Swallow is honored a year after his death

For this Memorial Day, the story of Swallow is big for Fort Loudoun Winchester VA. His story started here last April 1757. Swallow is killed in action in June 1757. The story of his death resurfaces a year later in 1758, the year we are are covering in 2022.

It is here in Winchester VA, outside Fort Loudoun, that he spoke angry words against helping the Virginia Regiment. It is also here that he reconsidered his anger. The others spoke angrily too. And had also reconsidered. Their speeches and arguments had the tone of Classical Plato's Dialogues. The interpreters found a way to convey the nobility of their speeches. And there was a lot of them speaking their mind. There were 148 of them on the grounds of Fort Loudoun Winchester VA. And they were all seeing no "presents' -- presents that were promised.

Swallow, First Warrior in the lower Cherokee town of Estatoe, declared on April 20 or April 21, 1757 on the grounds of Fort Loudoun Winchester VA:

“I don’t understand writing, but got a Man to write a Letter for me to the Governour to acquaint him what things I had promised my young Men to engage them to come up with me, and expected to have found everything I mentioned ready for us. . . . Brother we blame the Govr and not you. What you have, you are free of; and it looks to me, the Govr has little Regard for you that are in the back Settlements”

We believe the essence of that translated speech, except for the use of the phrase, "back Settlements." We believe that was just short hand, an expedient way of translating. We don't think the Cherokee looked at this land as "back Settlements."

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Nevertheless, Swallow then agreed to go on a war party to scour the woods for enemy French and enemy Indians.

That decision sealed his fate.

Killed in action he was.

His son was shot in both legs.

An epic marathon of carrying Swallow's wounded son for 4 days back to Fort Cumberland ensued. They needed to leave fast fearing a revenge party following them. They owed their only sustenance to Spring Onions during their whole war party operation. That was April 1757.

That operation netted a big name French prisoner brought to Fort Loudoun Winchester VA for questioning. There was an argument on who was allowed to interrogate the French prisoner, Belestre. That's a whole story in and of itself.

Swallow's story continues long after his death, suitable for honoring on both Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

His story resurfaces in this year of 1758.

It resurfaces up in New York.

They honored him there.

We in Winchester VA have not gotten around to that yet.

Swallow is honored up there.

A travelling delegation of Cherokee (kind of like a State Department) led by Cherokee leader Moyeman received a French Scalp taken in the Ticonderoga NY area "in symbolic replacement of Swallow Warrior killed the year before."

It was presented by Sir William Johnson.

Was it a scalp taken by Robert Rogers' men?

We don't know. It was presented to Moyeman, leader of the Cherokee delegation, a sort of State Department for the Cherokee.

They travelled a long way from their nation in the Smokies, arriving 1 June 1758 in Philly, then going to NYC, then to Albany, then arriving at Fort Johnson in NY 19 July 1758. They left NY 12 Aug 1758.

Fort Johnson was the forted home of Supt of Indian Affairs of the northern Department, Sir William Johnson - -- on which many Iroquois constantly camped and traded on those grounds.

Now what was the story about Swallow?

How did he die in action?

Two parties remained out, one of twenty Indians and ten soldiers with whom Capt Robert Spotswood had started in. the direction of Fort DuQuesne, and another under Lieut. James Baker, who had taken fifteen Indians and five white men toward Logstown With Baker had gone a renowned Indian fighter, known as Swallow Warrior.

An express from Fort Cumberland brought news, June 12, 1757, that Baker had returned on the 9th with five French scalps and one French prisoner Washington was provoked that Baker apparently had failed to report directly to him and at once, but after he found that Baker duly had forwarded a dispatch, which in some manner was delayed, his satisfaction was unqualified.

