Cornstalk was a Shawnee leader in the Ohio Country in the 1760s and 1770s. His name in the Shawnee language was Hokoleskwa. When the British American colonies began expanding into the Ohio Country, Cornstalk played a major part in defense of the Shawnee homeland. He was the primary Shawnee war chief in Lord Dunmore's War, leading Shawnees and other Native warriors against colonists in the Battle of Point Pleasant. When the American Revolutionary War followed shortly after Dunmore's War, Cornstalk endeavored to keep his people neutral. In October 1775, Cornstalk, Nimwha, and other Mekoches represented the Shawnees in 1775 at a council held at Fort Pitt, seeking to maintain peaceful relations with the Americans. In October 1777, two Shawnees visited Fort Randolph, an American fort that had been built at the site of the Battle of Point Pleasant. They were detained by the fort's commander, Matthew Arbuckle, who had decided to hold hostage any Shawnees who fell into his hands. Cornstalk's son Elinipsico arrived a few days later to ask why they were being held. Cornstalk came to the fort soon after, and all four were detained. On November 10, an American militiaman stationed at the fort was killed by unknown Indians in the vicinity. In retaliation, angry soldiers brutally executed Cornstalk, Elinipsico, and the other two Shawnees.