Colonia-Indian Wars - American Wars - TimeLines of Liberty

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American Wars - Colonial Indian Wars

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Colonial Indian Wars
Last updated October, 2005.

Powhatan Confederacy - Pequot War - King Philip's War - Pueblo Revolt - French and Indian
Tuscarora War - Yamasee War - Pontiac's Rebellion - Paxton Boys - Lord Dunmore's War
1607-1614-1617-1618-1622-1632-1636-1637-1644-1646-1646-1662-1675-1676-1680-1689-1692-1710-1711-1713-1715-1716-1755-1717-1763-1764-1765-1766 - 1768-1769-1770-1771-1772-1773-1774-1775

1607

Col.

The relationship between Jamestown settlers and the native Indians from the beginning was strained. Expecting to trade tools and Christianity for food, the colonialists failed to understand the Indian way of life provided a level just above subsistence, that provided only their immediate requirements. Starvation was a real consideration when adding more pressure on Indian food supplies.

1608
est.

Col.

Tensions were further heightened when livestock owned by the colonists were allowed to wander into the Indian cornfields; also by the extortion by superior firepower, of food supplies.

1610
est.

Pow

Powhatan (Wahunsonacook) the primary leader was first intrigued by the European tools but lost interest when threats to his native lands and the food supplies became threatened.

1614

Pow

John Rolfe married Pocahontas, Powhatan's daughter which improved relations for a time.

1617

Pow

Pocahontas died in 1617 which threatened the hold her father Powhatan had on the Indian confederacy.

1618

Pow

Powhatan dies allowing the Opechancanough to gain control of the confederacy.

1618

Pow

The new chief pretends interest in Christianity and invited settlers to move further into Indian lands.

1622

Pow

In March surprised attacks were carried out against the dispersed settlements. One third of the white population, 350 settlers, were killed. The Indians burned crops and slaughtered livestock.

1622

Pow

The Virginia Company declared bankruptcy after the Indian uprising put the colony in disarray.

1622

Pow

Over the next ten years warfare continued with no decisive victories. The settlers gave up the idea of coexisting with the Indians to begin a policy of extermination.

Index

1632

Pow

The Tribes had been pressured into land concessions in the western area of Chesapeake Bay.

1636

Pequ

John Oldham is killed in July by the Pequot causing Governor John Endicott to call up the militia.

1637

1637

Pequ

The Pequot War was in 1637 in the areas of Connecticut and Rhode Island although centered along the Thames River. Friction developed as colonists moved westward. The points of contentions were unfair trading, sale of alcohol, colonial cattle grazing in Pequot crops and competition over hunting grounds.

1637

Pequ

In May, allied with the Mohegan and Narrangansett tribes the colonists attack a Pequot village on the Mystic River. Under cover of night they set the dwellings ablaze and shoot anyone fleeing from the flames. Over 400 men, women, and children were killed.

1637

Pequ

Many who survived the Mystic River Massacre were sold into slavery in Bermuda.

1644

Pow

More than 400 settlers were killed during increased conflicts.

1646

Pow

Chief Opechancanough, nearly 100 years old was captured and subsequently died; probably murdered in Jamestown.

1662

King

Background, The Wampanoag tribe maintained good relations with the colonists in the early times especially with the Pilgrims. As tribal lands shrank and the colonists expanded the Native tribes began to take notice. Massasiot was sachem (chief) of the Wampanoag during those first interactions.

1662

King

Massasiot's son Metacom becomes sachem in 1662; He was known by the colonists as King Philip.

Index

1675

1675

King

King Philips War was fought beginning at Swansea in Massachusetts from 1675 to 1678 expanding into Rhode Island. The war had slaughters on both sides which included the death of King Philip.

1675

King

Three tribal members were tried and executed by the English for murdering a converted Wampanoag. This incident sparked a year of hostilities.

