote plots and residences for New
Amsterdam, Kieft's attempts to tax and then drive out the native Americans
have led to the Wappinger War, or 'Kieft's War', of 1643-1645.
As the news of the
Dutch massacre of Wecquaesgeek spreads, the Hackensack and Tappan of
the Unami join the other Wappinger tribes in attacks against the outlying
Dutch farms. The Dutch are driven inside Fort Amsterdam and, preparing for
a possible siege, Kieft adds fuel to the fire by confiscating corn from the
'Metoac' on Long Island, killing three Canarsee in the process.
The war spreads to include warriors from at least twenty tribes: the
Hackensack, Haverstraw, Navasink, Raritan, and Tappan of the Unami (and
possibly some of the
Munsee) west of the
Hudson; the Kitchawank, Nochpeem, Sintsink, Siwanoy, Tankiteke, Wappinger,
Wecquaesgeek from east of the Hudson; and also the Canarsee, Manhattan,
Massapequa, Matinecock, Merrick, Rockaway, and Secatogue from Long Island.
With only 250 men against 1,500 warriors, the Dutch are in danger of being
overwhelmed. However, the Mohawk and
Mahican remain loyal, and
Kieft is able to sign a treaty of friendship and trade with them at
Fort Orange. The Mohawk and Mahican do not intervene in the fighting,
but the very possibility that they might is enough to keep tribes from
joining the Wappinger.
Between 1643-1664, Munsee and Wappinger arrive after their wars with
the Dutch (the Wappinger in 1643-1645, and the Munsee Esopus in
1659-1664), followed by the Assateague and Wicomiss from the eastern
shore of Chesapeake Bay in 1669.
This modern illustration depicts a Lenape longhouse with Unami
and Unalachtigo Lenape (Delaware) preparing a catch of fish on
North America's eastern coastline
1644 - 1645
Kieft
offers 25,000 guilders to the
English
colonists in Connecticut for 150 men to help put down the uprising. Two
companies are formed under the leadership of John Underhill and they join
the fight in 1644. The first combined
Dutch-English expedition is sent against the Unami Raritan on Staten Island,
but the Raritan abandon their villages and flee into northern New Jersey.
The Unami Tappan and Hackensack prove equally difficult to corner, but the
Wappinger and 'Metoac' have nowhere to retreat and are badly mauled. Before
a peace is signed at Fort Orange in August 1645, more than 1,600 Wappinger
and their allies are killed.
1648 - 1651
During the years following the various conflicts of this decade,
Dutch immigration increases dramatically and swells the population
of New Netherland from 2,000
in 1648 to more than 10,000 in 1660. As the settlement swallows more native
land, anger and bitterness continue to smoulder. This is especially true
with the Lenape and
Munsee to the west
of the Hudson River after the Dutch, without bothering to consult them,
purchase some Lenape land from the Susquehannock in 1651.
In 1649 the Raritan sachems form around the treaty table to agree
a peace, but in either the same year or the next, 1650, Preuwamakan, the
oldest and most influential of the Esopus (Munsee) sachems is
murdered by the troops of Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant. Stuyvesant
meets the Esopus chiefs at Wiltwijck and concludes a general peace on
15 July 1650.
fl 1649
Pennekeck
Speaker of the
Hackensack Lenape. Sachem
of Newark Bay.
1664 - 1666
In
September 1664, an
English
fleet captures New Amsterdam, defeating the
Dutch. New Netherland
suddenly becomes New York, but little changes for the
Munsee in the Hudson
Valley - the Dutch colonists stay, and the English quickly sign treaties
of trade and friendship with the Mohawk and
Mahican (who remain at war
with each other until 1672). The Unami in New Jersey, however, suffer
increased land losses. English colonists are far more numerous than the
Dutch, and the conquest of New York opens new areas for their settlement.
The Dutch have at least paid for native lands, but the English claim the
land by right of discovery and pay only when absolutely necessary.
