Western Theater of the American Revolutionary War (1777–1782)
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The western theater of the American Revolutionary War was the area of conflict west of the Appalachian Mountains, the region which became the Northwest Territory of the United States as well as what would become the states of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, and Tennessee. The western war was fought between American Indians with their British allies in Detroit, and American settlers south and east of the Ohio River, and also the Spanish as allies of the latter. As the Revolution approached, tensions grew in the Ohio Valley. The Grand Ohio Company was built on speculation in Native American lands, and Great Britain granted tracts of Native land to veterans of the French and Indian War to pay off debts.?In 1774, Great Britain determined that these land grants could not be granted to colonial veterans, meaning that colonial veterans who had invested heavily in land speculation would lose their investment. That Spring, a group of settlers led by Daniel Greathouse committed the Yellow Creek massacre, in which thirteen women and children were killed, including the wife and pregnant sister of Tachnechdorus, who had been friendly to settlers until that time. In a particularly brutal act, Koonay, the sister of Tachnechdorus, was strung up by the wrists while her unborn baby was impaled. As expected, Tachnechdorus took revenge, and was supported by the Shawnee, who expressed discontent that they had still not been paid for their lands. Still other Shawnee fled the Scioto River valley, avoiding the anticipated war with the white settlers who suddenly surrounded them.
Most of the Indians who actually lived and hunted in the Ohio Valley—Shawnees, Mingos, Lenape, and Wyandots—had not been consulted in the 1768 treaties. Angry with the Iroquois for selling their lands to the British, Shawnees began to organize a confederacy of western Indians with the intention of preventing the loss of their lands. British and Iroquois officials worked to diplomatically isolate the Shawnees from other Indian nations, however, and so when Dunmore's War broke out in 1774, Shawnees faced the Virginia militia with few allies. After Virginia's victory in the war, the Shawnees were compelled to accept the Ohio River boundary. Shawnee and Mingo leaders who did not agree with these terms renewed the struggle soon after the American Revolutionary War began in 1775. Initially, both the British and the Continental Congress sought to keep western American Indians out of the war. At Fort Pitt in October 1775, American and Indian leaders reaffirmed the boundary established by Dunmore's War the previous year. Without British support, Indian leaders such as Chief Blackfish (Shawnee) and Pluggy (Mingo) raided into Kentucky, hoping to drive the settlers out. The Battle of Island Flats, at Eaton's station, was the opening battle of the American War of Independence in the west. The battle was fought in July 1776, shortly after the United States had declared its independence from Britain. In the early years of the war, the Virginians had attempted to defend their western border with militiamen garrisoning three forts along the Ohio River—Fort Pitt, Fort Henry, and Fort Randolph.
Defending such a long border proved to be futile, however, because American Indians simply bypassed the forts during their raids. The first American expedition into the Ohio Country was a debacle. In February 1778, General Edward Hand led 500 Pennsylvania militiamen from Fort Pitt on a surprise winter march towards Mingo towns on the Cuyahoga River, where the British stored military supplies which they distributed to Indian raiding parties. Following the escalation of the war in 1777, Americans on the western frontier appealed to the Continental Congress for protection. Over the next several years of the war, both sides launched raids against each other, usually targeting settlements. The failure of the Crawford expedition caused alarm along the American frontier, as many Americans feared that the Indians would be emboldened by their victory and launch a new series of raids. Even more defeats for the Americans were yet to come, and so for Americans west of the Appalachian Mountains, 1782 became known as the "Bloody Year". On July 13, 1782, the Mingo leader Guyasuta led about 100 Indians and several British volunteers into Pennsylvania, destroying Hannastown and killing nine and capturing twelve settlers. It was the hardest blow dealt by Indians in Western Pennsylvania during the war. News of the pending peace treaty arrived late in 1782. In the final treaty, Canada lost portions of its southwest territory as a result of the Ohio Country and areas south of the Great Lakes being signed away by Great Britain to the United States. Great Britain had not consulted the Indians in the peace process, and the Indians were nowhere mentioned in treaty's terms.
Most of the Indians who actually lived and hunted in the Ohio Valley—Shawnees, Mingos, Lenape, and Wyandots—had not been consulted in the 1768 treaties. Angry with the Iroquois for selling their lands to the British, Shawnees began to organize a confederacy of western Indians with the intention of preventing the loss of their lands. British and Iroquois officials worked to diplomatically isolate the Shawnees from other Indian nations, however, and so when Dunmore's War broke out in 1774, Shawnees faced the Virginia militia with few allies. After Virginia's victory in the war, the Shawnees were compelled to accept the Ohio River boundary. Shawnee and Mingo leaders who did not agree with these terms renewed the struggle soon after the American Revolutionary War began in 1775. Initially, both the British and the Continental Congress sought to keep western American Indians out of the war. At Fort Pitt in October 1775, American and Indian leaders reaffirmed the boundary established by Dunmore's War the previous year. Without British support, Indian leaders such as Chief Blackfish (Shawnee) and Pluggy (Mingo) raided into Kentucky, hoping to drive the settlers out. The Battle of Island Flats, at Eaton's station, was the opening battle of the American War of Independence in the west. The battle was fought in July 1776, shortly after the United States had declared its independence from Britain. In the early years of the war, the Virginians had attempted to defend their western border with militiamen garrisoning three forts along the Ohio River—Fort Pitt, Fort Henry, and Fort Randolph.
Defending such a long border proved to be futile, however, because American Indians simply bypassed the forts during their raids. The first American expedition into the Ohio Country was a debacle. In February 1778, General Edward Hand led 500 Pennsylvania militiamen from Fort Pitt on a surprise winter march towards Mingo towns on the Cuyahoga River, where the British stored military supplies which they distributed to Indian raiding parties. Following the escalation of the war in 1777, Americans on the western frontier appealed to the Continental Congress for protection. Over the next several years of the war, both sides launched raids against each other, usually targeting settlements. The failure of the Crawford expedition caused alarm along the American frontier, as many Americans feared that the Indians would be emboldened by their victory and launch a new series of raids. Even more defeats for the Americans were yet to come, and so for Americans west of the Appalachian Mountains, 1782 became known as the "Bloody Year". On July 13, 1782, the Mingo leader Guyasuta led about 100 Indians and several British volunteers into Pennsylvania, destroying Hannastown and killing nine and capturing twelve settlers. It was the hardest blow dealt by Indians in Western Pennsylvania during the war. News of the pending peace treaty arrived late in 1782. In the final treaty, Canada lost portions of its southwest territory as a result of the Ohio Country and areas south of the Great Lakes being signed away by Great Britain to the United States. Great Britain had not consulted the Indians in the peace process, and the Indians were nowhere mentioned in treaty's terms.
