Indian Nation in the War of 1812

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There were 35 Tribal nations that fought with the British and Canadians during the War of 1812. Tecumseh, the Shawnee war chief, worked to unite the Indians with the British. The Creek War is considered part of the War of 1812 because of its connection to Tecumseh's War, it was at the same time as the American-British war and involves many of the same people, also because the Red Sticks had the support from the British and later aided Admiral Cochrane's advance towards New Orleans.

Tribes that were allies of the British

Potawatomi, Ojibwa, Shawnee, Ottawa, Kickapoo, Iroquois, Mohawk, Seneca, Sauk, Creek, Creek Red Sticks, Ojibway, Chickamauga, Fox, Miami, Mingo, Delaware (Lenape), Mascouten, Wyandot, Huron, Winnebago, Mdewakanton Sioux

Tribes that were allies of the United States

Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, Seneca

Allies of the United Kingdom

Tecumseh

Tecumseh, also known as Tecumtha or Tekamthi, was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy that opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812.

His brother Tenskwatawa was a religious leader who advocated a return to the ancestral lifestyle of the tribes and resistance to American expansion. This led to strife with settlers on the Ohio frontier, forcing Tenskwatawa and his followers to establish a new settlement farther northwest at Prophetstown (Battle Ground), Indiana, in 1808. At this point in time, he and Tecumseh established ties with the British Indian Department. During the War of 1812, Tecumseh helped in the capture of Fort Detroit. After the battle, Major-General Isaac Brock wrote, "A more sagacious or a more gallant Warrior does not I believe exist."

When the British fleet were defeated at the Battle of Put-in Bay in the fall of 1813, the supply line to the British regulars and First Nations warriors on the Detroit frontier was cut. Although Tecumseh urged the British to take a stand, they retreated, until on October 5 they finally faced the Americans at Moraviantown, Upper Canada. Badly outnumbered, the British soldiers and Tecumseh's warriors lost the battle. Tecumseh himself was killed in what became known as the Battle of the Thames.

British wool cloth flag given to Tecumseh by the British in 1812

Roundhead Wyandot Chief

Roundhead was second in command to Tecumseh in Colonel Henry Procter’s British forces, during the War of 1812. He participated in the Battle of Brownstown on August 5, 1812 and the Battle of Maguaga on August 9. After this battle, Tecumseh presented Roundhead with a sash given to him by General Isaac Brock. He helped in the capture of Fort Detroit during the Siege of Detroit on August 15. He was there for the British occupation of Fort Miami along the Maumee River in September 1812. He later fought in the Siege of Fort Meigs from April 28–May 9, 1813. He fought in the Second Battle of the River Raisin on January 22, 1813, overwhelmingly defeating the Americans. Tecumseh and Roundhead were both killed during the Battle of the Thames (Moraviantown) on October 5, 1813.

Tenskwatawa Shawnee Prophet

Tenskwatawa

Tenskwatawa was a Native American religious leader of the Shawnee tribe, known as The Prophet or the Shawnee Prophet. He was the brother of Tecumseh. He denounced Americans as children of the Evil Spirit and gathered the Indians in the Midwest to fight them.Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa participated in the defense of the Canadian colonies during the War of 1812. In 1813 he was at the Battle of the Thames, but fled with the British forces and wasn't there when Tecumseh was killed.

Battle of the Thames and the death of Tecumseh

Ellskwatawa Shawnee Prophet

Ellskwatawa

He was the son of Pukeesheno, a chief of the Shawnees, and a brother of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa. With him was a band of about a thousand warriors belonging to different tribes. He was a bad leader and he was deserted by all but about three hundred. At this Tecumseh appeared among them, and assumed the direction of affairs, acting, in the name of the prophet.Ellskwatawa was at the battle of Tippecanoe, 4 November,1811,where he directed or ordered the attack. During the action he was in the vicinity, but out of the reach of danger. After the end of the war between Great Britain and the United States Ellskwatawa received a pension from the British government.

Black Hawk Sauk leader

Black Hawk

Black Hawk was commissioned at the rank of brevet Brigadier General, with command over all native allies at Green Bay and was presented with a silk flag, a medal, and a written certificate of good behavior and alliance with the British. Black Hawk and Native warriors fought in several engagements with Major-General Henry Procter on the borders of Lake Erie. Black Hawk was at the Battle of Frenchtown, Fort Meigs, and the attack on Fort Stephenson. The U.S. drove back the British and the Indian Confederacy led by Tecumseh, the British and their allies suffered high casualties. Black Hawk fought in the Battle of the Sink Hole, leading an ambush on a group of Missouri Rangers. The Missouri leader John Shawand gave a different account of the action to Black Hawk.

