Cheif Blackhoof of the Wapakoneta Shawnee

One of my favorite things about studying history is that it provides the opportunity to discover people, places and stories that would otherwise go unnoticed by the average person. The story of Chief Blackhoof is one of those stories that is all but forgotten in popular history but is none - the - less, a significant story within the creation and colonization of the United States.

Very little is written about the life and times of the last Great Shawnee leader but what is known is that Chief Blackhoof’s story cannot be told without including the legends as well as the struggles.

The beginning of the French and Indian War also known as the Seven Year War.
In the morning hours of July 9, 1755 General Edward Braddock led a British force of about 1300 soldiers across the Monongahela River near present day Pittsburgh. The mission was part of a larger campaign waged by the British in an effort to force the French out of the gGreat Lakes Region. General Braddock’s mission was to secure the surrender of the French Fort Duquesne. After crossing the river with little opposition Braddock and his army set there sights on Fort Duquesne. Suddenly Braddock found himself surrounded by a force of nearly 900 Native American warriors. Braddock’s force became quickly overwhelmed and chaos ensued. By the end of the day Braddock had suffered the worst Indian defeat in British history. Braddock himself, ended up dyeing from the wounds suffered during the battle that has been simply termed, “Braddock’s defeat”. The future Shawnee chief Blackhoof was one of the warriors who defended Fort Duquesne and future American President George Washington was one of surviving members of Braddock’s army. 

                                        The Legend of Bulletproof George

In the mist of the early morning  I raised my rifle at the invading pale face and fired a shot. My aim was true but the bullet somehow missed. I adjusted my aim so the face of the white man was directly in the path of my bullet and once again I fired. As if guided by the Great Spirit my bullet once again missed its mark. It was at that moment I knew that this man must be destined for great things. I lowered my rifle and allowed the man to pass unharmed. It was said that the jacket the white man was wearing was riddled with bullet holes yet the man escaped the battle unscathed and uninjured. Years later I had council with this same man. I was now the leader of my people and he was the leader of his.[2] We both had grown in wisdom as a result of the events that took place that day. I would later call this man a friend and an ally to my people.

Whether or not this interaction ever took place is a matter of debate among scholars and historians but what is agreed upon is that the story includes two very important figures in American History. George Washington the man who could not be shot and Blackhoof the Shawnee warrior who took the shots and told the story. For both of these men, the Battle at Monongahela River would set in motion a series of events that would guide the two towards a greater purpose.

Blackhoof’s Final Resting Place

Nestled in the heart of Indian Country in northwest Ohio is a quite little community known as St. Johns. Pleasant and quant as any other small Midwestern town this community not only resides in an area once dominated by the Shawnee Indian tribe, it is also the former home and final resting place of one of the tribes most respected and influential leader.

Catahecassa aka Chief Blackhoof,

Blackhoof the man

By all accounts Blackhoof was a fierce warrior and cunning leader. Throughout his life he fought against the invading French, British and American forces all in an effort to ensure the survival of his people. He also fought with the French, British, and Americans trying to ensure that same result. When it comes to Blackhoof one thing is certain, there was no length he would not go to try and ensure the survival of his people.

Historians tendency to glorify the exploits of fellow Shawnee tribal member, Tecumseh as well as other militant American Indians, underscores the fact that not all American Indians were opposed to change. In fact many like Little Turtle and Black Hoof favored assimilation and cooperation with Americans. What is lost in all the tales of glorious bloodshed and stories of noble defiance is the fact that Blackhoof and his followers chose to survive and in many ways prosper. Blackhoof once said that he believed that the Shawnee “were one man with the whites” and because “treaties have always considered us Americans; we look upon ourselves to be such now” Blackhoof argued that because of the common creation of the Americans and the Shawnee the two “aught to be bound to the ties of friendship.”[3] However, Blackhoof was not always the gracious host and one should not view Blackhoof’s preference toward assimilation as a character flaw or a sign of weakness.

