Native American Efforts to Preserve Independence in the Ohio Valley, 1768-1795
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2007 Ambiguous alliances: Native American efforts to preserve independence in the Ohio Valley, 1768-1795 Sharon M. Sauder Muhlfeld College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Indigenous Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Sauder Muhlfeld, Sharon M., "Ambiguous alliances: Native American efforts to preserve independence in the Ohio Valley, 1768-1795" (2007). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623331. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-7jjb-mj39 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ambiguous Alliances: Native American Efforts to Preserve Independence the Ohio Valley, 1768-1795 Sharon Marie Sauder Muhlfeld Harleysville, Pennsylvania Master of Arts, College of William and Mary, 2000 Bachelor of Arts, Bucknell University, 1996 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History The College of William and Mary August, 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPROVAL PAGE This Dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Jt f i L — .u Sharon Marie Sauder Muhlfeld Approved by the Committee, March, 2007 _____________________ 'X x'UASl_________________ Committee Chair Kenan Professor of Humanities James Axtell, History, The College of William and Mary Assistant Professor Paul Mapp, History, The College of William and Mary Assistant Professor Betsy Konefal, History, The College of William and Mary _ C o _____________________ Professor of History and Samson Occom Professor of Native American Studies Colin Calloway, History and Native American Studies, Dartmouth College Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT PAGE “Ambiguous Alliances” examines the revolutionary era in the Ohio Valley from a Native American perspective. Rather than simply considering them as British pawns or troublesome mischief-makers, this account describes how Wyandots, Shawnees, Ottawas, Delawares, Miamis, and their native neighbors made decisions about war and peace, established alliances with Europeans, Americans, and distant Indian nations, and charted specific strategies for their political and cultural survival. They also suffered devastating personal and property loss and encountered significant disruption to their societal routines. Yet much about their daily lives remained unchanged, and their communities continued to foster a strong Indian identity. This dissertation explores native objectives for the period 1768-1795, specifically looking at what the various nations were hoping to accomplish in their relationships with the British and the Americans. While preserving land and sovereignty were the Indians’ clearest aims, this study also emphasizes that the underlying goal of protecting their rights and property was to retain their cultural distinctiveness. Furthermore, these twin objectives were inextricably linked. The Indians’ ability to remain viable diplomatic partners with the Europeans depended on the maintenance of their landed independence. Along with analyzing native objectives, this dissertation discusses Indian strategies to attain these goals and looks at how the Revolution assisted or hampered their execution. Some tribes actively recruited British or American allies; some attempted to remain neutral; others endeavored to form a united Indian front; and still others alternately extended their allegiance to both parties in an effort to secure both autonomy and protection. Despite its heavy emphasis on native alliances and military maneuvers, this work also examines the Revolution’s challenges to the rhythms of daily life. In addition to physical destruction, wartime agendas altered native economic patterns and sometimes even invaded cultural practices, threatening to constrict gender roles for women or to prevent nations from adopting captives to replace their deceased relatives. Although the era's disruptions brought emotional distress, physical displacement, and political ambiguity, the tribes persisted in sustaining both their daily existence and their national identities. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Acknowledgments ii Abbreviations iv Introduction: The Revolutionary Ohio Valley 1 Chapter One: Common Grievances 13 Chapter Two: Responses to the Revolution 67 Chapter Three: Revised Alliances 135 Chapter Four: Enemies in many Guises 196 Chapter Five: Revolution on the Home Front 238 Conclusion: Ambiguous Outcomes 276 Bibliography 284 Curriculum vitae 310 i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments Bestowing credit and gratitude for a project such as this is a monumental task for several reasons. While hours of solitary reflection contributed to many of the dissertation’s ideas, the entire work was fueled by passing conversations with fellow historians, the details of which remain undocumented, but the substance of which profoundly directed my thinking. Consequently, I wish to thank William and Mary’s history faculty and graduate students, who have enriched my life professionally and personally. Specific thanks go to my advisor, James Axtell, whose clear thinking and editorial pen have guided this project from its first words. He and James Whittenburg have been faithful models of exemplary teaching and stellar scholarship, and I am grateful for their introduction to academia. My dissertation committee members, Colin Calloway, Paul Mapp, and Betsy Konefal, have offered very insightful comments and raised useful questions to address in the future. As if thanking my graduate student colleagues and esteemed professors is not difficult enough, I am also indebted to countless archivists and librarians who assisted me at critical moments. Since I lived away from Williamsburg while researching and writing this dissertation, I relied on countless Philadelphia-area libraries for necessary materials. Ursinus College, Villanova University, Swarthmore College, Haverford College, Bryn Mawr College, and the University of Pennsylvania graciously shared their resources with me. Librarians, researchers, and archivists at the William L. Clements Library, the Library of Congress, the National Archives of Canada, and the Pennsylvania State Archives all proved to be extremely helpful when I ventured away from my home base. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. While working away from an established academic community slowed my progress, the reward for residing in the same state as my husband far surpassed any scholarly hindrances. He has been a constant support throughout a process that undoubtedly took longer than he expected. His wit, wisdom, confidence and love enabled this project to reach a conclusion and deserve more thanks than I can offer. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abbreviations American Archives Peter Force, comp. American Archives 4th series, 6 vols. Washington D.C., 1837- 46, and 5th series, 3 vols., Washington D.C., 1848-53. ASPIA Walter Lowrie and Matthew St. Clair Clarke, eds.,American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, o f the Congress o f the United States, Class II, Indian Affairs, 2 vols. (Washington D.C: Gales & Seaton, 1832), vol. 1. BHP British Headquarters Papers, microfilm reels M-341 to M-370, National Archives of Canada. DAR K.G. Davies, ed., Documents of the American Revolution 1770-1783,19 vols. (Dublin: Irish University Press, 1972-1981). Frontier Advance Louise P. Kellogg, ed., Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, 1778-1779 (Madison: Wisconsin State Historical Society, 1916). Frontier Defense Reuben Gold Thwaites and Louise P. Kellogg, eds., Frontier Defense on the Upper Ohio, 1777-1778 (Madison: Wisconsin State Historical Society, 1912). Frontier Retreat Louise P. Kellogg, ed., Frontier Retreat on the Upper Ohio, 1779-1782 (Madison: Wisconsin State Historical Society, 1917). Gage Papers Clarence Edwin Carter, ed., The Correspondence o f General Thomas Gage with the Secretaries o f State, 1763-1775, 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1931). George Rogers Clark Papers James Alton James, ed., George Rogers iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Clark Papers, vols. 8, 19 in Collections of the Illinois Historical Society, (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1912). JCC C. Worthington Ford, et al., eds., Journals o f the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, 34 vols. (Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1904-1937). Journal o f Richard Butler Edward G. Williams, ed., “The Journal of Richard Butler, 1775,”Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 46 (1963), 390-95 and 47 (1964), 32-45, 144-56. LDC