Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)

In the spring of 1776, a Mohawk man named Joseph Brant was in London. He had crossed the ocean to see the king's ministers. He told them that settlers were taking Mohawk land. He asked Britain to protect it. He met King George III. A famous artist painted his picture. Then he sailed home to a war.

Thayendanegea

Brant's Mohawk name was Thayendanegea. He was born in 1743 in the Ohio Country. The Mohawk were one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois. The Iroquois were six Native nations that worked together. They lived in what is now New York. Brant's sister Molly was the partner of Sir William Johnson. Johnson was the British official who dealt with the Native nations. In 1761 Johnson sent Brant to a school in Connecticut. Brant learned to read and write English. He helped put part of the Bible into the Mohawk language.

Choosing a Side

When the war began, each of the Six Nations had to choose. Brant and most of the Mohawk chose Britain. They thought the king would keep settlers off their land. The Oneida chose the Americans. The Six Nations were split. In August 1777 there was a battle at Oriskany, New York. Brant's men fought American militia there. Oneida warriors fought on the American side.

Brant led Mohawk and Loyalist fighters. Loyalists were colonists who stayed on Britain's side. They raided farms and towns in New York. Americans called him "Monster Brant." But a British officer wrote about Brant at Cherry Valley. He said Brant treated his prisoners with "great humanity."

Burned Villages

In 1779 George Washington sent an army into Iroquois country. The soldiers burned about forty villages. They burned the corn too. Many Iroquois families spent the winter at Fort Niagara with no homes.

Grand River

The war ended in 1783. The peace treaty did not say one word about Native people. Brant said England had "sold the Indians to Congress." In 1784 Britain gave the Six Nations new land in Canada. It was along the Grand River. Brant led about 1,800 people there. He died at his home in Canada on November 24, 1807.

In the spring of 1776, a Mohawk man named Joseph Brant was in London. He had crossed the ocean to meet the king's ministers. He told Lord George Germain, the minister in charge of the colonies, that settlers were taking Mohawk land. He asked the British government to protect it. He was received by King George III, and the painter George Romney painted his portrait. Then he sailed home to a war.

Thayendanegea

Brant's Mohawk name was Thayendanegea. He was born in 1743 in the Ohio Country, while his family was on a hunting trip. The Mohawk were one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, a group of Native nations in what is now New York. The six nations had worked together for hundreds of years. Brant's sister Molly Brant was the partner of Sir William Johnson. Johnson was the British official in charge of dealing with the northern Native nations. In 1761 Johnson sent Brant to a school for Native students in Lebanon, Connecticut. Brant learned to read and write English. He worked for Johnson as an interpreter, a person who turns one language into another. He also helped translate part of the Bible into Mohawk.

Choosing a Side

When the Revolution began, each of the Six Nations had to decide what to do. Brant and most of the Mohawk sided with Britain. They believed the king's government would keep settlers off their land. The Oneida sided with the Americans. For the first time in hundreds of years, the Six Nations were split. On August 6, 1777, at Oriskany in New York, Brant's Mohawk and their allies ambushed American militia. Oneida warriors fought beside the Americans that day.

Brant led Mohawk and Loyalist fighters, colonists who stayed loyal to Britain. They raided farms and villages along the New York frontier. Americans called him "Monster Brant." They also blamed him for the killing of settlers at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, in 1778, but he was not there. At Cherry Valley, New York, in November 1778, Loyalist rangers and Seneca warriors killed settlers, including women and children. The British commander at Fort Niagara wrote that Brant "behaved with great humanity to all those who fell into his hands at Cherry Valley."

Burned Villages

In 1779 General George Washington sent an army under General John Sullivan into Iroquois country. Sullivan's soldiers burned about forty villages. They also burned the corn, beans and fruit trees around them. Thousands of Iroquois spent the winter at Fort Niagara with no homes to go back to.

Grand River

The treaty that ended the war in 1783 did not mention Britain's Native allies. When Brant learned the terms, he said England had "sold the Indians to Congress." In 1784 Britain granted the Six Nations land along the Grand River in what is now Ontario, Canada. Brant led about 1,800 people there. In a letter to an American colonel that year, he wrote that the Mohawk had "always favored the prisoners, especially women and children." Joseph Brant died at his home near Burlington, Upper Canada, on November 24, 1807.

In the spring of 1776, a Mohawk man named Joseph Brant was in London. He had crossed the ocean to meet the king's ministers. He told Lord George Germain, the minister in charge of the American colonies, that settlers were taking Mohawk land, and he asked the British government to protect it. He was received at court by King George III, and the painter George Romney painted his portrait. Then he sailed home to a war.

Thayendanegea

Brant's Mohawk name was Thayendanegea, which means "he places two bets." He was born in 1743 in the Ohio Country, near the Cuyahoga River, while his family was on a hunting trip. The Mohawk were one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, also called the Haudenosaunee, an alliance of Native nations in what is now New York that had kept the peace among themselves for hundreds of years. His sister Molly Brant was the partner of Sir William Johnson, the British official in charge of relations with the northern Native nations. In 1761 Johnson sent Brant, then about eighteen, to Eleazar Wheelock's school for Native students in Lebanon, Connecticut. Brant learned to read and write English, worked for Johnson as an interpreter, and helped translate the Gospel of Mark into Mohawk.

Choosing a Side

When the Revolution began, each of the Six Nations had to decide what to do. Brant and most of the Mohawk sided with Britain. They believed the king's government was more likely than the colonists to keep settlers off their land. The Oneida and most of the Tuscarora sided with the Americans. For the first time in hundreds of years, the Confederacy was split. On August 6, 1777, at Oriskany in New York, Brant's Mohawk and their Seneca and Loyalist allies ambushed about 800 American militia marching to relieve Fort Stanwix. Oneida warriors fought beside the Americans. Iroquois fought Iroquois.

