In the 1770s, Moravian missionaries, working with the Delaware
Indians, had set up two villages, Schoenbrunn and Gnadenhutten.
Because they were so successful, a third village was set
up near the present Coshocton, the Delaware’s primary village.
Netawatwees (Newcomer), Killbuck’s grandfather (the Delaware
chief) felt that the Natives could benefit from an alliance
with the missionaries. When Newcomer died, Killbuck became
chief. Killbuck was in a bad position. He received pressure
from the British, the Americans and even other Native groups.
Because the missionaries did not believe in war, the natives
who joined them were not permitted to participate in a war.
Other chiefs believed this pacifism lowered the number of
good Native warriors. In 1777, Killbuck invited the Moravians
to consolidate their villages. He offered them protection.
During the troubled revolutionary times, the Delaware became
more divided and some Moravians went back to their original
villages at Schoenbrunn and Gnadenhutten in 1778.
“Colonel Daniel Brodhead
with three-hundred soldiers left Fort Pitt to destroy
the Delaware communities near Coshocton.
Brodhead’s army did not differentiate between the Delawares
and Christian Delawares, destroying Coshocton (Lichtenau)
village. Lichtenau was never rebuilt.” (Ohio
History Central http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/ohc/history/h_indian/places/lichtena.shtml)
Killbuck was with White Eyes and Captain Pipe in 1778 and
signed the first treaty with the Continental Congress.
Killbuck was pro-American and Captain Pipe was pro-British.
This caused a split in the Delaware nation.
Resources
Killbuck
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=226
Lichtenau
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=743