1675

King

Outfitted with rifles and armor the Wampanoag in June begin attacking settlements killing men, women, and children. The English forces retaliated with the same by slaughtering all inhabitants when attacking native villages.

1676

King

Other tribes join the conflict expanding the war to the entire region. Possibly when a wrong village was attacked by the white settlers.

1676

King

In April 1676 the defeat of the Narragansett and the killing of their chief turns the tide of war to the colonists.

1676

King

In the fall the war draws to a close when King Philip was betrayed, captured and killed. His son was sold into slavery in Bermuda with many other captives forced into servitude throughout New England.

1680

Pueblo

The previous 140 years of Spanish expansion had seized 100 Indian pueblos (villages), imposed a forced labor system (Very much like slavery) upon the Indians, and the preventing of the Pueblo Indians from worshipping their gods.

1680

Pueblo

In 1680 the Pueblo Indian revolt led by Popé, a medicine man from the pueblo of San Juan, broke the bonds of involuntary servitude.

1680

Pueblo

In August several Spanish settlements were attacked with much success due to their superior numbers. More than 8000 warriors against only 200 armed settlers.

1680

Pueblo

The coordinating of several attacks at one time kept neighboring settlements occupied as well. 21 Franciscan friars and over 400 Spaniards were killed. 1000 survivors fled to Sante Fe where the Governor's palace was located. The Pueblo Indians laid siege to the palace denying water and other supplies. The Spaniards escaped to El Paso del Norte (today's El Paso, Texas)

1680

Pueblo

Popé became the ruler of the area called New Mexico. Popé led the most successful Indian uprising in the history of the West. Popé removed all traces of the Roman Catholic Church, the Spanish language was forbidden and surnames discouraged. Popé even preached against the Spanish tool, the plow.

1680

Pueblo

The Pueblo Indians were independent for 12 years until after the death of Popé

1689

1689

French

The French and Indian war was three conflicts fought between 1689 and 1763. Most tribes allied with the French who traded more fairly than the British and were not a land hungry as the British. The British did gain the allegiance of the Iroquois. The Indians would fight with the armies they allied with rather than conduct their own campaigns.

1692

Pueblo

Popé, ruler of the Pueblo Indians dies in 1692. Less than a year later Diego de Vargas conquers New Mexico once again for Spain.

Index

1710

Tuscar

New Bern settlement is established on the Neuse River, in ancestral grounds of the Tuscarora people, in 1710 by a group of German and Swiss colonists. Rapidly becoming a prosperous community the native Indians become enraged by unfair trade practices and the encroachment of their lands.

1711

1711

Tuscar

The Tuscarora War is fought from 1711 to 1713 between the Settlers and the Tuscarora under Chief Hancock.

1711

Tuscar

Chief Hancock and his warriors attack settlements in Northern Carolina beginning with New Bern on September 22nd. Hundreds of settlers were killed and the homes and crops set on fire.

1713

Tuscar

It was not until 1713 that the settlers regained control. Captain James Moore with allied Yamesee warriors defeat the Tuscarora at their village of Neoheroka. Some of the surviving Tuscarora Indians were sold as slaves to defray war costs, while the remaining captives were forced out of Carolina, to eventually reach New York and become the sixth nation of the Iroquois Confederation.

1715

Yamasee

The Yamasee Tribe had fairly good relation through the latter half of the 1600s but as with other Indian interaction the relationship strained as the white settlements increased. The Yamasee became dependent on firearms and other manufactured items, developing a dept owing fir and skins for their purchases. The fir traders would require a pay-up by enslaving Yamasee women and children as payment for the outstanding debt.

1715

Yamas

In the spring a confederation of tribes was formed that included the Yamasee. The confederation struck at settlements in South Carolina.

1716

Yamasee

The Confederation came close to exterminating white settlements on their lands. Hundreds of whites were killed along with their livestock and their houses burned. Some settlers fled to North Carolina and some to Virginia with Charleston receiving the largest number of refugees.