Brant led Mohawk and Loyalist fighters, colonists who stayed loyal to Britain, in raids on farms and villages along the New York frontier, at German Flats, Cherry Valley and Minisink. Americans called him "Monster Brant." They also blamed him for the killing of settlers at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, in 1778, though he was not there. At Cherry Valley on November 11, 1778, Loyalist rangers under Walter Butler and Seneca warriors killed settlers, including women and children, and took others prisoner. Mason Bolton, the British commander at Fort Niagara, reported that Brant "behaved with great humanity to all those who fell into his hands at Cherry Valley."

The Sullivan Expedition

In 1779 General George Washington ordered an army under General John Sullivan into Iroquois country. Sullivan's soldiers burned about forty villages and the corn, beans and orchards around them. Thousands of Iroquois spent the winter as refugees at Fort Niagara, and many of them never returned to their old villages.

Grand River

The treaty that ended the war in 1783 did not mention Britain's Native allies. Britain gave up its claims to the land south of the Great Lakes, including the Mohawk homeland. When Brant learned the terms, he said England had "sold the Indians to Congress." In 1784 Frederick Haldimand, the governor of Quebec, granted the Six Nations a tract of land along the Grand River in what is now Ontario. Brant led about 1,800 people there. In November 1784 he wrote to an American colonel that the Mohawk had "always favored the prisoners, especially women and children" and had "been a generous enemy to you during the war." He went to London again in 1785 to ask what Britain would do if the Americans moved against Native land. Joseph Brant died at his home near Burlington, Upper Canada, on November 24, 1807.

In the spring of 1776, a Mohawk man named Joseph Brant was in London. He had sailed in November 1775 with Guy Johnson, the British superintendent of Indian affairs, to put the Mohawk case before the king's ministers. He told Lord George Germain, the secretary of state for the American colonies, that settlers were taking Mohawk land, and he asked the British government to protect it. He was received at court by King George III, and the painter George Romney painted his portrait in sittings on March 29 and April 4, 1776. Then he sailed home, and by the summer of 1776 he was fighting beside the British at the Battle of Long Island.

Thayendanegea

Brant's Mohawk name was Thayendanegea, which means "he places two bets." He was born in 1743 in the Ohio Country, near the Cuyahoga River, while his family was on a hunting trip. The Mohawk were one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, also called the Haudenosaunee, an alliance of Native nations in what is now New York that had kept the peace among themselves for hundreds of years. His sister Molly Brant was the partner of Sir William Johnson, the British official in charge of relations with the northern Native nations. In 1761 Johnson sent Brant, then about eighteen, to Eleazar Wheelock's school for Native students in Lebanon, Connecticut. Brant learned to read and write English, worked for Johnson as an interpreter and translator, and helped translate the Gospel of Mark into Mohawk.

Choosing a Side

When the Revolution began, each of the Six Nations had to decide what to do. Brant and most of the Mohawk sided with Britain. They believed the king's government was more likely than the colonists to keep settlers off their land, since the Crown's Proclamation of 1763 had tried to keep settlement east of the Appalachian Mountains. The Oneida and most of the Tuscarora sided with the Americans. For the first time in hundreds of years, the Confederacy was split. In July 1777 Brant arrived at Oswego with about 300 warriors to join a British force marching on Fort Stanwix. On August 6, at Oriskany, his Mohawk and the Seneca under Old Smoke and Cornplanter, with Loyalist troops, ambushed about 800 American militia under General Nicholas Herkimer. Oneida warriors fought beside Herkimer's men. Iroquois fought Iroquois.

Brant led Mohawk and Loyalist fighters, colonists who stayed loyal to Britain, in raids on farms and villages along the New York frontier, at German Flats, Cherry Valley and Minisink. Americans called him "Monster Brant." They also blamed him for the killing of settlers at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, in July 1778, though he was not there. At Cherry Valley on November 11, 1778, Loyalist rangers under Walter Butler and Seneca warriors killed settlers, including women and children, and took others prisoner. Mason Bolton, the British commander at Fort Niagara, reported that Brant "behaved with great humanity to all those who fell into his hands at Cherry Valley." Brant made the same claim himself. In November 1784 he wrote to an American colonel that the Mohawk had "always favored the prisoners, especially women and children" and had "been a generous enemy to you during the war."

The Sullivan Expedition

In 1779 General George Washington ordered an army under General John Sullivan into Iroquois country. Sullivan's soldiers burned about forty villages and the corn, beans and orchards around them. Thousands of Iroquois spent the winter as refugees at Fort Niagara, and many of them never returned to their old villages. The raids on the frontier went on until the end of the war.

Grand River

The treaty that ended the war in 1783 did not mention Britain's Native allies. Britain gave up its claims to the land south of the Great Lakes, including the Mohawk homeland. When Brant learned the terms, he said England had "sold the Indians to Congress." In 1784 Frederick Haldimand, the governor of Quebec, granted the Six Nations a tract of about two million acres along the Grand River in what is now Ontario, six miles deep on each side of the river. Brant led the move there, and a census in 1785 counted 1,843 people in the new settlement.

In late 1785 Brant sailed to London a second time. On January 4, 1786, he asked Lord Sydney, the home secretary, whether Britain would support the Six Nations if the Americans moved against their land. He said the Americans had shown "through their encroaching disposition" that "they pay little regard to engagements." Sydney answered with assurances of the king's concern and advice to act with "temper and moderation," and no promise of military help. Brant won a pension and about 15,000 pounds for the Mohawk's wartime losses. He spent the rest of his life at Grand River and in dealings with British and American officials over Native land. Joseph Brant died at his home near Burlington, Upper Canada, on November 24, 1807, at the age of 64.