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Guyasuta and the Fall of Indian America
A History of the Influential Seneca Leader Who Fought to Maintain Indian Sovereignty During the Bitter Wars for North America
Nearly a century before the United States declared the end of the Indian Wars, the fate of Native Americans was revealed in the battle of Fallen Timbers. In 1794, General Anthony Wayne led the first American army— the Legion of the United States—against a unified Indian force in the Ohio country. The Indians were routed and forced to vacate their lands. It was the last of a series of Indian attempts in the East to retain their sovereignty and foreshadowed what would occur across the rest of the continent. In Guyasuta and the Fall of Indian America , historian Brady J. Crytzer traces how American Indians were affected by the wars leading to American Independence through the life of one of the period’s most influential figures. Born in 1724, Guyasuta is perfectly positioned to understand the emerging political landscape of America in the tumultuous eighteenth century. As a sachem of the vaunted Iroquois Confederacy, for nearly fifty years Guyasuta dedicated his life to the preservation and survival of Indian order in a rapidly changing world, whether it was on the battlefield, in the face of powerful imperial armies, or around a campfire negotiating with his French, British, and American counterparts. Guyasuta was present at many significant events in the century, including George Washington’s expedition to Fort Le Boeuf, the Braddock disaster of 1755, Pontiac’s Rebellion and the Battle of Bushy Run in 1763, and the Battle of Oriskany during the American Revolution. Guyasuta’s involvement in the French and British wars and the American War for Independence were all motivated by a desire to retain relevance for Indian society. It was only upon the birth of the United States of America that Guyasuta finally laid his rifle down and watched as his Indian world crumbled beneath his feet. A broken man, debilitated by alcoholism, he died near Pittsburgh in 1794.
Supported by extensive research and full of compelling drama, Guyasuta and the Fall of Indian America unravels the tangled web of alliances, both white and native, and explains how the world of the American Indians could not survive alongside the emergent United States.
Nearly a century before the United States declared the end of the Indian Wars, the fate of Native Americans was revealed in the battle of Fallen Timbers. In 1794, General Anthony Wayne led the first American army— the Legion of the United States—against a unified Indian force in the Ohio country. The Indians were routed and forced to vacate their lands. It was the last of a series of Indian attempts in the East to retain their sovereignty and foreshadowed what would occur across the rest of the continent. In Guyasuta and the Fall of Indian America , historian Brady J. Crytzer traces how American Indians were affected by the wars leading to American Independence through the life of one of the period’s most influential figures. Born in 1724, Guyasuta is perfectly positioned to understand the emerging political landscape of America in the tumultuous eighteenth century. As a sachem of the vaunted Iroquois Confederacy, for nearly fifty years Guyasuta dedicated his life to the preservation and survival of Indian order in a rapidly changing world, whether it was on the battlefield, in the face of powerful imperial armies, or around a campfire negotiating with his French, British, and American counterparts. Guyasuta was present at many significant events in the century, including George Washington’s expedition to Fort Le Boeuf, the Braddock disaster of 1755, Pontiac’s Rebellion and the Battle of Bushy Run in 1763, and the Battle of Oriskany during the American Revolution. Guyasuta’s involvement in the French and British wars and the American War for Independence were all motivated by a desire to retain relevance for Indian society. It was only upon the birth of the United States of America that Guyasuta finally laid his rifle down and watched as his Indian world crumbled beneath his feet. A broken man, debilitated by alcoholism, he died near Pittsburgh in 1794.
Supported by extensive research and full of compelling drama, Guyasuta and the Fall of Indian America unravels the tangled web of alliances, both white and native, and explains how the world of the American Indians could not survive alongside the emergent United States.
- GenresHistory
304 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 6, 2015
Two-and-a-quarter centuries have gone by for a proper biography of Guyasuta. This makes it one of the most awaited books in my personal library of Pittsburgh, early American history, and the American frontier.
This biography is the book to learn about the role of an influential sachem as the Ohio Country gradually gave way to colonial and American expansion.
A new statue commemorating Guyasuta's 1770 meeting with George Washington above the Forks of the Ohio, also drives new interest in the Mingo sachem. Guyasuta, 25, an experienced hunter and woodsman, is on a mission with an even younger, inexperienced Washington to the French in the Ohio Country. As he matures from capable guide to seasoned diplomat, Guyasuta's pursuit of Native American interests finds him siding with the French against the English, then the English against the Americans, and finally the Native Americans against the Settler Americans in three wars spread over four decades. In other words, on every side that Washington wasn't, and ultimately where their interests parted, their destinies part as well.
The book demonstrates remarkable command of early frontier life and warfare. Yet broad suppositions bring the general down to the specific with overstated certainty. In a weakness that hobbles histories of the early American frontier, political analysis is by turns too simplistic and too elaborate.
The author pulls the fabric of Guyasuta's life together from thin threads of evidence. The author must suppose his role and influence at historic events.
This biography is the book to learn about the role of an influential sachem as the Ohio Country gradually gave way to colonial and American expansion.
A new statue commemorating Guyasuta's 1770 meeting with George Washington above the Forks of the Ohio, also drives new interest in the Mingo sachem. Guyasuta, 25, an experienced hunter and woodsman, is on a mission with an even younger, inexperienced Washington to the French in the Ohio Country. As he matures from capable guide to seasoned diplomat, Guyasuta's pursuit of Native American interests finds him siding with the French against the English, then the English against the Americans, and finally the Native Americans against the Settler Americans in three wars spread over four decades. In other words, on every side that Washington wasn't, and ultimately where their interests parted, their destinies part as well.
The book demonstrates remarkable command of early frontier life and warfare. Yet broad suppositions bring the general down to the specific with overstated certainty. In a weakness that hobbles histories of the early American frontier, political analysis is by turns too simplistic and too elaborate.
The author pulls the fabric of Guyasuta's life together from thin threads of evidence. The author must suppose his role and influence at historic events.
May 15, 2020
Reading this book in a way brings my studies of the history of my backyard full circle. I first became aware of Brady Crytzer when he appeared on an Ohio history podcast talking about the great native leader Tecumseh. This was about three years ago now. I then discovered his podcast Wartime and had my eyes opened to the complex history of the Ohio Valley. Growing up in Ohio I had heard of the Treaty of Greenville, St Clair’s Defeat, and Tecumseh, but like most everyone else the complete history was never taught to me. Brady Crytzer’s podcast discussions began a now years long process that has lead to me reading multiple books on the Northwest Indian War, visiting multiple Ohio battle sites (with a visit to Fallen Timbers hopefully happening this year), and gaining a more complete understanding of the utterly fascinating history of the continent’s first wild frontier and the peoples that once lived here.
As someone who enjoys learning about the forgotten stories of the United Stares as much as the “mainstream” history, I highly recommend this book to every like minded history buff out there.
As someone who enjoys learning about the forgotten stories of the United Stares as much as the “mainstream” history, I highly recommend this book to every like minded history buff out there.
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September 11, 2020Excellent local Pittsburgh History, Learn your American Indian saga.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews