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.

Agent: William Wells

Life on the frontier for anyone connected with Natives was never easy.  These people, who were White but often adopted into Native tribes or married to Natives, faced a constant tug-of-war of emotions and loyalties.  William Wells and his relationships with his in-laws, Little Turtle and the Miami, is a classic case in point.

William Wells (c 1770-12), was born in Jacob's Creek, Pennsylvania, the son of a Revolutionary War veteran who later moved his family to Kentucky.  Wells' father died when he was nine and he was taken in by a neighbor.  At the age of 13, Wells and three other boys were captured by a raiding party of Wea and Miami and taken to Indiana.  Wells had bright red hair, earning him the name Apekonit, Miami for carrot.  He was given to a Miami chief, Porcupine, and taught the ways of a Miami warrior, which he readily became.  He eventually married a Wea woman and seemed content to remain with the Natives, though he visited his birth family in 1789.  His wife and daughter were later captured in a raid by General James Wilkinson (more on him in a later post), and Wells remained attached to Little Turtle's band of Miami, serving as a sharpshooter during the Battle of the Wabash, November, 1791. 

At this point, things became a little murky.  In 1792, Wells, still seeking his wife and daughter and other Native hostages, returned to his family in Louisville.  His brother urged him to meet with Indian Agent Rufus Putnum in Cincinnati.  There, Wells agreed to work with Putnum to urge the Natives to agree to treaty terms in return for freeing the hostages.  Putnum then hired Wells to spy on various Native counsel in 1793 and report Native plans to the Americans.  Wells thus became a double agent, and remained one the rest of his career.  He had by this time married Little Turtle's daughter, Wanagapeth (Sweet Breeze) and had four children by her.  Their three daughters married White men and his son would follow in David Moniac's footsteps at West Point.  As Wells attempted to work with the Natives behind the scenes to put an end to the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795, he was thwarted at every turn by British Agents, Alexander McKee and Simon Girty, a personal nemesis.  Wells was able to bring Wayne warning that he was facing a force of over 1500 warriors ready to attack Wayne's Legion of the United States.

Wells was given a captain's rank and become the leader of a group of scouts and spies who worked directly under Anthony Wayne's direction as scouts, spies, interpreters or whatever else needed doing.  He led Wayne's forces to the battleground of the Wabash and pointed out to him where Natives had buried the cannon left behind.  Although he was wounded in the lead-up to Fallen Timbers in 1794, he was able to give Wayne advice that helped Wayne win that battle.  Later, Wells was one of the main interpreters at the negotiations leading up to the Treaty of Greenville of 1795.  As he urged his father-in-law Little Turtle to sign the treaty, did Little Turtle know that his daughter's husband was playing a double role?  Most likely not, as Little Turtle was adamant that Wells should be the Indian Agent appointed to the Ohio Tribes. 

As Indian Agent, Wells escorted delegations of Native leaders to Philadelphia and later Washington.  He also worked to urge Natives to sign treaties with the government, then urged them quietly to back away from what they'd signed.  Like Little Turtle, he believed that the Quakers could teach the Natives better methods of farming, but he did not push other aspects of Jefferson's civilization program for Native Americans.   As Tecumseh's movement gained grounded, both sides became suspicious of Wells, who negotiated his last treaty, the Treaty of Fort Wayne, in 1809.  As the incoming Madison Administration began investigating Wells and Little Turtle on allegations of corruption, Tecumseh was also spreading mistrust of the Agent.  Wells was fired in 1809, though he continued to work unofficial as an interpreter and tried to warn the Madison Administration of the gravity of Tecumseh's movement. 

Wells
would spend the rest of his life trying to get his job back.  Fortunately, he did not have long on this earth.  In 1812 he became aware of that Potawatomi supporting the British and Tecumseh were going to attack Fort Dearborn in present-day Chicago.  He rode with a delegation of peaceful Potawatomi, among them Black Partridge, to try to warn Captain Nathan Heald, commandant of the Fort and married to William's niece, Rebekah.  Believing that it was safe to march the garrison out, on August 15, 1812, Heald led a force of regulars, militia, women and children out of Fort Dearborn, where they were ambushed by the Potawatomi in the Battle of Fort Dearborn.  Wells died trying to protect women and children.  Most likely, family, his own or anyone else's, had been his motive all along. 

