Raid On Kittanning

It would be hard to overstate the level of terror that the border of settlers of the Pennsylvania frontier were experiencing in 1756.

The crushing defeat of General Edward Braddock’s expedition to take the French Fort Duquesne at the forks of the Ohio (modern Pittsburg) on July 9, 1755, had thrown open the frontier to slashing raids by native warriors who had a long list of grievances against the Anglo-American settlers, and were taking payment in scalps and prisoners.

The Lenni Lenape — commonly called Delaware — were divided in their response to the war that had broken out between the British and the French. A militant faction, which coalesced around several tough, charismatic and effective War Captains, conducted devastating raids, killing many settlers and kidnapping women and young children.

One such raid on the settlement of Great Cove in south-central Pennsylvania in November of 1755 was conducted by about 100 Shawnee and Lenape warriors led by Shingas (known as “The Terrible”) and Captain Jacobs. Around 30 settlers were killed, and several captives were taken to the militant base of Kittanning on the Allegheny River, deep in western Pennsylvania.

On September 8, 1756, a band of about 300 volunteer militiamen led by Lt. Col. John Armstrong hit Kittanning in a raid designed to kill the militant leaders, destroy the village, and liberate the Anglo-American captives. The surprise attack went off successfully, but a blocking force never got into position, and many Delaware escaped.

Not Captain Jacobs though. He was trapped in his cabin, from which he delivered gunfire and defiance. The militiamen threatened to set the cabin ablaze, and Captain Jacobs hollered that he could eat fire. The militiamen torched the cabin and killed Captain Jacobs’ wife and son as they fled the building. Then they killed Captain Jacobs and cut off his head.

Another version of events has it that Captain Jacobs’ store of gunpowder went up, blowing up the cabin and him with it. Either way, he went out a badass.

The Delaware that escaped ran off with most of the prisoners.

The raid had mixed results, but it was hailed as a great victory in the British colonies, starved for good news after a string of blood setbacks. Certainly there was something to be said for mounting an offensive expedition that took the fight to an enemy that had been having their way with the settlements for more than a year. At the very least, the Kittanning Raid pushed the militants further from the British settlements and left them less secure of sanctuary. Raids continued, but by 1759, the Delaware and many other native peoples had re-considered their alliance with France and dropped out of the conflict. Undermining native support was the key to British victory in the French & Indian War.

The estimable Brady Crytzer wrote a book on the Raid.

He just dropped a YouTube video on the subject that is well worth your time.