Connecticut Puritans found Newark in 1666 and begin expanding the
British Colonies into
New Jersey.
c.1712 - 1747
Sassoonan
/ Olumapies / Allumpees
Lenape
head chieftain of the Unami. Signed treaties. Died 1747.
c.1712 - 1747
Head Chief Sassoonan (or Olumapies, also known as Allumapees), has the
official subsidiary title of 'Keeper of the Wampum Records'. He is an Unami
chief whose early home is on the Schuylkill River. By 1709 he lives at Paxtang
(Harrisburg). In 1712 he and his delegation (which includes
Lenape Chief Skalitchy)
take wampum north to their 'uncles' (ie dominant masters) the Iroquois.
Head Chief Sassoonan's early home was along the Schuylkill
River, although by 1709 he had relocated to Paxtang, possibly
due to settler pressure
Sassoonan later emerges as the Delaware 'king', although this title has
no traditional meaning to the Delaware, who live in autonomous villages.
Since the governments of the
British Colonies prefer to
deal with a single leader rather than numerous village elders, Pennsylvania
officials find Sassoonan useful because he can be induced (with the help of
gifts and abundantly free alcohol) to sign away native lands, including the
treaty of 1718 which is signed with William Penn. Sassoonan is assistant to
Chief Shickellamy in 1743 and dies in 1747 at Shamokin. His designated
successor is Pisquetomen.
fl 1718 - 1728
Netawatwees (Skilled
Advisor)
Lenape
Unami chief in Pennsylvania. 'King Newcomer'.
1718
During William Penn's lifetime, things go relatively well. To make room
for the
English,
the Lenape move west to the
upper Schuykill, Brandywine, and Lehigh valleys, with the settlers'
Delaware Colony being detached from Pennsylvania in 1704. By 1718, the
Iroquois have assumed complete control of the affairs of the Lenape -
an arrangement that has been encouraged by Pennsylvania's governors to
insure that the Lenape do not come under the influence of
New France.
When William Penn dies in the same year, his three sons by his second
marriage inherit his estate but apparently none of his honesty.
1728
Shicellamy
(or Shikellamy) is a 'great Oneida chief', a man of strong character and
statesman-like vision. When a tribe is conquered by the Six Nations - in
other words the Iroquois league - a deputy or vice-gerent is sent by
the Iroquois or Six Nation Council to watch over the tribe. Shicellamy is
such a deputy, sent by the Great Federal Council of the Six Nations
'Onondaga' to watch over the
Delaware. He replaces
Shingas (see below).
1729
Lenape Chief
Checochinican's main assistants are Chilykon, Peyeashickon, and Wililikyona.
In 1729 he writes a letter to the governor of Pennsylvania complaining that
they are unable to gain any help so they will move to the Susquehannock who
reside amongst the Mingo. Some settle at Paxtang where they gradually merge
with the people of Chief Sassoonan, the Unami Lenape.
1732
After the cession of much land within the Susquehanna Valley, all that
remains of the Lenape
homeland is a small part of New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley (Allentown)
in north-eastern Pennsylvania.
1740 - c.1764
Shingas
Nephew of Sassoon.
A chief of the Delaware Turkey
clan.
Shingas
is a member of the Delaware
Turkey clan (or phratry) He is a nephew of Sassoonan. Along with his
brothers, Tamaqua (also known as 'King Beaver') and Pisquetomen, Shingas
becomes a prominent leader during the French-Indian War. After this
and Pontiac's War, in about 1764, Shingas disappears from history
and (according to C A Westlager) it seems that it is not known what
becomes of him. 'King' Beaver and other leaders then rise to prominence.
Artist John Buxton's impressive impression of Chief Shingas,
who was prominent in the eyes of European settlers
1743 - 1744
No
longer having land of their own, the Unami are ordered to join the other
Delaware who are living at
Shamokin and Wyoming on the upper Susquehanna, lands now claimed by Iroquois
from their conquest of the Susquehannock. For years, the 'grandfathers' have
taken in refugees from other Algonquin tribes, starting with the Powhatan
who have left Virginia after their war with the English in 1622-1632. In
1744 a fever (probably malaria) rages along the Susquehanna, and alcohol
abuse is also a serious problem. People begin to pack up and leave. The
Mingo (adopted Iroquois) and Shawnee are the first, but for the Shawnee
moving west is no more than a return to their homeland.
fl 1747
Pisquetomen
Brother of
Shingas. Designated as Sassoonan's successor.
