SHAWNEE CHIEF CORNSTALK DIED
Possibly born about 1720 in Pennsylvania, by 1760, his band moved to the Scioto plains in Ohio. He may have led raids for the French during the French-Indian War and was part of Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763–64). Eventually, supporting peaceful relations with whites, he sought to avert open warfare & preserve Shawnee neutrality. However, in 1774, Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore’s militia shot & wounded Cornstalk’s brother, Silver Heels, while he was escorting British traders to safety in Pittsburgh. In response, Cornstalk led an ambush near Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774. This resulted in the Treaty of Camp Charlotte in which the Shawnee returned prisoners & ceded hunting rights in Kentucky. In October 1777, he was taken hostage while approaching Fort Randolph to protect Shawnee neutrality. When Indians killed a soldier nearby, a mob stormed his cabin and killed him, his son, and 2 other Indians. In 1778, when 4 men were tried for the killings, no witnesses testified against them.
Source: Laura T. Keenan, “Cornstalk,” Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Library of Virginia, 2006. Retrieved 5/17,2022, Dictionary of Virginia Biography - Cornstalk Biography Sketch: Author unknown, pre-1872. Public Domain. Source: Frost's pictorial history of Indian wars and captivities from the earliest record of American history to the present time, 1872.
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