Indian Fighter: Lewis Wetzel

On the American frontier, there was no greater compliment to a Settler than to become known as an Indian Fighter.  While some of these men believed they were protecting their homes, families and neighbors and may have born no personal animosity toward Natives (Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton), other were more sinister.  We've already run across Hugh McGary and his terrible treatment of an elderly Native couple (Moluntha and Nonhelema).  Now, we'll look closely at a man who was reckoned second only to Daniel Boone on the frontier, Lewis Wetzel (1763-1808) from what is now West Virginia.

Being captured by Natives, or barely evading it, was a common hazard of life on the frontier.  Some men looked back at their time with Natives in gratitude or respect (John Stark).  Others didn't appreciate the experience, but bore no ill-will directly to Native people (James Smith).  Lewis didn't relish his brush with captivity one bit.  John (Johann) Wetzel and his wife Mary Bonnet came from the Friedrichstahl, Baden area of Germany.  Thus Lewis (Ludwig) would have been of German and possibly French or Swiss extraction.  Lewis was born near Wheeling Creek in what is now West Virginia.  When he was about 13, his family's farm was attacked in a Native raid.  His father was killed and Lewis and a younger sibling, Jacob, were taken prisoner.  Lewis managed to escape, but was shot in the leg during the attempt.  He carried the wound for the rest of his life.  He also carried an enduring ill-will toward Natives.

Lewis grew into a good-looking and talented man.  Over six feet tall, blue eyed and blond, he excelled at sports.  He was a keen hunter and crack shot.  He played the fiddle and was known for his courteous treatment of women and approachability around children.  In many ways, he would have been just another of the many backwoodsmen on the frontier.  But Lewis had a score to settle.  It began when he, still only thirteen and weeks away from his capture, stood alongside grown men to defend Fort Henry, near present-day Wheeling, West Virginia.  In 1781, during Daniel Broadhead's expedition to the Ohio Valley, which we've already touched on in the post about Gnadenhutten, Broadhead requested a parley with leaders of a Native village near what is now Newcomerstown, Ohio.  As the Natives approached the White encampment, Lewis' anger got the better of him and he shot and killed on of them.  Fearing retribution, Broadhead called off his attack on Coshocton.

Despite his dislike of military discipline and his tendency toward impulsivity, Lewis participated in several campaigns in the Ohio Valley between 1782-86, taking every opportunity to wreak his vengeance.  He was known for his ability to load his rifle while running, and striking his targets quickly, from out of nowhere.  Legend says that the Natives called him Deathwind, but I've not been able to substantiate this.  Fed up, Col. Josiah Harmer ordered his arrest and charges for murder of a Native at Fort Harmer near present-day Marietta, Ohio.  Lewis escaped and never faced trial.  Eventually, he moved to New Orleans, where he quickly ran into trouble of another kind with Spanish authorities.  He became involved in a counterfeiting scheme and spent several year in prison before being released.

Upon his release he drifted to Mississippi and the home of a cousin, Phillip Sykes.  He died in 1808 and was buried on the Sykes farm, with his rifle and other equipment per his request.  He wasn't the only known Indian Fighter in his family.  His older brother Martin Wetzel was famed for his skills with a tomahawk.  A descendant later served as a general during the Korean and Vietnam wars.  Lewis' remains were later returned to West Virginia, to the McCreary Cemetery in Marshall County, where tributes are left in his honor.