Joseph Brant - The Greatest Tory

       by Joseph E. Bennett, FPS


Revised modern history has virtually
ignored one of the most notable partici-
pants in the American Revolution. In
fact, most of the history of that valiant
struggle for independence and the sub-
sequent founding of the United States
of America is no longer taught in any
detail in the hallowed halls of learning.
"Revision" is the key word in educa-
tion. The names of Washington, Lin-
coln, Ethan Allen, and Patrick Henry
are seldom heard. History today is
dominated by Disney movies and fanci-
ful documentaries focused on obscure
personalities plucked from the past,
often because it is politically correct;
and presented in a manner calculated to
advance an activist agenda, in disre-
gard of established record.

  The primary character in our narra-
tive is one Joseph Brant, the principal
chief of the Iroquois Confederacy
during those pivotal years of conflict for
our struggling nation. One could poll a
hundred school children, and not a soli-
tary soul would have heard his name. In
the 1770's, the very name "Joseph
Brant" inspired mortal terror the
length and breadth of the New York
colony, but nowhere quite so much as
along the beautiful Mohawk River Val-
ley. His bloody trail provided the litany
of burning, looting, and destruction in
that fertile valley which drove General
Washington to mount a major military
expedition to exterminate the Iroquois
Indian threat forever in that vast, wild
country west of the- Mohawk River.

The six Indian tribes who made up the
Iroquois Confederacy of the Six Na-
tions probably did not write the book on
fierce warfare and aggression, but they
certainly were charter members of that
brotherhood. The six nations populated
present-day New York and adjoining
states to the east, including some of the
area rimming the eastern shores of
Lake Ontario. The original tribes of the
Iroquois Confederation were five- the
Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cuyuga,
and the Seneca. Long before any Eng-
lish colonist set foot in the area, the
tribes were in grave danger of eradicat-
ing each other through a process of con-
stant warfare. In the early 1500's, the
legendary Hiawatha and one Deganawidah
conceived an idea to unite
the Indian tribes mentioned into one
large organization, complete with a set
of laws to govern themselves and con-
duct an orderly life. It was an admirable
concept, and it worked extremely well.
The weight of the Five Nations fell on
every tribe surrounding their territory,
eventually including the conquest of the
inhabitants of all territory as far west as
Sandusky County, Ohio. Those subju-
gated tribes became part of the confed-
eracy network, and their tribal leaders
often became leaders of importance in
the Iroquois hierarchy. Eventually, the
Tuscarora tribe was added to the con-
federacy, making it the Six Nations.

The Iroquois people were among the
most distinctive of all the eastern tribes-
men in physical appearance and bear-
ing. They were proud and austere,
plucking their facial hair from boyhood
days, creating the impression that none
existed. The typical Iroquois warrior
also shaved his head, reserving a scalp
lock on the top. It was a type of chal-
lenge flung to an enemy; "Take it if you
can. " The Iroquois were the famous
"long house" dwellers of early Ameri-
can history, one of the early versions of
multi-family residence. Some of their
long houses accommodated a score of
families and more. The length was
known to have reached in excess of 300
feet in some. They became acquainted
with metal hatchets, firearms, and
manufactured cloth a century before
they came into common use among the
plains Indians. The Iroquois rubbed el-
bows with European civilization from
the days of the first English and Dutch
setters.

Women were an important part of the
Iroquois government. The woman
selected the representatives to the con-
federacy council, which met every five
years; or more often if circumstances
demanded. The political stature of
Iroquois women was to be a great asset
to the British, and to Joseph Brant in
particular, during the days of the Revo-
lutionary War.

Brant was a brave and honorable
friend of the British crown, and their
staunchest ally during the conflict with
the colonies. The value of his service
was beyond price. Brant's military ad-
ventures had a profound influence on
the entire conduct of the war west of
Albany, and he performed his deeds
with no more than 1,500 Indian fol-
lowers. Most of his exploits employed
far less than that number.

