Friday Reprise: Little Turtle of the Miami

We've already discussed Buckongahelas and I intend to do a more lengthy post on Blue Jacket, but today we're looking more closely at the third member of the Native command team at the Battle of the Wabash.  Michikinikwa (c-1747-1812), was considered to be one of the foremost Native commanders of his day, along with Buckongahelas and Dragging Canoe.  He was born near what is now Whitley County, IN, the most likely place being a village near present-day Chorobusco, IN.  His tribe, the Miamis, had nothing to do with Miami, Florida.  That city was named for another Native tribe in the Southeast, also called the Miamis.  We'll get to Florida's extinct tribes later.  Michikinikwa grew up to be a strong men, well over six feet tall, who disdained alcohol.  Although the most famous portrait of him is the one with no adornment on his head, those who described him said that he loved to wear silver ornamentation, so I've included both images here.

Michikinikwa earned his rank as war chief by defending his people during the Revolutionary War.  In October, 1780 a force of French allied with the Americans and commanded by French adventurer Aguste de la Balme plundered the principal Miami village of Kekionga, near what is now Fort Wayne, IN.  Michikinikwa raided la Balme's camp in retaliation, killing him and several of his men.  He led raids against American settlements in Kentucky, working on behalf of the British.  After the Revolutionary War ended, the Americans began to divide off the land of the Northwest Territories to sell for much needed cash. The Miami banded with the Shawnee, the Lenape/Delaware and several other Indian tribes in what became known as the Western Confederacy to try to enforce the Ohio River as a boundary between White settlement and Native territory.  Michikinikwa soon emerged as a leader of this Confederacy and one of the Native leaders of the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795), which became known at the time as Little Turtle's War. 

As we discussed yesterday, Brig. Gen. Josiah Harmer was the first to feel the weight of the Natives' wrath in two separate defeats.  But the war would get even more personal for Michikinikwa.  In August, 1790, his daughter was captured in a raid by James Wilkinson.  The Natives won a stunning victory at the Battle of the Wabash in November, 1791, the most punishing defeat ever suffered by United States forces at the hands of Natives.  In October, 1792, Michikinikwa planned another raid to mark the Wabash anniversary, which showed the Americans that some of their advance forts in Ohio were indefensible.  But Michikinikwa realized that they'd met their match in General "Mad" Anthony Wayne in 1794, and counseled caution.  He gave up his role in the central command of the Native forces, but still led the Miami contingent at Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794.  One of the factors inducing him to caution might have been the fact that his White son-in-law, William Wells, whom he'd been genuinely fond of, changed forces and began scouting for the United States.

The ceremonial signing of the treaty of Greenville was tragic in several ways.  Not only was the Natives alliance broken, but Michinikinikwa's wife died the day of the ceremony.  The American forces gave her a military funeral in respect for a powerful enemy.  After the war, Michikinikwa continued to counsel cooperation with the Americans.  He met with George Washington, who presented him with a ceremonial sword.  He also met with Thomas Jefferson and agreed to allow Quaker missionaries onto Miami land to teach the Miami farming.  He suffered a humiliating break with his own people during negotiations with William Henry Harrison, when other Miami leaders refused to sell any more land to the Whites.  Harrison stated that Michikinikwa was no longer considered a Miami.  Michikinikwa retired to a village near what is now Columbus, IN, but in 1809, this village was among those that Harrison ordered destroyed, forcing the old man to uproot again.  He died at the home of his son-in-law, William Wells, in 1812, suffering from gout and rheumatisim.  A statue and a plaque mark his grave.