Skenandoah

An image of the old chief later in life

Quick Facts

Significance:

Skenandoah was a long lived chief of the Oneida Nation. His friendship with certain American Patriots swayed the Oneidas to the American cause during the American Revolution, causing them to become the "First Allies."

Place of Birth:

Colony of Pennsylvania

Date of Birth:

circa 1706

Place of Death:

Oneida County, NY

Date of Death:

March 11, 1816

Place of Burial:

Hamilton College, Clinton, NY

Cemetery Name:

Hamilton College Cemetery

He was born in 1706 and was adopted into the Oneida Nation as a youth. During King George’s War between the British and French in the 1740’s, Skenandoah gained a reputation as a fierce fighter against the French. Due to this he was named a chief warrior of the nation and added to his martial fame during the French & Indian War.

At nearly 6'5" tall, he must've been an imposing presence. But as Skenandoah aged, he also gained a reputation for wisdom and good judgement. His prestige as a leader both in war and peace led him to becoming an Oneida representative at conferences both among the Six Nations and with the Whites.

Skenandoah first met Reverend Samuel Kirkland in 1765, and when Kirkland became a missionary to the Oneidas in 1766, it was the start of a friendship that lasted their whole lives. Skenandoah staunchly supported Kirkland in every way. This gave Kirkland the ability to stand against the British Indian Superintendents Sir William and Guy Johnson when there were differences of opinion on religious ethics and/or political leanings. It is in part due to his strong friendship with Kirkland that Skenandoah supported the rebels during the American Revolution, encouraging the Oneida nation to do the same. One of Skenandoah’s sons accompanied the Oneidas that joined Washington’s army at Valley Forge for a time. Though in his eighties, Skenandoah continued to be very active during the war and was well known to many of the officers at Ft. Stanwix, where he delivered his scouting reports to Reverend Kirkland.

In February of 1780, acting on a joint proposal from Gen. Philip Schuyler and neutral Mohawks, Skenandoah and another Oneida leader, Good Peter traveled to British Ft. Niagara. Their mission was to attempt to convince the pro-British Six Nations Indians to return to a neutral stance. The negotiations were a complete failure and the two Oneida were locked in the fort’s prison for 5 months. They were finally released in the summer of 1780 when they half-heartedly agreed to join a large force under Joseph Brant that was traveling to the Oneida villages to convince the Oneida Nation to join the pro-British Six Nations Indians either through negotiations or coercion. With little true support from Skenandoah, the effort largely failed.

Skenandoah remained under “house arrest” at Ft. Niagara for the remainder of the war. He even began participating in pro-British Six Nations councils and resumed his place as a lead warrior. While he may have done this to curb further reprisals against the Oneida Nation, it was a decision that would cause him later strife. Skenandoah was finally released from captivity with the treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1784 between the Six Nations and the United States. Skenandoah’s participation in pro-British activities, however caused some to shun him for several years after the war and “some Oneida bitterly reproached him” according to one source.

Despite this initial animosity, Skenandoah continued to work to assist his people. In 1794, he hosted United States Envoy Timothy Pickering at his home while Pickering negotiated a compensation claim with the nation to repay the Oneida’s wartime losses as allies of the United States. Skenandoah outlived all his contemporaries, describing himself at one point as “an aged hemlock. The winds of a hundred winters have whistled through my branches; I am dead at the top. The generation to which I belonged have run away and left me: why I live the great Good Spirit only knows.”

Skenandoah finally passed away on March 11, believed to be around 110 years old. Per his request, he was laid to rest beside his life-long friend, Reverend Samuel Kirkland. Both men now rest together in the Hamilton College cemetery.