He was born the son of a member of
the Mohawk Wolf Clan, and was given
the name Theyendanegea. Roughly
translated, it meant "two sticks bound
together", denoting strength. The year
of his birth was 1742, occurring in a
hunting village some place along the
banks of the Ohio River, where his
parents were temporarily residing.
Brant's father died soon after he was
born, and his mother returned to their
ancestral home in the Mohawk Valley
after a two-year absence. She returned
with her young son and an older
daughter, and soon afterward married a
Mohawk known by the single English
name of "Brant". At first, the boy was
known as "Brant's Joseph. " Before
long the name was transposed into
Joseph Brant.

Brant's parentage has always been the
center of some disagreement. A few his-
torians have maintained that he was the
illegitimate son of an English baronet,
Sir William Johnson. The accepted fact
is that his father was Mohawk, as
stated. Sir William did have a major
role in Brant's life, however, and the
young Iroquois was tied to the Johnson
family all his life - both through loyalty
and personal relationship.

Sir William Johnson was the British
Superintendent-General of Indian Af-
fairs encompassing the area between
Lake Champlain and Fort Niagara, and
as far south as Fort Duquesne, the pre-
sent-day location of Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania. He was also responsible for
keeping the British government ap-
prised of all French activity in his area.

At the outset of hostilities leading to
the French and Indian War, Joseph
Brant was a 13-year-old boy. He was
nevertheless, an active warrior fighting
for the British, alongside his stepfather,
and under the command of Sir William
Johnson. Young Joseph gave a valiant
account of himself during the years of
the conflict (1755-1759), but particu-
larly during the battle of Lake George.
On that field of combat, south of Lake
Champlain, Sir William created his
military reputation with a resounding
victory over the French.

Sir William took Brant's older sister,
Molly, to be his common-law wife.
Probably, they were married in an In-
dian ceremony, for he had a white wife
during most of his adult years. That
fact did not prevent him from having a
number of Indian "wives". Brant's sis-
ter bore the baronet several children
during their relationship. Sir William
was extremely kind to all his Iroquois
wards, and traditionally concerned for
their welfare. He was also an ardent
loyalist, although sympathetic to
colonial complaints. It is not surprising
that young Joseph should become a par-
ticular favorite of the Superintendent-
General, or that he should select the
boy to attend the Moor Charity School
in Lebanon, Connecticut to acquire an
education.

The Moor School was operated by the
Reverend Doctor Eleazor Wheelock,
who would later become the first presi-
dent of Dartmouth College at the same
location. Joseph was 19 years old when
he entered the Moor School in July,
1761. During the two years the young
Mohawk was in attendance, he busied
himself translating portions of the Bible
into their language. He also volun-
teered as an interpreter for Indian mis-
sionaries, having converted to Christi-
anity himself.

During the years immediately follow-
ing his attendance at the Moor School,
Brant continued to serve Sir William in
the administration of Mohawk tribal af-
fairs, and to take an active role in the
Iroquois council. The Six Nations were
still strong and vigorous in those years,
and Brant advanced steadily in the
tribal hierarchy. He also continued his
biblical translations into the Mohawk
language, and was engaged in reprint-
ing the tribal prayer book. He was a
staunch Christian advocate and evan-
gelized actively among his fellow
Iroquois. Continuing unrest among the
American colonists, and their com-
plaints against the British crown, were a
grave concern for both Joseph Brant
and Sir William Johnson. It seemed in-
evitable that a conflict must soon evolve
over the grievances.

Sir William's great anxiety and stress
over the state of political affairs in the
Mohawk Valley were magnified follow-
ing the Boston massacre in 1774. The
events of the immediate past no doubt
contributed to the devastating stroke
the baronet suffered on June 24, 1774.
He died immediately at Johnson Hall,
his palatial residence on his vast estate
on the Mohawk River. His son, Sir
John Johnson, inherited the family title,
estate, and official position from his
father, which also included command of
the local militia. Many of Sir John's
new responsibilities were assumed by
his brother-in-law, Guy Johnson, par-
ticularly the immediate command of
military activity. Joseph Brant was as-
signed to Guy in the role of secretary.
Both "Miss Molly" and Brant con-
tinued to work tirelessly to persuade the
Iroquois Confederacy to support the
English government in the event of war.
Molly had great influence with the
Iroquois as a result of the role of women
in the confederacy. Joseph, of course,
was a major chieftain, with a great deal
of influence. In 1777, he would be the
acknowledged principal chief of all the
Iroquois.