1747
Pisquetomen is brother to Lenape
Chief Shingas (who begins to be important from 1740), and is the chosen
successor to the recently-deceased Sassoonan. However, Pisquetomen is
intelligent, strong-willed, and speaks English, and he is not easily
manipulated. Pennsylvanian officials refuse to recognise him as 'king'
and, as a result, he and his brothers, Shingas and Tamaqua (King Beaver),
abandon Pennsylvania, leading their people over the Allegheny Mountains
and settling at Kittanning on the Allegheny River.
1748 - 1776
Netawatwees
(Skilled Advisor)
Former Unami
sub-chief (of 1718). Succeeded Pisquetomen.
1748
Netawatwees, otherwise known as 'King Newcomer', is an Unami
Lenape who is said to have
been born in 1678 in Pennsylvania. He had signed the Treaty of Conestoga
in 1718 and now becomes chief of the Unami following the death of Sassoonan.
With this comes responsibility as the keeper of the wampum and other records.
He dies in Pittsburgh on 31 October 1776 and is succeeded by Captain White
Eyes.
1751
Some
of the Delaware, Mingo, and
Shawnee in western Pennsylvania accept the invitation of the Wyandot (Huron)
to settle in eastern Ohio. The Delaware have split into two groups: those
in the west along the upper Ohio River in the first group, and the
Munsee and about
one-third of the Unami who have remained on the upper Susquehanna or
the Wyoming Valley in the east in the second group.
Ohio is being claimed by the
British Colonies, the
Iroquois, and
New France,
but has largely been empty for almost a century following its conquest by
the Iroquois during the Beaver Wars between 1630-1698. Shingas of
the Unami is recognised as the head chief of the Delaware, but smallpox
hits the tribes around the same time, just as they are beginning to leave
the mixed villages and organise themselves into a separate tribe. Their
council fire is located at Coshocton on the Muskingum River in Ohio.
1752
With
traders of the British
Colonies subverting the loyalty of their allies, and the
Delaware, Mingo, and
Shawnee defying its authority,
New
France decides to militarily enforce its claims to Ohio. It turns first
to the Detroit tribes (Ojibwa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Wyandot), usually its
most dependable allies, but the tribes are thinking of trading with the
British
themselves and do not want to fight the Ohio tribes. In June, Charles
Langlade, a French-Ojibwe of mixed blood, leads a war party of 250
Ojibwa and Ottawa from Mackinac and destroys the Miami village and
British trading post at Piqua, Ohio.
As shown by this modern image, a French expedition visited
Logstown in 1749 (location of the eponymous 1752 treaty),
under the command of Pierre-Joseph Celeron de Blainville
Following the initial shock of this attack, the tribes of the
French
alliance fall into place, and the French follow up their success by building
a line of forts across western Pennsylvania to block British access to Ohio.
Most Delaware and Shawnee have no desire to be controlled by the French and
therefore turn to the Iroquois for help. From the Iroquois perspective, the
French and British seem like two thieves fighting over their land, but they
decide that the French are the more immediate threat. The league signs the
Logstown Treaty, which reconfirms their 1744 cession of land and gives the
British permission to build a blockhouse at Pittsburgh. Before it is finished
however, the French burn it. In the same treaty the Iroquois recognise the
selection of Shingas of the Unami as head chief and, although his authority
is not accepted by those Delaware who are still on the Susquehanna, the
formerly mixed Delaware have again become an organised tribe.
fl 1753/1764
Custaloga (Wolf
Chief)
Keeper of the
Wampum under Shingas.
1753 - 1764
Custaloga (also known as Wolf Chief, 'Keeper of the Wampum' under Shingas)
lives at Venango, Pennsylvania. He meets George Washington in 1753 when
Washington is visiting Venango. Custaloga signs a treaty with his brother
Onas in 1765, and is also an uncle of
Munsee Chief Captain
Pipe who, upon Custaloga's death, succeeds him.