Bolek Seminole leader

In 1812, Bolek and his brother King Payne began raiding frontier settlements along the Florida Georgia border. Seminole bands fought several engagements with militia forces, his brother King Payne was killed in 1812, and Bolek suffered serious wounds at the same time against Georgia militia forces, under Daniel Newnan. The following year hundreds of Seminole villages were destroyed. Warfare between the Seminole and Georgia settlers was one of the reasons for the US involvement in the Creek War of 1813-1814.

Sakayengwaraton Mohawk Leader

Also known as John "Smoke" Johnson, he fought with the British army and Canadian militia in the War of 1812 and was honored by his tribal council when chosen as a Pine Tree Chief, a non-hereditary position. After the war, he was an important leader in the Six Nations of the Grand River community in Ontario.

Sakayengwaraton (John Smoke Johnson), John Tutela, and Young Warner, three Six Nations veterans of the War of 1812.

Menawa Muscogee Chief

Menawa

The British supported the Red Sticks' resistance to United States settlers into their territory.Menawa was second in command of the Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, they were defeated by General Andrew Jackson commanding militias of Tennessee, Georgia and the Mississippi Territory, as well as allied Cherokee. Menawa was wounded seven times during the battle, but he escaped and survived his wounds

Teyoninhokarawen Mohawk Chief

Teyoninhokarawen

John Norton, the son of a Cherokee father and Scottish mother, was raised and educated in Scotland. He travelled to Upper Canada with the 65th Foot Regiment and after his discharge became a fur trader and interpreter. Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant), a leader of the Six Nations, persuaded Norton to join the Grand River Mohawk and gave him the name Teyoninhokarawen. When the War of 1812 broke out, the British Army gave Norton the rank of captain. He led warriors of the Six Nations into battle at Queenston Heights, Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams. After the war, Norton was given the brevet rank of major.

Ahyouwaeghs, Chief of the Six Nations

Ahyouwaeghs, also known as John Brant, was the son of Mohawk leader Thayendanegea. He and John Norton recruited a number of Six Nations warriors when the War of 1812 broke out. He was given the rank of lieutenant in the British Indian Department. During the war, officers and interpreters of the department often fought alongside warriors. They served as liaison between First Nations leaders and British military commanders. Ahyouwaeghs took part in many of the battles and skirmishes along the Niagara frontier.

Red Eagle Creek chief

Chief Red Eagle

Chief Red Eagle known as Lamochattee and William Weatherford.Leaders of the Upper Creek began diplomatic talks with Spanish and British colonial officials to develop allies against the United States,those wanting war became known as Red Sticks.The Americans learned that the Red Sticks were bringing back arms from Florida the American frontiersmen.the Red Sticks regrouped and fought off the Americans ,the Creek declared war on the United States. Already involved in the War of 1812 against the US, the British encouraged the Creek resistance.Chief Red Eagle joined the Red Sticks along the frontier with Peter McQueen and other Red Sticks they attacked Fort Mims. There was up to 500 persons were killed.

Shabbona

In 1812, Shabbona moved to Canada to join the British during the War of 1812.Shabbona was an accomplished warrior who fought alongside Tecumseh against the United States.Shabbona helped persuade many Native Americans in the Northwest Territory to oppose the white settlers and side with Tecumseh and the British in an all-out war. After Tecumseh's death, Shabbona abandoned the British allied himself with the United States permanently.

Battle of Queenston Heights

Allies of the United States

Taskanugi Hatke Creek Nation

Taskanugi Hatke

The Creek Nation struggled with tensions during the War of 1812, when both Britain and the United States tried to engage them as allies. Tensions between the Creek and the Red Sticks turned into open conflict. Taskanugi Hatke also known as William McIntosh and other Lower Creek allied with United States forces against the Red Sticks during the War of 1812. The Red Sticks were allied with the British, as both wanted to limit American expansion in the Southeast.William McIntosh fought in support of General Andrew Jackson and state militias in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, in the defeat in 1814 of the Red Sticks and the end of the Creek War. Taskanugi Hatke was made a brigadier general.