The case for Indian allegiance to the
British government received a strong
boost in the summer of 1774. The
colonists had made little effort to enlist
Iroquois neutrality in their impending
conflict, and an incident created by
some of the citizens served to inflame
the Six Nations against the colonies.
Some Virginia colonists, under the com-
mand of Captain Michael Cresap, a
land company agent, conducted a
bloody massacre against Indian rela-
tives of the great Mingo chief, Logan, a
sachem of the Iroquois. The incident
dramatically hardened Iroquois senti-
ment against the colonials and made
Brant's argument infinitely more at-
tractive.

The Revolution was just beginning
when Brant requested that he be al-
lowed to visit England and personally
register his concern for the Iroquois fu-
ture in the New York colony. Sir John
agreed, and the pair sailed for London
on November 11, 1775. The Mohawk
chieftain was lionized in England, and
granted his requested audience with
George III. Brant was a talented orator,
and the court was mightily impressed
with his eloquence and regal bearing.
He was accorded every courtesy during
his visit. During the stay, Joseph be-
came a Freemason, being raised in
Hiram's Cliftonian Lodge No. 417 in
London, early in 1776. He also sat for a
portrait by the famous English painter,
George Romney; thus an accurate like-
ness of the Iroquois sachem was pre-
served for posterity. In June, 1776, Sir
John and Brant embarked for America,
arriving at Staten Island at the end of
July. Brant was present, and a partici-
pant in the battle of Long Island in
August. He distinguished himself
during the battle, enjoying the official
rank of captain in the British army. He
was designated as the official envoy
from General Howe to the Iroquois
Confederacy, charged with securing
their help in the war.

An epidemic decimated the Indians
remaining in the Mohawk Valley
during the winter of 1775, while Brant
was in England. Those who had not al-
ready joined the British in Canada, did
so during the late months of 1775 and
early 1776. During the early months of
1776, the Colonial Army launched a
campaign into Canada, and for a time
were victorious. However, they had a
disastrous encounter at "The Cedars",
just north of Montreal. Joseph Brant
and 600 Indians, allied with a smaller
British force, overwhelmed the
colonials. The Americans surrendered
en masse, along with a relief column
which arrived hoping to rescue them.
Many colonials were slaughtered
during the savage fighting, both at the
hands of the British Tories, as well as
the Iroquois. The killing of helpless cap-
tives incensed the colonists when news
leaked out of the disaster, and greatly
increased the animosity between the
colonials and Iroquois. General Bene-
dict Arnold was dispatched to the battle
scene with a second relief column of 700
troops to negotiate an agreement that
no further massacre of prisoners would
take place. Brant personally abhorred
killing captives, and there were no
documented incidents during his life
that he engaged in that heartless activ-
ity. On the contrary, he spared the life of
Captain John McKinstrey at The Ce-
dars, who identified himself as a
Freemason, one of many such incidents
during the Revolutionary War. By June,
1776, the colonials were driven out of
Canada with the exception of the area
immediately surrounding Lake Cham-
plain.

By 1777, as previously observed, the
Iroquois Confederacy was actively in-
volved on the British side, with the ex-
ception of the Oneida and Tuscarora
tribes. Those two remained neutral,
primarily due to the influence of Rever-
end Samuel Kirtland, a Presbyterian
missionary who was an enthusiastic
supporter of the colonists. Eventually,
the recalcitrant attitude of the two
neutral member nations, in Brant's
opinion, brought about the disintegra-
tion of the Iroquois Confederacy. He
was greatly embittered against the
Oneida and Tuscaroras from that time
forward.

In June, 1777, Brant was reported to
be in the Mohawk Valley for the pur-
pose of securing supplies. His presence
was reported to Brigadier General Ni-
cholas Herkimer, who sent an invitation
to parley. Brant agreed, and appeared
with a force of 500 Iroquois at Unadilla,
a settlement about 50 miles northeast of
present-day Binghamton, New York.
The Mohawk chief affirmed his allegi-
ance to the British government in his
opening comments to General
Herkimer. At Herkimer's request,
Brant agreed to a resumption of the
parley the next day. Reports later were
made that Herkimer conspired with his
next-in-command to arrange the assas-
sination of Joseph Brant the second day
of the parley. It is unknown whether or
not Brant was aware of the plot, but his
icy demeanor and his opening state-
ment that his 500 grim-faced warriors
could totally overwhelm Herkimer's
force was sufficient deferent. The plan,
if it existed, was never executed.