1754 - 1760
The Fourth French-Indian War erupts, starting with the Battle of
Great Meadows, and with the Mingo people being led by Scruniyatha
(Half-King). Two more battles are fought in 1754 - Fort Necessity and
Braddock's Defeat, with Crown Point (Lake George) taking place in 1755
against the Mohawk and Caughnawaga who are led by Hendrick. In 1756,
Oswego is the only battle, and in 1757 the Fort William Henry action
involves the Upper Great Lakes Indians. The year 1758 sees battles take
place at Louisburg and Fort Frontenac with little Indian involvement,
and then at Fort Duquesne with peace being declared in 1760. These
battles involve the Cherokee,
Delaware, Iroquois, Mingo
(Mohawk), and Shawnee, all led by Little Carpenter and Outacite.
Echpalawehund Peyrus is the right-hand man to Netawatwees. He becomes a
Moravian convert but retains his position on the Council body. He is later
killed at the 'Massacre of 8 March 1782' of the Christian
Lenape (see below).
1761 - 1765
The Pontiac War involves initial battles in the Ohio river valley
at forts Pitt and Miami, with the
Delaware, Huron, Miami,
Ojibwa, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Seneca, and Shawnee all taking part under
the collective leadership of Pontiac, the 'Delaware Prophet'. Battles and
sieges in 1763 are at Fort Detroit, Niagara, Presque Island, Sault St
Marie, Mackinac, and Venango, with a final fight at Bushy Run.
In the same year the Seneca launch a double ambush of a
British supply train and its supporting contingent of troops in what
becomes known as the Devil's Hole Massacre, on 14 September 1763. On 26
July 1764, four Delaware kill a schoolmaster, ten pupils, and a
pregnant woman. Amazingly two pupils who are scalped survive the Enoch
Brown School Massacre.
1764 - 1786
Konieschquanoheel
/ Hopocan / Cpt Pipe
Nephew of
Custaloga. MunseeDelaware chief of the Wolf
clan.
1764
Konieschquanoheel (otherwise known as Hopocan and Captain Pipe) is the
Munsee nephew of
Custaloga, keeper of the Wampum under Shingas of the Unami. Upon Custaloga's
death in this year Captain Pipe succeeds him as chief of the Unami. Apparently
he is already an hereditary sachem and head chief of the Munsee.
1772? - 1782
Captain Johnny
Chief of the
Delaware Turkey clan under
Netawatwees.
1772 - 1782
Captain Johnny is a chief of the
Delaware Turkey clan who, early
in the American
Revolutionary War, visits General Washington at his army headquarters
in New Jersey. He is listed as second chief under Netawatwees (see 1748).
He is a convert to the Moravians and is among the ninety Christian Indians
who are killed by the militia of Pennsylvania and Virginia in the 1782
massacre (see below).
1776 - 1778
Koquethagachton
/ Captain White Eyes
Head chief of
the Turtle clan. Succeeded Netawatwees. Killed.
1776 - 1778
The
British urge the Ohio tribes to attack settlements because the
American
revolutionaries are trying to take Ohio - a very obvious lie, since the
Americans want everything and not just Ohio. Only the Detroit tribes,
Mingo, Seneca, and some Shawnee, side with the British at first, but
their raids and indiscriminate American retaliation are enough to start
a downwards spiral towards total war. The
Delaware remain neutral,
and their head chief, White Eyes (Koquethagachton) of the Unami, even
addresses the revolutionary Philadelphia Congress during 1776.
1778
In February, General Edward Hand leaves Fort Pitt with a unit of
Pennsylvania militia so that they can conduct a punitive raid. He fails
to find any hostile warriors but he does attack two peaceful
Delaware villages, killing
the brother of Captain Pipe (head of the Unami Wolf clan from 1764) and
wounding his mother. Hand's infamous 'Squaw Campaign' ends Pipe's neutrality,
but for the moment he is held in check by the other Delaware chiefs,
White Eyes (Unami Turtle clan) and Killbuck (Delaware Turkey clan).
In September all three sign a treaty at Fort Pitt with the
Americans
- the first treaty between the United States and native Americans. Among
other things, the Americans promise not to take any Delaware land; to
protect them from the
British; and, if desired, they can have a representative in Congress. In
return the Delaware become American allies and will permit the construction
of a fort in their territory. Unlike Penn's 1682 treaty with the Delaware,
this one is immediately broken.
