This group I have designated as from the Mohawk tribe, or in their own language, Kanien’kehá:ka (People of the Flint”). The Easternmost of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) tribes, they were traditionally referred to as “Keepers of the Eastern Door” of the Confederacy.
The Iroquois tried to remain neutral during the Revolutionary War, but the war ultimately wound up splitting the Confederacy as much as it di the Europeans; The Oneida and Tuscarora supported the Americans, and the other four tribes the British.
A key figure of the Mohawks during this time, was Joseph Brant. whose Indian name was Thayendanegea. He formed a good relationship with the British, and especially Sir William Johnson, who was the British superintendent of the Indians of North America. In 1759, Johnson married Brant’s sister, Molly. Johnson selected Brant and several other Mohawks to attend Moor’s Charity School for Indians, a school which would later develop into Dartmouth College. At school, Brant converted to the Anglican faith and learned to read and write English. While Brant’s education at Moor’s gave him the skills which made him prosperous, most students at Moor’s were not nearly as successful as Brant. The school’s administrators and employees used their power to force students who were not of top caliber into exploitive manual labor.
After receiving his education, Brant accompanied Johnson during the French and Indian War. After the war concluded, Brant stayed with his brother in law and assisted in running the British “Indian Department.” During this time, he traveled throughout the Iroquois land, mainly as a missionary. Throughout his travels, Brant learned to speak at least three languages of the different Iroquois tribes and likely spoke all six tribal languages. These early missionary years established Brant as a trusted and respected leader of both natives and settlers.
This second group I have designated as being from the Seneca tribe (Onondowagah in their language, “Great Hill People”). They were the Westernmost of the Iroquois tribes, the “Keepers of the Western Door”, and the largest of the Six Nations.
Returning to the story of Joseph Brant, in 1775 he Six Nations met to discuss their role in the burgeoning War for independence. While many advocated for neutrality, almost prophetically, Brant predicted that independence for the colonists meant that the natives across the North American continent would lose their land. Brant’s argument, along with Johnson’s influence, succeeded in convincing four of the six nations to fight for the British cause, the Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, and the Senecas.
In November 1775, Brant traveled to England to discuss native roles in the War along with land disputes. Brant returned to America in July of 1776 and participated in the British campaign to retake New York. It is likely he served with General Hugh Percy during the British push through Jamaica Pass, which was a key phase of the Battle of Long Island. Brant and Percy quickly formed a lifelong friendship. Percy would be the only white man which Brant would remain close with after the war. Following the New York campaign, Brant returned to the Six Nations, and rallied the tribes for war against the American colonists.
Throughout 1777 and 1778, Brant’s forces were exclusively involved in the Mohawk Valley. Brant’s army participated at the Battle of Oriskany, in attacks on Cobleskill, and in raids on German Flatts. While Brant’s forces were on a raid, continental troops attacked Brant’s Onoquaga base. The continentals razed the city, leaving buildings burned, cattle dead, and crops reaped. Brant, as a response, led the attack which became known as the Cherry Valley Massacre. During the attack, Seneca forces sought out innocents killing at least thirty civilians. This action gave Brant a reputation for brutality and the nickname “Monster Brant;” however, Brant, although active in the valley, was not present at the Cherry Valley Massacre, primary sources from British leaders and Brant showing that he instead attempted to contain the Seneca’s’ violence.
By 1779, the British granted him the rank of “Captain of the Northern Confederated Indians” and promised provisions for his men but no pay for the native troops. Because of his new salary and wartimes despoiling, Brant became moderately wealthy. This wealth caused jealousy among rival chiefs and even his unpaid volunteers. When a commission to make Brant a colonel came, British colonial officers did not tell Brant in order to preserve his negotiating power with other tribes. In late 1779, the Sullivan Campaign devastated Mohawk lands, forcing Brant and the Iroquois out of New York and pushing them back to Fort Niagara.
In 1781, Brant was sent west to the Ohio Country. During this campaign, Brant was seriously injured in the leg and was forced to recover at Fort Detroit. During this time he tried to keep western tribes loyal to the British, even after the catastrophic defeat of the British at Yorktown.
The 1783 Treaty of Paris did not acknowledge the Six Tribes or any indigenous groups independence. The British had failed to accomplish the promise which prompted many native tribes to join their cause, the protection of indigenous land. Brant would spend the rest of his life fighting for the land rights of his people and other disaffected indigenous tribes in America. His first attempt at protecting the land was forming the Western Confederacy, a group of thirty native nations which agreed to fight for the Fort Stanwix Treaty line. Brant sought British support in 1785, and while the British compensated Mohawk losses in the war and gave Brant a pension, they refused to join in support of the thirty tribes. Brant and Washington both made attempts at peace. Brant sought a peace treaty but failed. Washington tried to create a reservation for the Mohawks and give Brant a large pension, but Brant refused. The American forces overwhelmed the Western Confederacy resulting in the thirty tribes’ alliance disintegrating.