Detail of Cornstalk as illustrated in John Frost’s Pictorial History of Indians (1873)
Died
(1777-11-10)November 10, 1777
Fort Randolph, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Cause of death
Murdered while imprisoned
Burial place
Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Nationality
Shawnee
Other names
Hokoleskwa, Colesquo, Keightughqua
Known for
Shawnee war leader
Relatives
Nonhelema (sister)
Cornstalk (c. 1727? – November 10, 1777) was a Shawnee leader in the Ohio Country in the 1760s and 1770s. His name in the Shawnee language was Hokoleskwa. Little is known about his early life. He may have been born in the Province of Pennsylvania. In 1763, he reportedly led a raid against British American colonists in Pontiac's War. He first appears in historical documents in 1764, when he was one of the hostages surrendered to the British as part of the peace negotiations ending Pontiac's War.
When the British American colonies began expanding into the Ohio Country, Cornstalk played a major part in defense of the Shawnee homeland. He was the primary Shawnee war chief in Lord Dunmore's War (1774), leading Shawnees and other Native warriors against colonists in the Battle of Point Pleasant. After suffering defeat in that battle, he became an advocate for Shawnee neutrality in the American Revolutionary War, which began in 1775. Many Shawnees fought against the Americans, hoping to regain lost lands, but Cornstalk was among those who feared that fighting the Americans would prove disastrous for the Shawnees.
In 1777, Cornstalk made a diplomatic visit to Fort Randolph in Virginia (now West Virginia), hoping to learn American intentions. He and three others were imprisoned by the fort's commander. When an American militiaman was killed by Natives in the fort's vicinity, angry soldiers executed Cornstalk and the other prisoners. His murder enraged Shawnees and deprived them of an important voice of moderation.
Cornstalk (c. 1727? – November 10, 1777) was a Shawnee leader in the Ohio Country in the 1760s and 1770s. His name in the Shawnee language was Hokoleskwa...
The cornstalk fiddle is a toy, and a type of bowed string instrument played historically in North America. The instrument consists of a cornstalk, with...
Dracaena fragrans (cornstalk dracaena), is a flowering plant species that is native throughout tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to...
The council is divided into several districts: Adena District Chief Cornstalk District Mountain Dominion District Seneca District Shawnee District Buckskin...
Cornstalk Heights is a neighborhood in Harriman, Tennessee, United States. Platted in the early 1890s as a residential area for Harriman's upper and professional...
for Cornstalk, a Shawnee chief. Grenadier Squaw Village was located opposite the Scippo Creek from Cornstalk Town. The town was named for Cornstalk's sister...
Chief Cornstalk Wildlife Management Area is located on 11,772 acres (4,764 ha) in Mason County near Southside, West Virginia. Second growth oak-hickory...
to: The stem of a maize plant Dracaena fragrans or Cornstalk Dracaena, a flowering plant Cornstalk, a Shawnee Indian chief during the American Revolution...
modern-day Point Pleasant, West Virginia, forces under the Shawnee chief Cornstalk attacked Virginia militiamen under Colonel Andrew Lewis, hoping to halt...
Elasmopalpus is a snout moth genus in the subfamily Phycitinae described by Émile Blanchard in 1852. The genus is restricted to the Americas and currently...
Hokolesqua (c. 1718–1786) was an 18th century Shawnee leader and sister of Cornstalk. She was a participant in Pontiac's War and advocated Shawnee neutrality...
Diatraea crambidoides, the southern cornstalk borer moth, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1880....
OCLC 940463684. Mack, Amy E (1929). Scribbling Sue and other stories. Sydney: Cornstalk Pub. OCLC 219916314. Mack, Amy E (1914). The tom-tits' nest and other...
Diatraea lineolata, the Neotropical cornstalk borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1856. It is found in Mexico...
at modern-day Cross Junction, Virginia. The father of the later chief Cornstalk held his council there. Several other Shawnee villages were located in...
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