1716

Yamasee

Total annihilation would have been certain but the Cherokee aligned with the South Carolinians who has also obtained the unusual providence of support from another colony, Virginia.

1717

Yamasee

The Yamasee were pushed south to their former ancestral lands in Florida. Continued warfare with the Creeks nearly wiped them out with some survivors absorbed by the Seminole.

1717

Yamasee

The Yamasee War took such a heavy toll that the terror instilled would take 10 years before any significant resettlement would take place. The livestock supply had been so annihilated that many of the farmers were unable to continue. With out the farm for an economy South Carolinians turned to the forests harvesting resources for naval products, tar, pitch and turpentine. The economy would later develop rice and indigo.

1755

Shawnee

Near Blacksburg in Virginia the Shawnee captures Mary Ingles, sister of Laura Ingles Wilder, author of "Little House on the Prarie", later to escape collecting salt at Big Bone Lick.

Index

1763

Pontiac

Tribes of the Ohio Valley were outraged at the defeat of the French in the French an Indian War. Still having free reign of their homelands with the British in possession of their lands they knew increased settlement of their lands was just a matter of time.

1763

Pontiac

The Delaware Prophet an Indian visionary preached ardently for return to traditional ways and rejection of British contact. Ottawa Chief Pontiac, known for oratory of support for the French would embrace the ideas of the Delaware Prophet.

1763

Pontiac

Chief Pontiac's new message rejecting the British found favor among the Delaware, Seneca, Chippewa, Miami, Pottawatomie, and the Huron. In April Pontiac held a war council among like-minded tribes and plotted to take over Fort Detroit. The execution of that conspiracy would be foiled.

1763

Pontiac

In May Chief Pontiac lay siege on the British Fort Detroit.

1763

Pontiac

In July the British attempt but fail an attempt to free Fort Detroit in a surprise attack on Pontiac's village but the plan was discovered by Pontiac and the British suffered high losses in the Battle of Bloody Run.

1763

Pontiac

Pontiac continue attempts to take Fort Detroit well into November.

1763

Pontiac

Colonel Henry Bouquet marches from Fort Pitt east of the besieged Fort Detroit and encounters a large Indian Force on August 5th. The ensuing Battle of Bushy Run was fought into the next day with the British taking high losses but successfully retaking the Fort.

1763

Pontiac

The Confederation of tribes were very successful in most of the attacks during 1763 with the fall of 8 British Forts that includes three major installations; Presque Isle, Sandusky and Michilimackinac. Fort Niagara was left alone with no action during the uprising.

1763

Paxton

Pontiac's Rebellion prompted ill feelings among the settlers towards Indians and Vigilante groups sprang up attacking any Indian tribes. The "Paxton Boys" were one such group that raided a small village of Conestoga Indians in Lancaster County, killing 6 and taking 14 prisoner. The Conestoga was a tribe that had lived in peace with their white neighbors having no connection to the uprisings.

1763

Paxton

Governor John Penn issued warrants for the Paxton Boys for their attack on the innocent Conestoga Tribe.

1763

Paxton

The next attack by the Paxton Boys was against the Moravian Indians near Bethlehem who fled to Philadelphia, the capital of Pennsylvania and H.Q. of British soldiers. The Moravian were placed into protective custody and remained so for over a year. The Paxton Boys took offense that the government would spend money to protect Indians from them.

1763

Pontiac

Pontiac's Rebellion resulted in the issue of Proclamation of 1763 that suspended white settlement of the West until reforms could be effected. The colonial response was outrage.

1763

French

The French and Indian War and the Seven Year's War in Europe were officially ended by the fall signing of the 1763 Treaty of Paris.

1764

Pontiac

Most of the fighting was by British regulars who purposely excluded colonial soldiers based upon the poor performance during the French and Indian War. Some exceptions were Rogers Rangers commanded by Robert Rogers who had proven himself in the previous war by developing new warfare strategies for the frontier.

