BRANT, JOSEPH
Brant, Joseph
(ca. 1742–November 24, 1807)
Mohawk War Chief
J
oseph Brant was the
most significant Na-
tive American leader
during the American Rev-
olution. Having sup-
ported the losing side, he
devoted the rest of his
life to improving the wel-
fare of his people.
Brant, born Thayen-
danagea around 1742,
was the son of Nikus
Brant, chief of the Wolf
clan of the Mohawk Indi-
ans. His people were part
of the six-nation assem-
bly known as the Iroquois
Confederation, which
dominated much of New
York and eastern Ohio.
Brant spent most of his
childhood in the house-
hold of Sir William John-
son, the superintendent
of Indian affairs, who
arranged his education at
several Christian academies. Foremost of
these was Eleazar Wheelock’s Indian Charity
School in Lebanon, Connecticut, a forerunner
of Dartmouth College. In 1755, the 13-year-old
Brant accompanied Johnson in the French
and Indian War and fought at the September 8
victory at Lake George. Soon after, his sister
Molly married Johnson in an Iroquois cere-
mony, and in 1763 Brant fought with a Mo-
hawk contingent that sided with Great Britain
during Pontiac’s Rebellion. Although married
to the daughter of an Oneida chief in 1765,
Brant formally converted to the Anglican
Church and assisted the missionary efforts of
Reverend John Stewart by translating reli-
gious tracts into the Mohawk tongue. When
Johnson died in 1774, his successor was Sir
Guy Johnson, who ap-
pointed Brant his per-
sonal secretary and inter-
preter. That same year he
was selected as a Pine
Tree Chief on account of
his wisdom and bravery.
In 1775, Brant ventured
to England amid much
fanfare, had his portrait
painted, and received a
commission as captain of
Indians. He returned to
America in 1776, fully
committed to the British
cause during the Ameri-
can Revolution.
Brant hurriedly mobi-
lized the Mohawk, Se-
neca, Onondaga, and Ca-
yuga tribes because he
feared that an American
victory would spell doom
for the Indian way of life.
However, the Oneidas
and Tuscaroras enjoyed
friendly relations with the United States and
enforced their neutrality. Commencing in
1777, Brant accompanied the column of Col.
Barry St. Legerout of Canada, and on Au-
gust 6 he successfully ambushed the Ameri-
can column of Gen. Nicholas Herkimer at
Oriskany. The battle was technically a British
victory, but the Indians also sustained heavy
losses. Brant was thereafter reluctant to fol-
low British orders too closely and preferred
trusting his own good judgment. His Mo-
hawks subsequently staged a series of light-
ning raids into lower New York and Pennsyl-
vania with a contingent of Loyalist rangers.
Brant had considerable success orchestrating
a devastating raid on Cherry Valley, New York,
on November 11, 1778, which was marred byJoseph Brant
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