Cornplanter

Chief Cornplanter portrait by F. Bertoli, 1796

Gaiänt'wakê (c. 1750 – 1836) or Kaintwakon, generally known as Cornplanter, was a Seneca war-chief. He was the son of a Seneca mother and a Dutch father. He also carried the name John O'Bail (sometimes spelled Abeel) after his fur trader father. He was born at Canawagus (now in the Town of Caledonia) on the Genesee River in present-day New York State around 1750 and was raised by his mother.

Cornplanter decided that he would plant crops and live peacefully; hence his English name, Cornplanter^{[citation needed]}. His Seneca name, Gaiänt'wakê (often spelled Gyantwachia), means “the planter,” and another variation, Kaintwakon, means “by what one plants.”

Cornplanter was half-brother to Handsome Lake, a Seneca religious leader of the Iroquois people, and uncle to Governor Blacksnake, a Seneca warchief.

American Revolutionary War

As a war chief, Cornplanter had been hesitant about fighting during the American Revolution. He felt the Iroquois should stay out of the white man's war. "War is war," he told other Iroquois. "Death is death. A fight is a hard business." He finally gave in to pressure and several times helped the British. During the American Revolution, Chief Cornplanter and his uncle, Chief Guyasutha, wanted the Haudenosaunee to remain neutral, as both the British and the American Patriots had originally urged them to. However, soon enough both sides wanted the Iroquois to fight with them, and the British offered them large amounts of goods. The Iroquois League met together at Oswego in July, 1777, to vote on their decision, and although Guysutha and Cornplanter voted for neutrality, the majority voted to side with the British. Thus, Guysutha and Cornplanter honored the decision of the majority. Because of the status of Seneca as War Chiefs among the Haudenosaunee, most of the Iroquois Confederacy followed suit. The Iroquois named Sayenqueraghta and Cornplanter as war-chiefs of the Iroquois.

Cornplanter joined forces with Loyalist Lt. Colonel John Butler and his rangers at the Battle of Wyoming Valley in 1778, which came to be known as the Wyoming Valley Massacre.

After the burning of Tioga by Patriot forces under Colonel Thomas Hartley, Cornplanter and Brant also participated in the 1778 Loyalist-Iroquois reprisal led by Captain Walter Butler and Butler's Rangers in Cherry Valley, later called the Cherry Valley Massacre. During this campaign, Cornplanter's men incidentally captured his father after burning his house. Cornplanter, who had once went to see him as a young man, recognized him and offered apology, inviting him to return with the Senecas or to go back to his white family. His father chose the latter, and Cornplanter sent Seneca warriors to take John O'Bail there in safety^{[citation needed]}.

After the victories of the Loyalists and Iroquois forces commander-in-chief General George Washington commissioned Major General John Sullivan to invade Six Nation territory and "destroy" Iroquois villages. There was one brief battle on this campaign at which the Iroquois and British troops were decisively defeated at Newtown. Sullivan and his army of 5000 men conducted a scorched earth campaign, methodically destroyed Iroquois villages, farms, and animals between May and September of 1779 throughout Iroquois homeland (upstate New York). Cornplanter, along with Joseph Brant, Old Smoke, and Lt. Colonel John Butler fought a desperate delaying action in order to allow the escape of many refugees, both Native and non-Native^{[citation needed]}. The Patriot revenge was successful, and those who survived suffered terribly during the following months in what they called “the winter of the deep snow.” Many froze or starved to death. Cornplanter's people continued to fight with the British against the Patriots.

Post-Revolutionary War years

In 1784, a year after his sister's release, Cornplanter negotiated with Americans on behalf of the Senecas and their land. He also met with Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson concerning the rights of the Seneca people. After the devastating loss to the Iroquois brought about by the Sullivan Expedition as well as Britain's final defeat in the war, Cornplanter recognized the advantage of a positive diplomatic relationship with the fledgling government of what the Haudenosaunee called the "Thirteen Fires." He became a negotiator in disputes between the new "Americans" and various indigenous tribes. He was one of the signers of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784).

