Selected Papers From The 1991 And 1992 George Rogers Clark Trans-Appalachian Frontier History Conferences

Summary

During the summer of 1780, Colonel George Rogers Clark of Virginia organized and led an expedition against the Shawnee towns north of the Ohio River. The ensuing engagement fought at the Pickaway settlements August 8 was, in terms of numbers involved, the largest such action to occur west of the Allegheny Mountains during the War of Independence. This operation was a culmination of the bitter cultural conflict that had developed between the invasive American settlers of Kentucky and the Shawnee people of what is today west-central Ohio. Historically, the Shawnee were an unusually splintered and migratory society, apparently never centralized into one community. By the mid-1770s many of them had moved to the secluded valleys of the Great and Little Miami rivers where they represented four divisions: Chalaakaatha, Mekoche, Kispoko, and Pekowi. Chillicothe (Chalaakaatha) was established on the Little Miami and was settled by the Chalaakaatha division. Twelve miles northwest along the Mad River were placed the Pickaway (Pekowi) settlements occupied by the Pekowi, Kispoko, and Mekoche groups. As the decade wore on, other villages were planted farther

north.

This collection of essays includes introductory material and eight essays on the topic, region, and time period.

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Superintendent, George Rogers Clark National Histoircal Park

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