Born around 1740 in the present state of Florida, Blackhoof grew up being forced to relocate do to the encroaching white man. He spent most of his childhood, watching his people fight and die as they continued to move deeper and deeper into the American Northwest.  It wasn’t until he reached the Ohio territory that he and his Shawnee brethren found a home free of the white man. However, war and the white man would not be far behind.[4]

 For the forgotten figure that he is, Blackhoof was a fierce warrior who did not shy away from conflict. In fact he fought in nearly every major Native American conflict within the Northwest Territory. He fought alongside Little Turtle, Blue Jacket, Tecumseh, and the Prophet. He fought against George Washington, General St. Clair, General Wayne, and Lord Dunmore. It was not until the devastating defeat at the battle of Fallen Timbers that Blackhoof decided to negotiate peace with the white man.

The beginning of the end

Blackhoof was one of the main architects of the treaty that ended much of the major conflict between the Americans and the Indians living within the Great Lakes Region. The Greenville Treaty as it was called drew a symbolic line through Ohio separating Indian land from American land. America gained half of Ohio from the Indians in the deal but Blackhoof and the others gained a legal right to Northwest Ohio.[5]

After the Treaty of Greenville, Blackhoof and his people establish a vast and lucrative agricultural exchange. Blackhoof who was now called the Grand Chief of the Shawnee controlled most of the present day counties of Logan and Auglaize in what is now the state of Ohio.[6] Blackhoof in many ways embraced the civilization and assimilation plan of the Jefferson administration. He welcomed the introduction of English education, English laws and after a short attempt to stay neutral he even encouraged his warriors to fight for the United States in the War of 1812. After the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, Blackhoof not only gained in power among his own people he also became a valued asset of the United States Military.

Over a thirty year reign Blackhoof somehow managed to keep the peace and turn Wapakoneta into the capital city of his Shawnee nation. Under Blackhoof the Shawnee tribe of Wapakoneta became very successful farmers and agriculturalists. Because of the success of the Shawnee farmers Wapakoneta became the first city in northwest Ohio to have a sawmill and gristmill. For a short time it seemed like Blackhoof had single handedly saved his people from the advancing American settler. However, in the end he was not powerful or influential enough to avoid losing his land to Andrew Jackson and the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Shortly after his death in 1831 Blackhoof’s Shawnee tribe was forced to sign over their land to the American government and move west of the Mississippi. The once mighty Wapakoneta Shawnee lived out their remaining years on a reservation in unfamiliar territory and without their beloved Chief Blackhoof.[7]

In many respects Blackhoof’s life was more tragic than that of the militant Tecumseh, who chose to go down fighting. Both Blackhoof and Tecumseh illustrated the futility of the Indian position in the early nineteenth century. Blackhoof rejected the rhetoric of the Prophet and Tecumseh and chose to negotiate peace. He turned a blind eye to the promises of the British and fought alongside his American neighbors. He convinced his people to follow the advice of the Americans and to adhere to the peaceful intentions of the treaties he signed. However, in the end Blackhoof could not stop the American expansion into his territory and like Tecumseh Blackhoof died never having secured a home for his people.

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[1] René Chartrand, Monongahela 1754–55: Washington’s defeat, Braddock’s disaster, (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013).

[2]George Washington Parke Custis, and Mary Randolph Custis Lee, Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington, (Derby & Jackson, 1860).

[3] Stephen Warren, The Shawnees and Their Neighbors, 1795-1870, (University of Illinois Press, 2008).

[4] John Sugden, "Black Hoof," American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press, http://www.anb.org/articles/20/20-01687.html.

[5] "The Treaty of Greenville 1795," Lillian Goldman Law Library, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/greenvil.asp.

[6] See Stephen Warren The Shawnees and Their Neighbors, 1795-1870.

[7] See the "Treaty of Lewistown (1829) " Ohio History Connection Virtual Library, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Treaty_of_Lewistown_(1829). and "Treaty of Wapakoneta (1831)" Ohio History Connection Virtual Library, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Treaty_of_Wapakoneta_(1831)_(Transcript).