By now Chief White Eyes is already aged around seventy-six, and is a famous
sachem of the Turtle clan. He is a personal friend of George Washington
and becomes a colonel in the American Army in 1778, having already succeeded
as chief of the Turtle clan in 1776. However, the commander at Fort Pitt,
General Lachlan McIntosh, asks the Delaware to join him in an attack on
Detroit. Since this will involve fighting British allies with whom they are
at peace, the Delaware decline. To show his good will, Chief White Eyes agrees
to escort McIntosh to the proposed site of Fort Laurens (Bolivar, Ohio). He is
murdered en route, but the Delaware are told that he has died of smallpox.
Fort Laurens was built by the revolutionary Americans at
Bolivar in what is now Ohio, in a failed attempt to use
it as a staging point to attack the British
1779
Fort Laurens soon proves isolated and indefensible, but the
Americans
have killed their best friend on the
Delaware council. Many
Delaware do not accept the explanation, and the
pro-British
faction begins to unite around Captain Pipe of the Unami. Killbuck attempts
to keep them neutral, but it does not help when frontiersmen try to kill a
Delaware delegation that is en route to Philadelphia for a meeting with the
revolutionary Congress. As tensions build, many of the
Munsee leave Ohio
for what they think is the safety of the Seneca villages in New York.
This places them directly in the path of Colonel Daniel Brodhead's
offensive up the Allegheny Valley in support of General John Sullivan's
campaign against the Iroquois. The Munsee villages are also destroyed,
and they retreat to southern Ontario. When the war ends, most stay in
Canada and do
not return to the United States.
1782
In March, a Delaware
war party that is returning from a raid in Pennsylvania passes through
Gnadenhuetten on its way back to northern Ohio. Close on their heels are
a hundred-and-sixty
American Pennsylvanian volunteers from Washington County, Pennsylvania,
under Colonel David Williamson. Finding the Moravians at Gnadenhuetten,
Williamson places them under arrest. In the democratic style of frontier
militia, a vote is taken as to whether to take the prisoners back to Fort
Pitt or kill them. The decision is to execute them.
The Moravians are given the night to prepare, and in the morning, two
slaughter houses are selected. Ninety Christian Delaware - men, woman
and children - are taken inside in small groups and beaten to death
with wooden mallets. Among the victims is old Abraham, a
Mahican, and the first
convert made by the Moravians in Pennsylvania. Also included are
Echpalawehund Peyrus of the Unami (floruit 1758), Glickhican
of the Munsee
(floruit 1748 onwards), and Captain Johnny of the Unami, and by
now the first two of them may be quite elderly. Afterwards, the troops
burn Gnadenhuetten and the other Moravian missions. Then they take their
looted plunder home with them to their wives and children in Pennsylvania.
Word of the massacre spreads to the other Delaware, and in June they
join the Wyandot to defeat a large force of Pennsylvania militia (at
the Battle of Sandusky), which had been sent to attack the Sandusky
villages. The Wyandot capture the commanding officer, Colonel William
Crawford and, honouring a request from Captain Pipe of the
Munsee Delaware,
they turn him over to the Delaware. Crawford suffers a slow, terrible
death (being burned at the stake) to atone for the Gnadenhuetten
Massacre. The war continues throughout 1782 with the Shawnee inflicting
a major defeat on Kentucky militia at Blue Licks (Daniel Boone's son
is killed in this battle), and the Mingo burning Hannastown in
Pennsylvania.
1786
The homeless Munsee
(since 1756), eventually end up with the Oneida in upstate New York where
many of them become Christians. Other converts join them after the war:
the remaining
Stockbridge from
western Massachusetts in 1786; Brotherton Indians from Connecticut and
Long Island (Mohegan, Metoac, and Mattabesic) in 1788; and a group of
Unami Brotherton (mostly Raritan) from New Jersey in 1801 - closing the
Brotherton Reservation which had been created by the Treaty of Easton
in 1758.
