Pickawillany (Cont.) |
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| The following is a quote from Trent’s
journal dated 15 days after the attack. "Then Thomas Burney and Andrew McBryer, the
only two men that escaped when the Pick-town was attacked, came to us and told us that 240
French and Indians on the 21st of June about nine o’clock in the morning, surprised
the Indians in the cornfields, and that they came so suddenly on them that the white men,
who were in their houses, had the utmost difficulty to reach the Fort. Three, not being
able to get to the Fort, shut themselves up in one of the houses. At this time there were
but 20 men and boys in the Fort, including the white men. The French and Indians having taken possession of the white men’s houses, some of which were within 10 yards of the Fort, they kept a smart fire on the Fort till the afternoon, and had taken the three men who had shut themselves in one of the houses." "The French and Indians, in the afternoon, let the Tweightewee know that if they would deliver up the white men that were in the fort, they would break up the siege and go home. After consultation, it was agreed by the Indians and whites that as there were so few men, and no water in the Fort, it was better to deliver up the white men, with beaver and wampum to the Indians not to hurt them, than for the Fort to be taken, and all to be at their mercy. The white men delivered up accordingly, except Burney and McBryer, whom the Indians hid. One of the white men that was wounded in the belly, as soon as they got him they stabbed and scalped him and took out his heart and ate it." Upon receiving the white men they delivered up all the Indian women they had prisoners, and set off with the plunder they got out of the white men’s houses, amounting to about 3,000 pounds. They killed one Englishman and took five prisoners; one Mingoe and one Shawnee killed, and three Tweightewee; one of them the old Pianguisha king, called by the English ‘Old Britain’, who for his attachment to the English they boiled and ate him all up." [Back] [Next] [Up] [New Search] 'Indian' segment written in
December, 1997 by |
There is almost no historical record of what
happened to the Tweightewee (Miami Indians) after the battle, except it is assumed that
most of them rejoined the main branch of the tribe in Indiana. A few of them may have
stayed in the area since there is a recorded battle with the Shawnee and others that took
place in 1763, however, a small group of them under the young Chief Muskeguanockque, and,
apparently, Old Turtle, Old Britain’s wife, and a son joined the Shawnee in Lower
Shawnee Town. From Lower Shawnee Town, Trent and his 22 men, with other whites, boys and Indians set out to investigate the Pickawillany battle. The Fort was still standing, with two French flags flying, but it was deserted. After spending the night, and raising the English flag, Trent and his entourage returned to Lower Shawnee Town. The Daughters of the Revolution have installed a marker commemorating Fort Pickawillany on Hardin Road in Piqua. After turning from State Route 66 north onto Hardin, it is within 1/4 mile on the right-side of the road. The Johnston Farm house can be seen across the field, directly behind the Pickawillany marker.
It is important to note that Piqua’s Indian history is also ‘our history’ in that Shelby County, Ohio, was a part of Miami County until Shelby County became a separate entity in 1819. Piqua’s Indian Agent/trader, Colonel Johnston, in particular, influenced Indian relations throughout the region. Indians living on the western frontier believed that the area south of the Ohio River (Spay-lay-wi-theepi) was holy ground. All tribes could hunt in the area now called Kentucky, but none could live there. This made the area very attractive to white settlers and they soon began to move across the mountains. The Shawnee did not want settlers in their hunting area, so they often attacked the white towns. |
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