Indians in the American Revolution and Depictions of Iroquois from Fort Stanwix and Oriskany

The American Revolution ( American War of Independence) produced many changes in North America. One of these was the end of the Iroquois Confederacy as an important political entity. 

An exhibit from the Fort Stanwix visitor center showing two Iroquois and a trader from the period.

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The war in the Mohawk River Valley, then a frontier region of New York, was a civil war. The Whites fought each other, loyalists against those favoring independence, and among the Iroquois Six Nation Confederacy, the nations split, some favoring the American cause, others preferring their traditional loyalties with the British, particularly as the British had promised to help them curb the spread of the aggressive, land-hungry American settlers, and others struggling to remain as neutral as possible in what they considered a White man's war. 

Many Iroquois, particularly the Mohawks, left their home region soon after the war. 

Many of these events focused on a fortification called Fort Stanwix. It is now a National Historical Park and located in Rome, New York, a small city located between Syracuse and Utica. ( see: the National Park Service Website for Fort Stanwix. ) 

The Oriskany Battlefield, perhaps the most important battle of this part of the war, is located a little bit to the East. 

I have a strong interest in the history of the American Revolution (War of Independence) and wargame the period. Among my current projects are a large number of half-painted 25mm Old Glory "woodland Indians with rifles" that I intend to use as Iroquois. I'll try to include some photos of them when they are finished, but here's what the looked like a couple weeks ago. Clearly, there's a great deal of detail and color left to be added. 

Therefore, for those with similiar interests, I offer the following photos from the Fort Stanwix visitors center. Apologies for the poor quality of some of the photos. I have come to the realization that if I wish this blog to be its best, I must improve my photography skills and hope to spend some time on that soon. 

Let's begin with some close ups of the above exhibit. After we will follow up with period and later depictions of some of the key Iroquois involved. 

The life size Iroquois models from the exhibit.
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Notice the bead work on the straps and the knife.
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Detail on the bag.
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This and the one below show the headdress detail on the models.

awful picture but does show some more detail from another angle
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Same poor quality but the other Iroquois model in the display.
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 Important Iroquois of the Time depicted in the Museum

This is a fuzzy photo (apologies) of the Seneca leader Cornplanter ( Gy-ant-wa-chia )
You can find a better image of this painting, plus a full biography at either of these two pages Cornplanter on Wikipedia or Indigenous People Net 

OH MY!! An even worse photo of the exhibit on Red Jacket. Although he reportedly fled the battle of Oriskany early in the fighting he went on to become an important Iroquois statesman. See these sites for better depictions and more details: wikipedia or Indigenous People Net