Despite having rendered valuable service to the
American army
during the Revolutionary War, the Oneida, Brotherton, and
Stockbridge slowly lose their lands to New York land speculators. The
first capitol of the Western Alliance is at the Shawnee village of
Wakatomica, but this is burned by the Americans in 1786. The council
fire is moved in November to Brownstown, a Wyandot village which lies
just to the south of Detroit. Besides the
Delaware, the membership
ultimately includes the following: Chickamauga, Fox, Iroquois, Kickapoo,
Miami, Ojibwe, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sauk, Shawnee, and Wyandot.
However, neither the government nor the alliance chiefs can enforce the
agreement without the support of their people. A similar treaty is signed
at Fort Finney with the Shawnee, but many alliance warriors demand the Ohio,
not the Muskingum as the boundary, while the Long Knives will not be
satisfied until they have the entire Ohio Valley. Congress, meanwhile, had
sold the land rights to a New Jersey syndicate and the Ohio Company to pay
its war debts. Americans flood into Ohio and take native land as squatters.
There are already 12,000 whites to the north of the Ohio by 1785 and more
are coming all the time. Short of starting a civil war, the American
military commander, General Josiah Harmar, cannot stop them.
Fort McIntosh was erected in 1778 by General McIntosh in his
role as commander of the western division to replace General
Hand - unfortunately the treaty signed here failed miserably
The Fort McIntosh Treaty does not even receive the approval of the majority
of the Delaware and, as a result, Captain Pipe of the Unami is replaced by
Big Cat as head of the Wolf clan. War resumes almost before the ink is dry
when Miami and Kickapoo warriors attack American settlements along the lower
Wabash in southern Indiana during the spring. In the autumn, George Rogers
Clark arrives at Vincennes with Kentucky militia, but Harmar orders him to
disband. The alliance chiefs also try to slow the slide towards war. A truce
is ordered until their new demands have time to reach the Congress in
Philadelphia, but these are delayed until July - far too late. After a
summer of raids, Benjamin Logan and his Kentucky militia retaliate with an
attack against Shawnee villages in southern Ohio. In December, the American
governor, Arthur St Clair asks the alliance for a meeting at Fort Harmar on
the falls of Muskingum. The alliance council agree to settle for the
Muskingum as the border, but serious divisions remain.
1786 - ?
Big Cat
Chief of the
Wolf clan.
1795
Wayne
burns the alliance villages along the Maumee and destroys the stored food
supply to ensure a hungry winter. Then he returns to Fort Greenville and
waits. In August, the alliance chiefs sign the Fort Greenville Treaty,
agreeing to peace and ceding all of Ohio except the north-western corner.
The treaty leaves the
Delaware without land and,
with the exception of Captain Pipe's small band of Unami on the upper
Sandusky, they relocate with the permission of the Miami to White River in
eastern-central Indiana, near the site of present-day Muncie. Some of their
villages are located in southern Indiana, near the Ohio River, which places
them in the path of the next wave of
American expansion.
Indiana is never a happy place for the Delaware who feel like squatters on
Miami land. After their defeat in the fight for Ohio, there is social
disintegration, the men refusing to farm, and alcohol abuse becoming a
serious problem.
1802 - 1818
By
1802 only a few isolated Mahican
families continue to live along the Hudson. A mixed band of Mahican,
Mohegan, Montauk, Narragansett, Pequot, and Wappinger have already moved
to land given to them by the Oneida in New York, while a second group of
forty or so Raritan-Delaware
from a New Jersey reservation called
Brotherton now
join the first group. In 1833 the combined party moves to Wisconsin, with
all of them now using the name Brotherton.
1887 - 1934
Tribal ownership finally ends with the individual allotments that are
prescribed by the General Allotment Act (the Dawes Act, 1887). During the
twenty-eight years between the completion of the allotment (1910) and the
formation of a new
Stockbridge
tribal government in 1938 under the Indian Reorganisation Act (1934), much
of their land is lost either to tax foreclosures or sales to US citizens.
Although only 16,000 acres of their original reservation remains today,
the Stockbridge Mahican
and Munsee, and
their Brotherton
allies, are still very much alive.
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