In August, 1777, the British launched
a major campaign to isolate New York
from the balance of the colonies, and
secure their lines from the Great Lakes
to the Hudson River. Joseph Brant and
his Iroquois were assigned to General
Barry St. Leger, who commanded the
planned assault against Fort Schuyler,
near present-day Utica. St. Leger
headed 1,700 British regulars and To-
ries, while Brant led some 1,000
Iroquois. St. Leger detached Brant and
a mixed complement of Iroquois and
Tories to ambush General Herkimer,
who had learned of St. Leger's march
toward Fort Schuyler, and was march-
ing to intercept the main British force.
The ambush occurred at Oriskany
Creek, but it was not a complete sur-
prise, as a drunken Indian warrior fired
prematurely. For the first three quarters
of an hour, there was a great slaughter
on both sides. An attempted British re-
lief of the beleaguered ambush force
was thwarted, and General Herkimer
saved Tryon County for the colonials.

Herkimer conducted the battle from a
saddle propped against a tree after his
knee was shattered by a bullet. His leg
was amputated and he died a few days
after the battle from loss of blood fol-
lowing the operation. General St. Leger
proceeded to lay siege to Fort Schuyler,
but abandoned the effort when he re-
ceived reports that General Benedict
Arnold was moving in force to relieve
the besieged garrison. St. Leger's re-
treat spelled the end of the British plan
to isolate the New York colony. The in-
cidents surrounding the battle at
Oriskany Creek were the plot for a
major 1939 movie, "Drums Along the
Mohawk", starring Henry Fonda; al-
though many historical facts were al-
tered. Joseph Brant continued on a ser-
ies of raids during the year, until finally
retiring to winter quarters at Fort Nia-
gara.

Brant's agenda of non-stop small raids
against the settlements in the Mohawk
Valley began again in the spring of 1778
with a May attack at Cobleskill, a few
miles from his Mohawk home of
Canajoharie, near the river. In July, his
blow fell upon Springfield, on the north-
ern shore of Oswego Lake, and early in
September he attacked German Flats a
little farther north. His method was al-
ways the same: burn, destroy all crops
and livestock that could not be carried
away with the other plunder, and take
the surviving males prisoner. It was
grim, bloody business, but it was war. If
everyone followed Brant's orders, no
women or children were harmed, but
he could not always control the Tories
and Senecas in his command. They
committed great atrocities on occasion,
and for their actions Brant was vilified
universally as the culprit.

On November 11, 1778, a raiding
force under Walter N. Butler with a
group of Tories, assisted by a large com-
plement of Iroquois under Joseph
Brant, executed one of the bloodiest
massacres of the entire war. The com-
posite force attacked Fort Alden and the
adjacent settlement of Cherry Valley at
noon. The inept garrison commander
and some of his officers were garrisoned
outside the fort and most of the occu-
pants were in their homes. The attack
had been foretold by friendly Oneidas,
but the colonials paid no heed to the
warning. When the attack began, the
terrified villagers and soldiers fled
toward the stockade for refuge. The
commanding officer and his family
were among the casualties outside the
stockade walls. Although the garrison in
the fort was substantial, not one soldier
ventured out to prevent the massacre.
By the following day at noon, not a
building remained standing outside
Fort Alden. The raiders withdrew with
40 captives, all of whom were sub-
sequently released. That savage attack
and a public outcry from the citizens of
the Mohawk Valley caused Washington
to schedule his attack on the Iroquois in
the spring. However, the campaign
failed to get under way until late the
following summer.

