The Revolutionary War massacre that made George Washington’s army look like villains

Pennsylvania Militia’s Massacre of 96 Christian Delaware Indians

The Gnadenhutten Massacre stands as one of the darkest moments of the Revolutionary War.

In March 1782, 160 Pennsylvania militiamen tricked 96 peaceful Christian Delaware Indians into giving up their weapons with false promises of safety.

These Native Americans had simply returned to harvest crops after being forced from their homes. Yet the militia bound them, voted to kill them, and then used hatchets to murder men, women, and children.

Only two boys lived to tell what happened.

The Gnadenhutten Historical Park and Museum in Ohio now marks this tragic spot where you can honor the victims and learn why this event changed Native American trust forever.

Peaceful Villages Grew Along Ohio’s Tuscarawas River

Missionary David Zeisberger built Schoenbrunn ("Beautiful Spring") in May 1772 on the Tuscarawas River in Ohio. He added Gnadenhutten ("Huts of Grace") that October when Schoenbrunn got too crowded.

By late 1772, three mission villages housed over 300 Christian Delaware Indians and Moravian missionaries. Most converts came from Lenape (Delaware) and Mohican tribes who embraced peaceful Christianity.

The settlements grew as more Delaware people joined, creating farming communities focused on Christian worship.

Caught Between Two Sides, Moravians Walked a Dangerous Line

During the American Revolutionary War, Christian Delaware refused to pick sides because of their peaceful beliefs. British officials at Detroit pushed Ohio tribes to attack American settlements.

American officials at Fort Pitt launched revenge raids against Indian villages. Both sides thought Moravians helped their enemies.

Indian raiding parties and white traders passing through made everyone more distrustful of the peaceful Moravians, who just wanted to be left alone.

Forced From Their Homes in the Dead of Night

British-allied tribes forced the Moravians from their villages in September 1781.

British officials thought the missionaries helped American revolutionaries and took leaders Zeisberger and Heckewelder to Fort Detroit for trial.

Over 400 Christian Delaware marched to "Captive Town" near the Sandusky River. They arrived too late to plant crops and faced terrible food shortages during winter 1781-1782.

Many starved or died from disease because the British gave them almost no food.

Hunger Drove Families Back to Abandoned Villages

More than 150 Christian Delaware got permission to return to their old villages in February 1782. They needed to harvest crops and grab stored food they left behind months earlier.

Most of Gnadenhutten’s original residents joined this food-gathering mission. The group split between the three abandoned villages: Gnadenhutten, Schoenbrunn, and Salem.

Meanwhile, the frontier war raged on with ongoing raids between white settlers and hostile Indian tribes, creating danger for the peaceful Christians.

Angry Militia Gathered for a "Justice" Mission

David Williamson led 160 Pennsylvania militiamen toward the Tuscarawas Valley on March 4, 1782.

These volunteers brought their own horses and weapons, meeting at Mingo Bottom on the Ohio River near today’s Steubenville. The militiamen wanted revenge for recent Indian attacks on western Pennsylvania frontier homes.

Following tradition, the volunteers voted for Williamson to lead them as their colonel. None knew they would soon commit one of the worst civilian massacres in American history.

First Blood Spilled Despite Desperate Pleas

The militia killed Joseph Schebosh Jr. , a Moravian Christian, on the morning of March 6, 1782.

Schebosh was born to a Welsh father and a Christian Munsee Indian mother. The Pennsylvania militia shot him even though he begged for his life.

After camping in the Tuscarawas valley the night before, the soldiers showed no mercy.

After killing Schebosh, they continued toward the cornfields where unsuspecting Moravian Christians worked, gathering food for their starving families.

Friendly Faces Hid Murderous Plans

The militia entered Gnadenhutten on March 7, 1782, acting friendly while talking villagers into handing over their weapons.

Pennsylvania soldiers pretended to care about the Moravians’ safety, promising to move them "away from the warring parties. " Once gathered together, the militia surrounded the unarmed Christians and took them prisoner.

They falsely accused these peaceful people of spying and joining raids on Pennsylvania settlements. The trusting Moravians didn’t know their captors already planned to kill them all.

Soldiers Chose Murder By Overwhelming Vote

The militia formed a council to decide what to do with their captives. Out of more than 100 soldiers, only eighteen voted against killing the Indians.

Obadiah Holmes Jr. spoke against the killing, asking God to witness the Indians’ innocence.

The militia put their prisoners into two buildings: men in one, women and children in another. When told they would die the next day, the captured Indians spent their final night praying and singing hymns.

Final Prayers Rose Through the Night

Christian Delaware sang and prayed during their final night while Pennsylvania militiamen got drunk on communion wine stolen from the mission.

The condemned people asked forgiveness for their own sins and for the sins of the men who would kill them. Scared families begged for their lives, but the militia refused to show mercy.

The soldiers only agreed to wait until morning before the killings. Throughout the night, hymns and prayers filled the air as parents comforted children.

Death Came By Hatchet, Not Bullet

On the morning of March 8, militiamen brought the Christian Indians to two "killing houses" – one for men, another for women and children.

Soldiers tied up the Indians, stunned them with mallet blows to the head, then killed them with scalping cuts. To save ammunition, they clubbed 96 people to death with hatchets, including 39 children.

Only two boys lived: one played dead after being scalped, while another escaped through a basement window as blood dripped through the floorboards above him.

Flames Erased the Evidence But Not the Memory

After the killings, soldiers burned the entire village, destroying about 60 cabins and other buildings. The bodies of 96 victims lay exposed to animals and weather for more than 15 years before being properly buried.

This attack on peaceful non-combatants destroyed trust between Native Americans and American forces.

When George Washington heard about the massacre, he warned his men not to let themselves be captured alive by natives who might seek revenge.

Future President Theodore Roosevelt later called the massacre "a stain on frontier character that time cannot wash away.

Visiting Schoenbrunn Village, Ohio

Schoenbrunn Village at 1984 East High Avenue in New Philadelphia helps you learn about the tragic Gnadenhutten Massacre of 1782, when 96 peaceful Moravian Christian Delaware Indians were killed by Pennsylvania militiamen.

Admission costs $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $4 for kids 7-17. You can explore 16 reconstructed log buildings including the original church and schoolhouse.

The village opens Memorial Day through Labor Day Wednesday-Saturday 10am-5pm, Sundays 12-5pm, with weekend-only hours through October.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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