Mary Jemison | The War’s Impact on the Seneca Nation, 1823
When the Seneca nation in western New York State was forced to choose sides in the American Revolution, it—like other Iroquois groups—supported the British. Mary Jemison, an Irish immigrant, had been captured by Shawnee Indians in 1755 at the age of about twelve. She was then traded to the Seneca nation, married a Seneca man, and had six children. In 1823 she recounted her experiences in A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, which became a best-selling book. In the following passage, Jemison describes the 1779 attack by Continental forces and the Seneca response.
[General John] Sullivan and his army arrived at Genesee river, where they destroyed every article of the food kind that they could lay their hands on. A part of our corn they burnt, and threw the remainder into the river. They burnt our houses, killed what few cattle and horses they could find, destroyed our fruit trees, and left nothing but the bare soil and timber. But the Indians had eloped and were not to be found. Having . . . finished the work of destruction, the army marched off to the east. . . . [Once] Sullivan had gone so far that there would be no danger of his returning to molest us . . . we all returned; but what were our feelings when we found that there was not a mouthful of any kind of sustenance left, not even enough to keep a child one day from perishing with hunger.
The weather by this time had become cold and stormy; and as we were destitute of houses and food too, I immediately resolved to take my children and look out for myself, without delay. With this intention, I took two of my little ones on my back, bade the other three follow, and on the same night arrived on the Gardow Flats. . . .
The next summer after Sullivan’s campaign, our Indians, highly incensed at the whites for the treatment they had received, and the sufferings which they had consequently endured, determined to obtain some redress by destroying their frontier settlements. Corn Planter . . . led the Indians and an officer by the name of Johnston [Colonel Guy Johnson] commanded the British in the expedition. . . . [T]hey burnt a number of places; destroyed all the cattle and other property that fell in their way; killed a number of white people, and brought home a few prisoners.
Source: James E. Seaver, A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, Who Was Taken by the Indians, in the Year 1755 (Howden ed., 1826), 69–70, 72.
Interpret the Evidence
What effect did the attack by the Continental Army have on the Seneca village in which Jemison lived?
After returning to their village, how did Jemison respond to the situation the Seneca faced? How did the Seneca warriors and their British allies respond?
Put It in Context
What does the experience of the Seneca reveal about the specific dangers that Indian communities whose men fought with the British faced from the patriots?
Exploring American HistoriesPrinted Page 194
Chapter Timeline