Brant still had time in the summer of
1779 to make another raid before the
major offensive against the Iroquois
began. He attacked the village of Minis-
ink, west of Goshen, on the Delaware
River at the New Jersey border, on July
20. He burned and looted the town, but
only four people were killed; among
them the schoolmaster. Brant left his
mark on the aprons of the schoolgirls,
who were by-passed by the rampaging
Iroquois. When a militia force gave
pursuit, Brant laid an ambush at Minis-
ink Ford. Although surrounded, the
colonials refused an offer to surrender.
The ensuing battle saw all but 30 of the
ambushed militia killed. In the gather-
ing dusk, while walking among the
dead and dying colonials, Brant came
upon Lt. Colonel Gabriel Wisner. The
officer was mortally wounded, but in
full control of his faculties. Reluctant to
abandon the dying man to the wild ani-
mals of the night, Brant distracted him
with conversation and struck a fatal
blow with his tomahawk. In his eyes it
was an act of kindness and compassion.
The incident was chronicled as further
proof of Brant's savagery.

The punitive campaign against the
Iroquois Nation finally got under way
in August, 1779. Major General John
Sullivan assumed overall command of
the combined troops assembled for the
expedition. He traveled north from the
vicinity of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
to rendezvous with General James Clin-
ton at Tioga, New York. Sullivan
launched his march with a force of
5,000 men. Sullivan had his detractors
in the Continental Congress, to be sure.
He was loudly criticized for extravagant
requests of supplies and materiel, and
for procrastinating before starting his
campaign. John Sullivan was a product
of New Hampshire, and a distinguished
attorney. He had been a delegate to the
Continental Congress in 1775, and was
also the first Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of New Hampshire. His
mother lodge was St. John's in Port-
smouth. In spite of the criticism over his
slow beginning, Sullivan proved to be a
terror to the Indians when he finally
swung into action. His movements were
no secret to the Iroquois or the British
Army.

Sullivan swept aside an attempt by
Colonel John Butler and Joseph Brant
to halt his advance. He met their infe-
rior force of 800 Tory and Iroquois war-
riors near present-day Elmira, driving
them from the field in panic after severe
losses. Sullivan then had a clear road to
the Genesee Valley in the far western
reaches of the New York colony, and the
permanent Seneca villages along his
line of march. Sullivan became an
avenging angel. He laid waste to every
village, cultivated field, and Indian
dwelling he could find. The Iroquois
fled ahead of him, powerless to stop the
colonial juggernaut. Sullivan particu-
larly hated the Senecas, and his cam-
paign destroyed every vestige of their
civilization in western New York. In all,
the torch obliterated 48 permanent In-
dian villages. After crossing the
Genesee River, Sullivan retraced his
steps eastward, destroying every Indian
settlement he had missed on his out-
ward leg. The destruction was
complete, and the Iroquois power was
destroyed. Without food, the survivors
straggled into Fort Niagara for the
winter. Sullivan had extracted a full
measure of revenge for the savage raids
against the colonials in the Mohawk
Valley. Years later, the great Indian
chief, Cornplanter, called Sullivan "the
scourge of the Iroquois."Brant and his
Mohawks were unbroken in spirit after
the Sullivan calamity. They were eager
to assume the warpath by February,
1780. Joseph began the early spring
campaign with his usual small raids,
striking town after town along the Mo-
hawk River. He took the opportunity to
destroy several Oneida and Tuscarora
villages along the way. He never for-
gave them for not helping the British
during the war. Brant also burned his
home village of Canajoharie, including
his old church. It had been occupied by
white colonials after their own homes
had been destroyed in earlier Iroquois
raids.

When Cornwallis surrendered his
British command to the Continental
Army on October 19, 1781, at York-
town, Virginia, the war was at an end,
for all practical purposes. Sporadic
fighting continued for a while, but
everyone considered the war over.
Brant's concern was now focused on the
disposition of his Iroquois tribesmen
during the peace negotiations. His con-
cern proved well founded when they
were not mentioned in the formal peace
document signed on November 30,
1782. In the victorious former colonies,
the Iroquois were gathered on a few
small reservations in New York. Brant
elected to live in Canada.