1764

Paxton

With around 1000 frontiersmen, in January, the Paxton Boys began a march on the capital, Philadelphia.

1764

Paxton

The Paxton Boys march neared the capital in February. Concern caused the residents to arm themselves with muskets and placed a rolling cannon in the public square. Bells from the church were sounded. Benjamin Franklin and other civic leaders confronted the Paxton Boys leaders just outside of town. Arrangements were made for the Paxton leaders and Pennsylvania officials to meet in exchange for the disbanding of the march. The arranged meeting aired grievances but accomplished little for the frontier settlers.

1764

Pontiac

Colonel John Bradstreet was assigned to the Great Lakes area and failed in attempts to obtain treaties with the inhabiting tribes.

1764

Paxton

The Paxton Boys raids and activism displayed the measure of friction between the colonists and the Indians with many coming to the conclusion based upon Pontiac's Rebellion that the two races could not live together in peace and the only solution was relocation and or extinction.

1765

Pontiac

Chief Pontiac's influence began to wane and he found little interest among the tribes for his war.

1766

Pontiac

Government representative Sir William Johnson obtained a treaty with Chief Pontiac giving him a pardon. The chief lived out his life quietly for many year until another Indian kills him.

1768

Iroquois

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix, negotiated by Sir William Johnson with the Iroquois nation, which was only one of four Tribal nations (Shawnee, Mingo, and Delaware) in the area, ceded lands south of the Susquehanna and Ohio Rivers to the British.

1769

Index

1770

1771

1772

1773

1774

Lord

Lord Dunmore's War Southern Ohio River Valley Alarmed tribes raided a wave of traders and settlers. Dunmore, governor of Virginia, sent in 3,000 soldiers and defeated 1,000 natives.

1774

Lord

Settlers ignoring all treaties pushed across the Appalachian Mountains with some beyond the Ohio River. Clashes between the settlers and tribes increased.

1774

Lord

In May 11 a confrontation near today's Steubenville Mingo Chief Logan his father, brother, and sister were among 11 Mingos killed. Shawnee Chief Cornstalk resisted the desire of most native Indians to wage full scale war against the intruders.

1774

Lord

The Governor of Virginia was John Murray, the fourth earl of Dunmore and had served in the House of Lords. A staunch supporter of the King, to dampen patriot unrest on three instances had closed down the Virginia legislature.

1774

Lord

Lord Dunmore led a force to battle the Shawnee Indians at the Great Kanawah and Ohio Rivers at Point Pleasant. The Shawnees were forced to the villages north of the Ohio River. Dunmore claimed victory although his force had suffered greater casualties.

1774

Lord

The Shawnee Chief, father of Tecumseh, was killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant.

1774

Lord

Temporary Headquarters was set up a few weeks later on the outskirts of Chief Cornstalk's Shawnee village and called it Camp Charlotte.

1774

Lord

Lord Dunmore invites Chief Cornstalk, other Shawnee leaders and Chief Logan to negotiate a peace treaty.

1774

Lord

Chief Logan had retreated to his camp near Congo Creek. Still depressed and angered over the death of his family refused to take part in the Treaty negotiations.

1774

Lord

Dunmore sends Simon Kenton and Simon Girty to Chief Logan's camp for a reply. Kenton had befriended the Chief's family a year before, prior to their deaths. Kenton and Girty witnessed the emotional out pouring by Chief Logan when he concludes with, “Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one.”

1774

Lord

A Treaty with the Shawnee, Mingo and Delaware tribes was later signed near today's Chillicothe, in Ohio. The Indians were to return all captives, concede lands south and east of the Ohio and were granted free navigation on the Ohio River.

1775

Shawnee

The Shawnee Indian Tribe had been helping the British in the wilderness against the American settlers. The Shawnee continued raiding the settlements after the British troops vacated the territory.
The sagas continue with the American Indian Wars.

Index

Sources

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