During the Northwest Indian War in Ohio and Indiana right after the American Revolution, Cornplanter was able to keep the Iroquois neutral and tried to negotiate with the Shawnee on behalf of the U.S.

In 1790, Cornplanter and his brother Half-Town (also a chief) traveled to Philadelphia to meet with President George Washington and Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Mifflin and protest the current treatment of their people. Cornplanter and Half-Town extracted an agreement from Washington and Mifflin to protect Iroquois land. [see: The speech of the Cornplanter ..., December 01, 1790, at external links.]

Cornplanter made many trips to the cities to strengthen relationships and dialog between those who were interested in his people. He took it upon himself to understand the ways of the white men as he saw it necessary for future relations between the Haudenosaunee and Americans. He was particularly impressed by the beliefs and practice of the Quakers, and invited them to educate his son and develop schools. He and his half-brother, the religious leader Handsome Lake, strongly opposed liquor.

In the War of 1812, Cornplanter offered to bring two hundred warriors to assist the U.S., but his offer was refused. During the War of 1812 Cornplanter supported the American cause, convincing his people to do so as well.

He allowed Quakers into his village to help the Senecas learn new skills when they could no longer rely on hunting or the fur trade as a way of life. He also encouraged men to join the women working in the fields to help increase their farming economy. Eventually, Cornplanter became disillusioned with his relationship with the Americans. What he felt was increasingly shabby treatment of his people confirmed for him Handsome Lake's warning that they should return to tradition and turn away from assimilation to white ways. Cornplanter burned his military uniform, broke his sword, and destroyed his medals. While he also closed the schools, he never broke off relations with the Quakers and retained a relationships of love and respect with them.

Later in his life, Cornplanter turned against contact with whites as the urging of Handsome Lake, a half-brother who became a Seneca prophet. To help fight the drunkenness and despair experienced by many Indians, Handsome Lake preached that the Iroquois must return to the traditional Indian way of life and take part in religious ceremonies. Cornplanter is said to have destroyed all of the gifts given to him by military officials and to have helped spread Handsome Lake's message.

Cornplanter died in Warren County, Pennsylvania, in 1836. He requested a grave with no marker. A monument has been constructed over his grave.

The Cornplanter Tract

In gratitude for his assistance to the state, Cornplanter was given a grant of 1,500 acres (6.1 km²) by Pennsylvania in 1796 along the western bank of the Allegheny River (about three miles (5 km) below the southern boundary of New York state) to him and his heirs "forever". By 1798, 400 Seneca lived on the land, which was called the Cornplanter Tract or Cornplanter Grant. In 1821 Warren County, Pennsylvania attempted to require Cornplanter pay taxes for his land, which he protested on the basis that the land had been "granted" to him by the U.S. government. After much talk, the state finally agreed that the Cornplanter Tract was exempt.

Legacy

In 1965, the new Kinzua Dam at Warren, Pennsylvania permanently flooded the Cornplanter Tract, and today it is a reservoir. His grave was subsequently moved to higher ground, and in 1966 the State of Pennsylvania put up a marker to honor him. Most of Cornplanter's people moved to the Allegany Reservation of New York.

The moving of his grave (which conflicted with the promise that his land grant would be his and his heirs "forever") figures in the song, "As Long As The Grass Shall Grow" that Johnny Cash recorded in 1964, it was originally written by Peter LaFarge.

The Chief Cornplanter Boy Scout Council, headquartered in Warren, PA, as well as their Order of the Arrow lodge, Gyantwachia Lodge #255 are named in his honor.

Cornplanter State Forest in Forest County, Pennsylvania is also named for him and is comprised of 1,256 acres (5.08 km²) of land.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• American State Papers, 2nd Congress, 1st Session. Indian Affairs: Volume 1, Page 140. The speech of the Cornplanter, Half-Town, and the Great-Tree, Chiefs and Councillors of the Seneca nation, to the Great Councillor of the Thirteen Fires Library of Congress. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
• Mohawk, John C. Spring 2002. The (sometimes) Beautiful American YES! Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
• Wallace, Anthony F. C. 1972. The death and rebirth of the Seneca. Vintage books, 699. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 039471699X

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Cornplanter  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Cornplanter"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.