Noble Warrior of Peace

Clash of Empires

The Native American tribes played an interesting role in the American War for Independence. In some ways, the tension caused by the westward expansion of European settlers contributed to the strain between the colonists and the British authorities in London, who saw the Indian Territory west of the Alleghanies as a buffer zone against Spain. Americans moving westward posed a potential risk as future allies of Spain or even as a cause of war with Spain. The tribes found themselves caught in the middle, especially in the Carolinas and western New York.

In New York, the British had built strong trade and political alliances with the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederation, who served as powerful military allies during the French and Indian War. Most of the tribes sided with the British. Among them was the Seneca nation. And among these proud people rose a leader who would earn fame in war and praise in peace. His name was Gyantwakia, which in English was Cornplanter.

Seneca Chief

Cornplanter was born in 1740 to a Dutch trader named John Abeel and a Seneca woman in the village of Conawagaus, now known as Avon, New York. He was raised as a Seneca, living among his mother’s influential family, the Wolf Clan, which was a warrior clan. He led a war party in support of the British during the French and Indian War, and by the start of the American Revolution in 1775, he was an established war chief, having gained his experience as a young warrior. The Iroquois were among the most skilled warriors of all the native tribes, and both sides sought their support. Cornplanter, showing notable caution, urged neutrality in the conflict between the white settlers.

                                                           Gyantwakia aka Cornplanter

Raising the Tomahawk

However, as the struggle grew more intense, he could not keep the Seneca on the sidelines. In August 1777, the Seneca joined their former allies, the British, in taking up the tomahawk. By that time, the war in New York was at its peak, with General John Burgoyne’s three-pronged campaign to capture New York already in progress. In many ways, this campaign would determine the outcome of the war.

                                                   The War Chief addresses the Wolf Clan

Valley of Death

Once committed, Cornplanter was fully involved. He soon led a Seneca war party in support of Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger’s expedition east through the Mohawk Valley. Standing between him and his goal, Albany, was the small outpost known as Fort Stanwix. In this role, he participated in the siege of Fort Stanwix, New York, and later helped plan the ambush of Colonel Nicholas Herkimer’s relief column in the dense woods near Oriskany on August 6, 1777. The ambush was a typical Indian warfare tactic. Cornplanter’s warriors surprised and destroyed the column, mortally injuring Herkimer. However, the approach of another column under Benedict Arnold forced the British to withdraw their regular forces from New York and switch to hit-and-run guerrilla raids against frontier settlements.

                                    Seneca ambush at Oriskany mortally wounds Col Herkimer

Frontier on Fire

Cornplanter led many raids against American settlements, especially at Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, where on July 3, 1778, his warriors ambushed and defeated a pursuit force of 400 militia commanded by Colonel Zebulon Butler. In November, his Seneca allies supported Loyalist Captain Walter Butler (unrelated to Zebulon) in a brutal attack on Cherry Valley, New York. These Indian and Loyalist raids caused such significant damage to American lives, property, and morale that General George Washington ordered a punitive campaign against the Six Nations the following year.

                                                              Cherry Valley Massacre

Yankee Retribution

American retribution arrived with the 1779 expedition led by General John Sullivan, who launched a punishing attack on August 28, defeating the Iroquois and Loyalists at Newtown (Elmira), New York. Sullivan then carried out a scorched earth campaign to punish Iroquois villages in the region. Under pressure, he and the Seneca stood down for the winter, but the next summer, Cornplanter was back on the warpath with raids against Canajoharie and the Schoharie Valley, New York. At Canajoharie, his band took his father, John Abeel, prisoner. Cornplanter offered to make him a guest of his clan, but Abeel declined, so the dutiful son released him.

                                                                   Wolf Clan attacks

Smoking the Peace Pipe

At the end of the Revolutionary War, the Iroquois faced complications as they tried to adapt to the new American government. Cornplanter participated in numerous treaty signings, which gradually led to the loss of his people’s land. The Iroquois had little influence against the victorious Americans, who never forgot their wrongdoings in support of the British. Cornplanter defended his nation and clan with calmness and resolve. This led more aggressive leaders like Red Jacket to criticize him and strongly oppose land sales, hoping to improve their own standing among the clans.

                                                           The  Senecas and the rest of the 

                                                                Six Nations stood down

A Moderate Influence

The Ohio (Northwest) Territory ignited with conflict as tribes along the Ohio River grew restless over American expansion and British interference. These tribes formed a Great Confederation led by figures like Little Turtle and initially achieved victory, notably defeating an American army led by Revolutionary War General Arthur St. Clair in 1791. Due to his reputation and prowess as a warrior, the new American government appointed him to represent them in negotiations with the tribes at a major peace conference called the Council on the Auglaize. However, Cornplanter and other moderate native leaders were unsuccessful. The fierce fighting persisted until former Revolutionary War leader Anthony Wayne defeated the confederation at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, leading the Ohio tribes to sign peace at the Treaty of Greeneville. In recognition of his efforts to unite the western tribes, Pennsylvania rewarded Cornplanter with a large land grant on the Allegheny River.

    Treaty of Greeneville settled Indian Affairs 

in the Northwest Territory

Smoking the War Pipe

With the outbreak of war with Britain in 1812, the now elderly chief Cornplanter offered his services to the United States but was refused. However, his son, Henry O’Bail, served with some distinction. Cornplanter, one of the fiercest Seneca warriors, lived peacefully on his land grant for another two decades.

                                                   Monument to Chief of the Wolf Clan

When he died on February 18, 1836, the great war chief was widely mourned as a man of peace. Many decades later, in 1871, Pennsylvania chose to honor the noble Seneca by erecting a marble shrine on his grave as a symbol of respect and admiration.