Cornstalk (1720?-1777), a Shawnee chief, became a central figure in the Indian wars in Ohio during the late 1700’s. He became alarmed when a conflict between other Ohio Native Americans and Virginians led to an invasion by two armies of Virginians in 1774. Cornstalk feared the Virginians would overrun Ohio, and so he led a Shawnee army against one of the Virginian forces. His warriors were defeated at the Battle of Point Pleasant in October 1774. The battle ended what was called Lord Dunmore’s War, named after Virginia’s governor (see Indian wars (Lord Dunmore’s War (1774))). In 1777, Cornstalk was visiting Point Pleasant when other warriors killed a settler. A mob took revenge by killing Cornstalk, his son, and three other Shawnee. These murders led to years of warfare in Ohio. Cornstalk was probably born in Pennsylvania.