Pushmataha Choctaw leader

Pushmataha

Pushmataha was a Choctaw leader and a Indian General,he rejected the offers of alliance by Tecumseh, Pushmataha led the Choctaw to fight on the side of the United States in the War of 1812. He negotiated several treaties with the United States.Pushmataha raised a company of 500 warriors.Under Brigadier General Ferdinand Claiborne,on December 23, 1813, Pushmataha and 150 Choctaw warriors took part in an attack on Creek forces at the Battle of Holy Ground.

Major Ridge Cherokee leader

Major Ridge

Shortly before the War of 1812, Shawnee chief Tecumseh and his brother, Tenskawatawa, came south to recruit followers from other tribes to prevent the sale of their hunting grounds to white immigrants. Major Ridge attended as an observer when Tecumseh spoke to the Creek living nearby. Major Ridge confronted Tecumseh and warned that he would kill Tecumseh if he tried to spread that message to the Cherokee.

Gaiänt'wakê Seneca leader

Gaiänt'wakê

During the War of 1812, Gaiänt'wakê also known as Cornplanter supported the American cause, convincing his people to do so as well. At one point he offered to bring two hundred warriors to assist the United States, but his offer was refused.Eventually, Cornplanter became disillusioned with his relationship with the Americans.His half brother Handsome Lake told that the Iroquois must return to the traditional way of life and take part in religious ceremonies. Cornplanter felt his people were poorly treated by the Americans. He listened to Handsome Lake's teachings that they should return to tradition and turn away from the white man ways. Gaiänt'wakê burned his military uniform, broke his sword, and destroyed his medals.

Battle of Chippawa, the Iroquois warriors fought with the British,the Seneca fought for the United States ,it was a American Victory

Sagoyewatha Seneca chief

Red Coat

Sagoyewatha was Seneca Chief of the Wolf clan.He was also called Red Coat because in the American Revolution he wore a red coat given to him by the British, who employed him as a messenger.In War of 1812 , Red Jacket, like many Seneca, became an ally of the United States, fighting at the battles of Fort George 17 August 1813 and Chippawa 5 July 1814. There were heavy casualties at Chippawa, by both the Seneca and the Iroquois of Upper Canada. Which led both to reconsider their participation in a non Indian war. After the battle the Seneca and Iroquois withdraw from the Canadian American conflict.

Tah-won-ne-ahs Seneca War Chief

Tah-won-ne-ahs

Tah-won-ne-ahs was also known as Chainbreaker and Governor Blacksnake he was a Seneca war chief of the Wolf clan,Cornplanter was his uncle, along with other Iroquois leaders, he fought on the side of the British during the American Revolutionary War.During the War of 1812, he switched sides and fought on the side of the United States against the British, mainly at the Battle of Fort George.

Mushulatubbee Choctaw Chief

Mushulatubbee

In 1812 Mushulatubbee led his warriors to assist General Andrew Jackson in the war against the Creek Red Sticks, known as the Creek Wars.In the War of 1812 Mushulatubbee led 52 Choctaw warriors in the Battle of New Orleans in 1814. When the Battle of New Orleans was over, Moshulatubbee and his 52 warriors returned home. They left the service on January 27, 1815 from Fort Stoddard.

The Fort Mims massacre in 1813

Battle of New Orleans 1814

Name	Branch	Rank	Unit
Askin, John, Jr.	Army	Interpreter	British Indian Dept.
Brant, John	Army	Lieutenant	British Indian Dept.
Caldwell, Billy	Army	Captain	British Indian Department
Ducharme, Dominique	Army	Captain	British Indian Dept.
Kerr, William Johnson	Army	Officer	British Indian Dept.
Martin, George	Army	Interpreter	British Indian Dept.
Renville, Joseph	Army	Officer	British Indian Dept.

Sources

Wikipedia - List of Native American leaders of the Indian Wars
Government of Canada - Heroes of the War of 1812
Wikipedia Creek Wars
Angel Fire.com - Ely Parker's List of Oneida Indian Volunteers War of 1812
pdf - Major William McIntosh’s Company of Creek Indians Creek War of 1812
Native Americans Mustered into the Service of the United States in the War of 1812, New York
The Ioway Indians in the War (of 1812)
The Shawnee in the War of 1812

Collaboration on Indian Nation in the War of 1812

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