In Ontario, Joseph Brant was re-
garded as the religious and tribal leader
of all the Iroquois Nations. Both the
British and American governments
looked to him for guidance and peace
among the Indians. He settled west of
Niagara Falls on territory ceded the
Iroquois by the British government
along the Grand River. They were
given a tract six miles wide on both
sides of the Grand from Lake Erie to
the river's headwaters, about 100 miles
to the north. It was a fertile, beautiful
land, and it became Brant's Iroquois
kingdom. Eventually the town of Brant-
ford was built at the northern extremity
of the tract, and was regarded as their
principal city. Joseph was presented a
parcel of land near Burlington Bay by
the King of England. Upon this site, he
eventually built a spacious two-story
home.

Brant married three times during his
life. His first wife bore two children,
Isaac and Christiana. She died of con-
sumption about 1771. The second
Brant spouse was a sister of his first.
She died while young, without bearing
any children. Joseph's third wife proved
more durable, and presented him with
seven children, the eldest being Joseph,
born in 1783. He was followed by
Jacob, John, Margaret, Catherine,
Mary, and Elizabeth. Of all Brant's
children, his great disappointment and
sorrow was Isaac, the eldest.

Isaac was bad-tempered and un-
manageable from childhood, finally be-
coming an alcoholic. He was bitter and
envious of his younger brothers and sis-
ters. Brant made a valiant attempt to
rehabilitate his son, paying a handsome
compensation to a white man upon
whom Isaac committed an unprovoked
assault after killing the fellow's horse.
Later, Isaac broke into his father's room
at an inn where he was spending the
night. He attacked Brant with a knife in
a drunken rage, with every intention of
killing the venerable Mohawk. Joseph
took the knife from his raging son, and
in the struggle opened a superficial
wound on Isaac' s head . He refused
medical assistance, and the following
day, still drunk and unmanageable, reo-
pened the wound. Infection followed,
and Isaac died within a few days. Brant
was absolved of any guilt in the un-
happy incident.

Brant made his second trip to England
in 1785, concerned still about the wel-
fare of the Mohawks and their claims
against the crown. He made a plea for
fulfillment of the promises of Sir John
Johnson to provide for all the Mohawks.

Brant also dreamed of forming a con-
federacy of all the great tribes east of the
Mississippi, patterned after that of the
great Chief Pontiac some years earlier.
Brant felt such a confederacy would
thwart future ill treatment of the
Iroquois in the United States and allow
them a means of defense if they needed
to press their demands by military per-
suasion. Of course, that dream never
came to fruition. Brant was, neverthe-
less, accorded every courtesy at the
court of England, and honored as one
of their great military heroes. He also
renewed many friendships among the
nobility in London. During his visit, he
translated the Gospel of Mark into the
Mohawk language. Most of the Mo-
hawk religious texts had been destroyed
during the Revolutionary War. He also
renewed many Masonic acquaintances
during his visit. Several years after his
return to Canada, in 1798, a charter
was granted for Lodge No. 11 at Brant-
ford Mohawk Village. Joseph Brant
was named first Worshipful Master.

Nine years later, the old Mohawk
chieftain passed away on November 14
1807. He died at his home on Burling-
ton Bay at an age of 65 years and eight
months. The Iroquois Confederacy
named his son John to be his successor
and principal chief. However, he would
never equal the tremendous record of
his illustrious father, Joseph Brant, the
greatest leader in the history of the
Iroquois Nation.

Brant lived his life with honor and
devotion to the end of his days, even
though he was regarded as a blood-
thirsty savage by his American contem-
poraries. Few allowed themselves the
opportunity to consider Brant's life
from the perspective of an Iroquois. He
had been loyal and unswerving to the
British, to whom he gave his word.
That was inviolate to a man of honor.
His service stands in grim contrast to
the treatment his Iroquois brethren re-
ceived as the years passed. A great and
proud Indian Confederacy paid the
price for remaining loyal to the British
crown. Only after the passage of many
years, has history been able to review
those sanguinary events of the Ameri-
can Revolution objectively.

If a personal note may be inserted, my
own maternal ancestors recognize with
pride a relationship to the Seneca Na-
tion which they have never disabused.
It has been a source of pardonable
pride. In the eyes of our great Frater-
nity, Joseph Brant, was a Mason of
great stature, and one whom we are
proud to remember as a worthy
brother, without reservation.

