The Clandestine Challenge
The challenge with any study of espionage is the shortage of unclassified resources — it is the nature of clandestine work that it be kept secret. This is especially so when looking back to the time of the Yankee Doodle spies when almost all espionage activity was "off the books," with few reports or records kept. Spies were active in all theaters throughout the war, but determining who and what they did is challenging, requiring lots of "fill in the blank" and connect the dots analysis.
Savage War of Peace
The American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley involved years of internecine conflict and small-scale combat that often reached a fever pitch. Patriot Whigs and Loyalist Tories went nose to nose in battles from a few dozen to a few hundred and rarely involved large-scale combat involving thousands. Throw six Iroquois tribes, Canadians, Continentals, and British regulars into the mix, and you have a bouillabaisse of conflict and turmoil. But unlike many other theaters of the war, the central New York region was never quiet. Instead, a continuous savage war of peace raged.
The role of the native tribes added objective complexity to the struggle in New York. The powerful Iroquois nation was mainly in the camp of the British thanks to the excellent work of the Crown's Indian Agent, Sir William Johnson, and his son.
Of the Iroquois nations, the most powerful, warlike, and pro-British were the Mohawks, who controlled the easternmost tranche of the territory. Our subject is one of those Mohawks, a woman born, Konwatsi'tsiaiénni, but now known as Mary or Molly Brant, older sister to Joseph Brant, who became a Mohawk War Chief and British officer during the war for independence.
Youth in Two Worlds
Molly Brant was born around 1736 in the Ohio Valley, although her family's ancestral home was the village of Canajoharie, on the upper Mohawk near Little Falls, New York. Her parents were Margaret (Onagsakearat) and Peter (Tehowaghwengaraghkwin), who were Anglicans. When Peter died while the family lived on the Ohio River, Molly's mother returned to Canajoharie with her and her brother Joseph.
Both Brant children grew up in two worlds, developing fluency in English and becoming comfortable with English culture. Molly was schooled in the Mohawk Valley and, due to her command of English, accompanied twelve Mohawk tribal elders in a delegation to Philadelphia in 1755. Sometime after that trip, Molly became acquainted with the most powerful man in two worlds, famed British Indian Agent Sir William Johnson — her beauty and grace smote him. Johnson brokered all the deals involving the tribes and proved an honest broker who attended to the needs of the Iroquois and the white settlers in central New York. He was also rich.
Lady of the Manor
By 1759, the twenty-three-year-old Molly was officially listed in Johnson's records as his "housekeeper," but she was, in fact, his common-law wife — perhaps married by Iroquois custom. She would have seven children by him and functioned in all ways as the powerful Johnson's consort.
Anglo visitors who visited Johnson's estate, Johnson Hall, remarked on her beauty, delicate features, olive skin, excellent manners, and understated but commanding presence. In all but name, Brant was the Lady of the Johnson Hall estate.
The Clan Mother
During her time with Johnson, she also rose to be a Clan Mother receiving the Mohawk name Tekonwatonti (Many Opposed to One). Molly led a society of Six Nations (Iroquois Confederacy) matrons. In the matriarchal hierarchy of the Iroquois, Clan Mothers wielded terrific power and influence, traditionally selecting and dismissing leaders. And could veto their decisions.
Clan Mothers wielded significant influence
Sir William died the year before Lexington and Concord erupted and plunged the colonies into open war with the Crown.
Loyal to the Crown
Molly Brant and her brother Joseph remained committed Loyalists, devoted to the British cause. Joseph became a renowned Loyalist commander and Mohawk War Chief whose exploits vexed the patriots.
His sister's role was more ambiguous yet equally important. She provided food and ammunition to nearby Loyalist units. But most significantly — she passed valuable intelligence to her brother and other Loyalist and British leaders in central New York.
Spymaster
Although little is recorded of this (for reasons mentioned above), she likely received reports on American movements in the Mohawk Valley from travelers, hunters, and traders who passed through her village.
The best example of this came in August 1777. British Lieutenant-Colonel Barry St. Leger's force of British, Loyalists, Canadians, and Indians had besieged the American garrison at Fort Stanwix (in today's Rome, NY). When the Tryon County militia learned of this, a brigade-size force marched west along the river to relieve the post.
When Molly got wind of their movement, she sent word to St. Leger, who dispatched a force of Loyalists and Indian allies who set a well-executed ambush in the dense cypress forests near Oriskany. The relief column was sent reeling back with heavy losses, and its commander Colonel Nikolas Herkimer was mortally wounded.
In retaliation, American-Allied Oneidas raided her village of Canajoharie, destroying it and nearby Fort Hunter.
On the Road
Molly moved her family to various Loyal Iroquois villages. Brant and her family lost most of their possessions. They took refuge at Onondaga near Syracuse, New York, the capital of the Six Nations Confederacy, first to Syracuse, then Cayuga, and finally Niagara.
At each of these, she proved a strong and effective proponent for the Loyalist cause, helping keep most of the Iroquois in the British camp. As a result, the British could use the Iroquois war bands to augment dwindling Loyalist and British forces in New York.
Resilient Leader
As the war dragged on in New York, the British and their Indian allies were gradually pushed west. The British called on Molly Brant to help lead the thousands of starving refugees fleeing the Americans for the protection of Fort Niagara — the last bastion in the state. She proved an able leader, organizer, and spokesperson for the tribes. Her power and influence grew among the tribes and the British authorities.
One British officer remarked of her influence on the tribes that "their uncommon good behaviour in great measure to be ascribed to Miss Molly Brant's influence over them, which [was] far superior to that of all their Chiefs put together."
A Separate Peace
But when the Treaty of Paris was signed, the rug was pulled out from under the Iroquois and Loyalists of New York. The British made little effort to protect ancestral lands, leaving the Iroquois alone to deal with their enemies—it did not go well. Many of the Iroquois and all the Loyalists fled to Canada.
A Bitter Nation
The Iroquois who remained turned bitter toward Molly and her British masters. Molly left the home the British had built for her on Carleton Island as it was now on the American side of the border. The Clan Mother moved to a village called Cataraqui and, with other Loyalists, established what became Kingston, Ontario.
A Grateful Crown
The grateful British did award her land and a pension sizeable enough to spurn overtures by the Americans to return to New York. They recognized the need for her leadership. But she was contemptuous of the people who had ravaged the Iroquois lands over eight years of bloody warfare.
Founding Canadian
Molly Brant's family became prominent in Upper Canada. Five of six daughters married Canadian men. George, her surviving son, obtained a position in the Indian department. Her older son died fighting for the British.
At age sixty, the Clan Mother died in Brantford, Ontario, in 1796. Her precise burial site is not known, but many believe the good life-long Anglican lies somewhere under St. Paul's Church in today's Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Her legacy is one of a remarkable woman who cared for her family, clan, tribe, and nation in peace and war.
