Hokoleskwa (Cornstalk)

This engraving, almost certainly conjectural, is meant to depict the Shawnee leader known as Cornstalk, who also appeared in colonial records as Comblade, Coolesqua, Hokoleskwa, Keightughque, Semachquaan, and Tawnamebuck. Cornstalk was a moderate leader who wanted the Shawnee to stay out of war with white settlers. However, when overruled by other members of his tribe, he led the Shawnee warriors at the Battle of Point Pleasant.

After negotiating peace with the colonists at the conclusion of Lord Dunmore’s War, Cornstalk was a consistent advocate for the Shawnee to remain neutral during the American Revolution. Regardless, on November 10, 1777, a group of Patriot militia murdered Cornstalk and his son in retaliation for an attack on a white man near Fort Randolph. To members of the Shawnee who had been skeptical of white settlers’ intentions, Cornstalk’s murder was seen as proof of active hostility. By 1778 most of the Shawnee had allied with the British.