Natives versus Settlers: Harmer's Defeat, 7-22 October, 1790

The latter portion of the Northwest Indian War (1790-94) is often called Little Turtle's War with good reason.  Little Turtle of the Miami racked up several impressive victories against White commanders, his most famous being the Battle of the Wabash in 1791.  However, before he met Arthur St. Clair, he'd run into Josiah Harmer no less than three times in October, 1790.

The Northwest Indian War in general (1785-1795) saw some of the bloodiest conflicts on the frontier.  Natives raided American settlements and isolated farms and blockhouses, opposing encroachment on their homelands and hunting ranges.  But the settlers just kept coming.  Finally, several tribes in the Ohio Valley, including the Miami, Shawnee and others, banded together to form large enough war parties to hopefully put an end to the trespassing for good.  At the time of the three skirmishes known collectively as Harmer's Defeat, Little Turtle of the Miami was acting in concert with Blue Jacket of the Shawnee, in command of over 1,000 warriors of various tribes.  Josiah Harmer was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, with experience and a track record that caused Washington to put confidence in him.  Harmer marched toward the main Miami village of Kekionga, now Fort Wayne, Indiana, with a force of 320 Regulars and 1100 militia.  Their objective was a punitive mission against the Shawnee and Miami for raids on American settlements, but Harmer's men were the ones who would feel the pain.

Harmer began his march along the Great Miami River, approaching Kekionga.  However, when he sent his second in command, John Hardin of Kentucky, to launch a surprise attack on the village, they found that its inhabitants had burned it to the ground and fled.  Harmer turned his attention to other Miami villages, but they likewise had been evacuated.  The Native command team were well aware of Harmer's intentions and movements and awaiting their moment to strike.  Near present-day Churubusco, Indiana, on October 19, 1790, Hardin's men encountered a lone Native warrior on horseback.  They took the bait, pursuing him as he led them right into an ambush.  The Native horsemen led the Americans into a swamp, where Little Turtle's forces attacked.  This skirmish, called either the Battle of Heller's Corner, or Hardin's Defeat, cost 22 Regulars, 40 militia killed and 12 Americans wounded.  Some of Hardin's men had to hide in the swamp to escape with their lives.

Harmer next sent a scouting party of 300 men under Ensign Phillip Hartshorn.  (Ensign in those days could also be an army rank).  On October 20, 1790, they walked right into an ambush not far from the burned village of Kekionga.  This skirmish, called Hartshorn's Defeat, happened so fast that the Americans had to pull away from Kekionga and leave their dead on the field, further dispiriting American morale.  A rift developed between Harmer, the Regular Army officer and Hardin, a militia commander who wanted to take a larger force and try to strike back at the Natives or at least bury the bodies properly.  Hardin himself was in bigger trouble, soon enough.  On October 21, 1790, he returned to the area of the burned-out Kekionga and found Little Turtle's main force of 1,000 warriors.  He sent back word to Harmer for reinforcements.  Harmer, possibly drinking, got cold feet.  Instead of marching to Hardin's relief, he bunched his remaining 800 men into a square formation and hunkered down.

It didn't go well for either Hardin.  Hardin divided his men into smaller groups and tried to attack the Natives on al sides.  Little Turtle was on to him and baited the militia into foolish charges until he could isolate the regular force.  Little Turtle's men then swooped down on the regulars in an encounter known as Harmer's Defeat (though he wasn't there) or as the Natives remembered it, the Battle of the Pumpkin Fields.  The origin of this name was grim enough.  Hardin lost 180 men and the bare skulls reminded the Natives of pumpkins steaming in the autumn air. Native losses were about 120 men.  Harmer, still sitting tight with his remaining men, determined that he could not attack and began a retreat.  Until St. Clair's defeat the following year, this was the worst defeat handed to the Americans by the Natives and it was a military and political nightmare for the Washington Administration.

Washington was furious and lost his proverbial temper, saying "my mind is prepared for the worst, that is for an experience without honor or profit."  Harmer demanded a court martial and was white-washed, but his career was stymied after these battles.  None of these men knew that the worst was yet to come, courtesy of Little Turtle, Blue Jacket and their colleagues.