Cornstalk

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Cornstalk

CORNSTALK. (1720?–1777). Shawnee chief. Hokoleskwa, as he was named, was a friend of the Moravians and played a role in the 1764 peace talks with Colonel Henry Bouquet. He commanded the Indians in their bold attack on Point Pleasant in Dunmore's War, 1774. An advocate of Indian neutrality in the Revolution, Cornstalk went to Point Pleasant in October 1777 to determine if U.S. troops intended to attack the Shawnee. Captain Matthew Arbuckle took him hostage, and the militia in the fort murdered Cornstalk, his son, and two other Indians, touching off a wave of warfare by the Shawnee that did not cease until 1794.

SEE ALSO Bouquet's Expedition of 1764; Dunmore's (or Cresap's) War; Moravian Settlements.

                              revised by Michael Bellesiles