It developed that on the 5th of June, near the head of Turtle Creek, about twenty miles from Fort DuQuesne, Baker and his men had come upon ten French soldiers, including three Ensigns, who had separated the previous day from a company of raiding Shawnees The English and their Indians were naked when they flushed the enemy, and consequently could not be identified immediately While the French hesitated for a few seconds, the Virginians and the Indians fired. Swallow Warrior, seeing his target fall, sprang forward to scalp the man and, at that instant, received a bullet through the head The other French broke and ran, but some of them found their pursuers fleet and cunning Two of the fugitives surrendered. The Indians brought them triumphantly back to Baker— only to turn on them furiously when they found that Swallow Warrior was dead One prisoner they killed in spite of Baker, the other he was able to save. Two wounded Frenchmen were scalped and slam, two adversaries already were dead. 

Besides Swallow Warrior, there had been another casualty on the English side in the person of his son, who was shot through both thighs. The young Indian had to be removed, of course, because the escaping Frenchmen would sound an alarm that might bring an avenging force to the scene of the skirmish Mercifully, one of Baker’s men took the wounded warrior on a stout pair of shoulders and bore him until exhausted Then another and another carried the youth This continued for the four days of the return journey, during which none of the party had any food except wild onions. 


Page 251


The return of Baker left only Robert Spotswood and his party afield 
Washington was beginning to feel concern for them when, during the night of the 15th-16th of June, an express rode into town with this 
dispatch: 


Fort Cumberland June 14, 1757 
Sir, 

Six Cherokee Indians who just now came from Fort DuQuesne, say that 
six days ago they saw a large body of troops march from that garrison with 
a number of wagons and a train of artillery, and by their route, must intend 
an attack on this garrison 

I am, sir, your most humble servant, 
Source for above excerpt:

Douglas Southall Freeman's Young George Washington, Volume 2, Pages 249-251, published 1948, Charles Scribner's Sons

Compiled and researched by Jim Moyer 28-29 May 2022, updated 5/30/2022, update 2/1/2023 (to correct misnaming Swallow as Sparrow)

At Bedford, the Indians finally received their payments, which kept the inhabitants there from their wrath. When they arrived at Winchester, however, the still unhappy Cherokees again expected to receive more payments, this time from George Washington’s deputy, Captain George Mercer, but he had little to give. Mercer spoke to Wahachey and offered some wampum, which the sachem angrily refused. Swallow Warrior, a leading Cherokee warrior from the Estatoe settlements, told Mercer that the large body of Indians that were with them had been enticed with promises of payments, and that Dinwiddie was making them liars before their men. The Cherokee warrior threatened to lead his men to desert to the French. Mercer implored them to be patient, and promised them payments upon their return from the fighting. Wahachey, for his part, protested throughout the town, demanding that Dinwiddie himself come to Winchester to appease him. Mercer wrote to Washington, then at Fredericksburg on his way south, begging him to send payments without delay, but Washington also had nothing.

In late April, the Cherokees left Winchester unfulfilled and made their way north to Pennsylvania, where they were successful in a clash with enemy Indians. From there, they turned southward into Maryland, which was in the market for Indian allies, largely because of a combination of apathy and years of political infighting in the colony.

The meeting at Fort Frederick in May of 1757 was typical in that it had its share of awkward cross-cultural misunderstandings. One of these occurred soon after the Maryland envoys arrived, as Wahachey, having taken prisoners and scalps, made it clear that he anticipated additional payment for these services. The chief was informed that it “was expected that they should deliver up the Prisoners and Scalps before they received the addition present such being the custom here and what was required by the Laws of the Province.” The Maryland colony had set aside ₤4000 to pay friendly Indians for prisoners and scalps taken, and it was from this fund that the Cherokees were to be compensated.

