Great Leader: John Skenandoa of the Oneida

We've heard the song dozens of times, in music class at school, in programs of patriotic music.  A trader loved the daughter of an Indian chief, who refused him her hand in marriage.  After pleading unsuccessfully with him to relent, the trader goes West, "cross the wide Missouri" to assuage his feelings for the girl and his inability to deceive her father by eloping with her.  This part of the Shenandoah story is likely a legend created around the name, but there was a real Shenandoah.  And, he would have cause to regret the marriage of at least one of his daughters.

Schenando (c. 1706-1816) was born a member of the Susquehannock, an Iroquoian-speaking tribe, and later adopted into the Oneida.  There are several spellings of his name, and there are several derivations of what it means.  Some sources believe it is based on the Oneida word for deer.  Others state that it comes from their name for the hemlock plant.  Approaching his 100th year, Shenandoah referred to himself as an aged hemlock.  Whether he was speaking metaphorically or referring to the meaning of his name, probably both, no one knows for sure.  As a young warrior he stood out for his exceptional height.  He was said to be 6' 5" tall, but also gained renown for his skills as a warrior, orator and leader.  For this reason, the Oneida elected him as a Pine Tree Chief.  These Chiefs were men chosen primarily for their skills in either war or diplomacy and were allowed to sit with the 50 Sachems on the Iroquois Council.  During the turbulent years of the eighteenth century, Shenandoah's people would have much need of his guidance.

During the Seven Years War, Shenandoah led Oneida war parties against the French on behalf of the British and American settlers.  In one incident, he was able to save some German immigrants from massacre.  During the American Revolution, he led a band of 250 Oneida and Tuscarora warriors to the Battle of Oriskany (August 6, 1777).  And here is where his daughter comes into play.  She had married Joseph Brant, a war chief of the Mohawk.  Brant was in command of a Mohawk band fighting on the side of the British at this Battle, which pitted members of the Six Nations tribes against each other in a way they hadn't been since before the coming of Hiawatha and the Great Law of Peace.  For this reason, Oriskany, though it isn't as well known as some battles of the Revolution, was one of the bloodiest.  Later, Shenandoah would lead another party of men to Washington's rescue at Valley Forge (1777-78).  They carried parched corn and other supplies needed to keep Washington's soldiers alive.  Oneida tradition states that, in gratitude, Washington named the Valley of Virginia and the river that runs through it Shenandoah, after this Chief.  In 1779, Shenandoah and his son-in-law would butt heads again, when Shenandoah was on a peace mission to persuade the rest of the Six Nations to join the Americans.  Brant used his influence with the British to have him imprisoned.  More on Joseph Brant/Theyandanegea, and his controversial actions in another blog post. 

Beginning in 1764, Shenandoah had formed a friendship with a Protestant missionary, Samuel Kirkland.  Due to Kirkland's influence, Shenandoah accepted Christianity and was baptized with the name of John, using his Oneida name as his surname.  After the Revolution, he lived out his days in New York, thanks to Kirkland's intercession.  Shenandoah died in 1816, at well over one hundred years of age and was buried at his request next to Samuel Kirkland on the grounds of Hamilton College.