Little Turtle

Little Turtle, whose Miami Indian name was Michikinikwa, began his illustrious life in 1752 in a village close to Fort Wayne, Indiana. His mother was a Mahican and his father a Miami Chief.

Little Turtle was destined to become the greatest of all the Miami Chiefs. He fought bitterly against encroachment of Indian lands, and later began preaching peace with an increasingly high Indian loss of life, and possible extinction seemed probable. Little Turtle was a rational voice in a troubling time.

It was 1790, General Harmar suffered defeat at the hands of Little Turtle, as did General St. Clair the following year thanks in large part to his son-in-law, William Wells, a white settler that was captured by a band of Miami when he was about 12 years old. Wells led a small band of select Miami warriors and captured St. Clair's artillery positions before they could inflict heavy casulaties they might otherwise have caused.

Little Turtle also tried to seize Fort Recovery in 1794, but his men failed to do so. Following this defeat, Little Turtle realized that the British had no desire to help the Indians against General Anthony Wayne's army. Little Turtle encouraged his followers to negotiate with the Americans. He understood that the Americans far outnumbered the Indians and had many more weapons. Other native war leaders refused to listen, and insisted that Wayne's army must be fought .

Little Turtle placed his mark on the Treaty of Greene Ville, and never went to war again. Tecumseh tried desperately to gain his support for a new war against the whites, but Little Turtle became a great advocate for peace, making many trips to eastern cities, where, on one such trip, he met President George Washington in Philadelphia. He was given a government stipend on which to retire, and the Governor of the Indiana territory built him a house on the Maumee River, where, in 1812, he died from gout.