Page News & Courier
Heritage and Heraldry
Setting the record straight: Native American raids on Pre-Page
Article of March 23, 2000
Yes Page County, at one time these lands were considered a part of the "wild, wild west!" But lets not get carried away � no James West, Artemus Gordon or Dr. Loveless here. Rather, there was a time of territorial disputes between Europeans and unsettling affairs with the not-so-local Native American population. Of the former, there are at least two prominent "Indian Raids" that stand at the forefront of Page County history. However, not all of the attacks made by Native Americans in "pre-Page" were made in the French & Indian War. Additionally, these Native Americans weren't necessarily a band of local tribes (in fact there is some debate over when the last tribe to actually make the valley a long-time residence resided here).
The French & Indian Wars were actually territorial campaigns that spread from European conflicts and effected activities in the English colonies. While somewhat unimportant to Europe at that time, the wars that took place in America from 1689�1763 did put Canada, the American West, and the West Indies up as stakes. However, the fighting that took place in this arena would not carry the same weight as the fighting that took place in Europe.
As a stark contrast to what Europe believed however, this time of history was horrifying to settlers on the frontier of the English colonies. Not only would these people sustain raids from the French but many would also fall victims of tribal border warfare. One source states: "The conflict may be looked on, from the American viewpoint, as a single war with interruptions. The ultimate aim�domination of the eastern part of the continent�was the same; and the methods�capture of the seaboard strongholds and the little Western forts and attacks on frontier settlements�were the same."
Page County CAN claim the Stone/Holtiman/Brubaker Raid of 1758 as a raid that occurred during the French & Indian War. However, the attack made upon the Rhodes family in the latter part of August 1764 should not be considered as an event of the French & Indian War. With the war having ended in 1763, the attack was most likely a spin-off raid made at the tail end of the Pontiac Conspiracy � influenced by the Ottawa chief named Pontiac.
From 1763 into 1765, small bands of Native American's that sided with Pontiac's beliefs attacked forts and outlying English settlements. After an unusual but unsuccessful 6-month siege of Fort Detroit, many Indians that sided with Pontiac became discouraged and returned home to prepare for the coming winter. Pontiac then tried unsuccessfully to obtain aid from Commandant Neyon de Villiers at Fort de Chartes. According to local tradition, Pontiac then reluctantly met with George Croghan, Sir William Johnson's representative in July 1765 to make preliminary arrangements for peace. Following the meeting, the two men traveled to Fort Quiatenon (LaFayette, Indiana) and on to Fort Detroit to smoke a peace pipe and sign a treaty ending the uprising.
Ultimately, in the English colonies, the French & Indian conflict & the smaller affairs such as the Pontiac Conspiracy led to a feeling of less military dependence upon England. Additionally, a spirit evolved from the fighting that left the settlers feeling more American than British � yet another spark for a fight for American Independence.
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