Wahachey bristled at the demand that he surrender his bounty, replying that it should be sufficient to “shew his Brother the Governor or those that he sent to represent him, the Prisoners and the scalps of the Enemies that they had destroyed, that it was the Indians’ custom to preserve as trophies the Hair of the Enemies that they had killed in Battle and to carry them home to their own People…” The Marylanders may have been suspicious of the scalps and wished to inspect them more closely, as many had come to believe that the Cherokee were in the habit of removing the scalps of any dead they happened across, and even of dividing larger scalps to make it appear that more were killed. Alliances between Indians and the English were historically built more on mistrust than anything else.

https://userpages.umbc.edu/~jamie/html/maryland_s_employment_of_the_c.html

Moyeman's "State Department" Tour

Cherokee leader Moyeman arrived in Philadelphia about June 1, [1758] but became ill with pleurisy and for two weeks hovered between life and death. Fearing that business might be delayed. the Pennsylvania authorities persuaded Moyeman to give his talk for the Delawares from his sickbed. A week later, carried to the Statehouse, he dictated the talk he had for the Iroquois. As Henley, his assistant, brought out tokens and implements in their proper order, the sick man gave the talk with full ritual of pipe, wampum, and the belts as he had memorized it in Keowee.

Learning that the famous Mohawk conjurer, Seneca George, was near, he called him to his bedside. Shortly the authorities received a petition from Moyeman reading,

"I desire Seneka George may have two bottles of rum, he thinks it necessary for my service and designs it as an offering."

Effectively doctored, Moyeman proceeded to New York where he taught another set of Colonial officials how to entertain Cherokee deputies. The New Yorkers, wishing to speed the envoys, had engaged a sloop to take the Indians to Albany the day after their arrival. But the Cherokees expected a full ceremonial hearing -- a four day affair with reception by the Governor and council, talks, and gifts. That is what they received, to the extent even of the Governor's visiting the ailing Moyemen in his lodgings. The gifts from the frugal council were, however, disappointing: saucepans, ribbons, gartering, vermillion, and six pounds of soap.

When the Cherokees arrived at Fort Johnson on July 19 [1758], Sir William returned from the Lake George frontier to receive them, and with his usual feeling for protocol and dispatch, launched without delay into the proper ceremonial. Condoling with the Cherokees for their losses in battle, he presented Moyeman with a French scalp taken at Ticonderoga in symbolic replacement of Swallow Warrior killed the year before.

On the twenty first [of July 1758] in the presence of Sir William and Mohawk, Oneida, and Seneca sachems, Moyeman delivered his talk and belts. Iroquois and Cherokees under English auspices sealed their friendship in a pledge to fight the French and thus laid the ghost of the backdoor intrigue for neutrality between Chota [Capital of Cherokee nation] and Onondaga [capital council house of the 6 nations of iroquois].

On August 12 [1758], the amenities completed, Sir William symbolically cleared the path to enable the Cherokees to depart in peace, and Moyeman and his companions set out on the long path of far return.

[Question: do they run into trouble through Virginia on their way home?]

Source:

Blue text from Page 156 to 157 in "The Cherokee Frontier, Conflict and Survival 1740-1762, " by David H Corkran, published by University of Oklahoma Press 1962, paperback published 2016

Research notes;

Moyeman arrived in Philly 1 June 1758. General Forbes was first concerned those Cherokee would pick a fight with the Delaware Leni Lenapi and Shawnee. Pennsylvania was actively wooing these longtime enemies of the Cherokee (the Delaware/ Leni Lenape and Shawnee) to separate from the French and be peaceful. But Moyeman was not here to be in a war party to fight the French but to be more as an Ambassador to the English.

While there, he falls deathly ill. He calls for Seneka George, a conjurer, a healer. Moyehan recovers. What was Seneka George's conjuring solution? Whiskey.

Moyeman then went on to NYC. The Gov of NY honored their visit with 4 days of ceremony and then moved him on to Albany NY.

Moyeman then arrived at Fort Johnson in NY 19 July 1758. He left NY 12 Aug 1758.

Fort Johnson was the Supt of Indian Affairs of the northern Department, Johnson's forted home at which many Iroquois constantly camped and traded on those grounds.

While there, Johnson celebrated and honored the death of Swallow with Moyeman and his "State Department" group.

And why did this story of Swallow become so well known?

It was the English desire to keep good relations with the Cherokee. To show they cared about Swallow's warrior effort was useful towards that end.