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Death of Cornstalk

The Shawnees, "the Arabs of the New World," were a small but valiant tribe dwelling on the lower Scioto. In education they stood much above the average level of the Native American tribes, and it was an ordinary occurrence for a member of the tribe to be able to converse in five or six languages, including English and French. According to the Indian standard, the Shawnees were generous livers, and their women were superior housekeepers. They were so conscious of their prowess that they held in contempt the warlike ability of other Indians. It was their boast that they caused the white people ten times as much loss as they received.

The most eminent war-leader among the Shawnees was Cornstalk. It is not probable that he headed the band that struck Kerr's Creek in 1759, although the warriors may have been of his people. We do know, however, that he was the leader in the terrible raid of 1763. Within a few days his band blotted out the settlements on the Greenbrier, won a victory over two companies of militia at Falling Springs in Alleghany county, raided the valleys of Jackson's River and the Cowpasture, and then crossed Mill Mountain to work still further havoc on Kerr's Creek. With slight loss to themselves, they killed, wounded, or carried away probably more than 100 of the whites. At Point Pleasant, the Shawnees were the backbone of the Indian army, and Cornstalk was its general-in-chief. It was only because of loose discipline in the camp that the Virginians were not taken by surprise. Technically, the battle was little else than a draw. Cornstalk effected an unmolested retreat across the Ohio, after inflicting a loss much heavier than his own. But his men were discouraged and gave up the campaign. Cornstalk was not in favor of the war, but was overruled by his tribe. During the short peace that followed, he from time to time returned to Fort Randolph at Point Pleasant horses and cattle that had been lost by the whites or stolen from them.

In 1777 the Shawnees were again restless. They had been worked upon by British emissaries and white renegades. Cornstalk came with a Delaware and one other Indian and visited Fort Randolph under what was virtually a flag of truce. He warned Captain Arbuckle, the commandant, of the feeling of the tribesmen. His mission was an effort to avert open hostilities. According to the Indian standard, Cornstalk was an honorable foe, and he knew he ran a risk in putting himself in the power of the whites. Arbuckle thought it proper to detain the Indians as hostages. One day, while Cornstalk was drawing a map on the floor of the blockhouse, to explain the geography of the country beyond the Scioto, his son Ellinipsico hallooed from the other bank of the Ohio and was taken across. Soon afterward, two men of Captain William McKee's company, a Gilmore and a Hamilton, went over the Kanawha to hunt for turkeys. Gilmore was killed by some lurking Indian, and his body was carried back. The spectacle made his comrades wild with rage. They raised the cry of, "Let us kill the Indians in the fort," and without taking a second thought they rushed to the door of the blockhouse. They would not listen to the remonstrances of Arbuckle, and threatened his life. When the door was forced open, Cornstalk stood erect before his executioners and fell dead, pierced by seven or eight balls. His son and his other companions were also put to death. The slain chieftain was about fifty years of age, large in figure, commanding in presence, and intellectual in countenance. Good contemporary judges declare that even Patrick Henry or Richard Henry Lee did not surpass Cornstalk in oratory.

For more information on the Shawnees, visit:

• Shawnee Indian History
• Shawnee Indian Divisions
• Shawnee Indian Villages
• Shawnee Indian Chiefs and Leaders
• Hathawekela Indian History