The Battle of Bloody Run was fought in March or April of 1656 near

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. In 1654, the expansion of the Iroquois Nation (during the

Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...

) displaced several tribes from their homelands around

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

. One tribe moved south into Virginia, settling temporarily around the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

. Records of the time refer to these people as the "Richahecrians", while James Lederer said they were " Mahocks and

Nahyssan The Tutelo (also Totero, Totteroy, Tutera; Yesan in Tutelo) were Native American people living above the Fall Line in present-day Virginia and West Virginia. They spoke a Siouan dialect of the Tutelo language thought to be similar to that of thei ...

s". The colonists in nearby Richmond were uneasy with the proximity of a potentially hostile force. Within two years, the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

had given permission to Colonel Edward Hill to remove the Indian presence. His orders specifically stated that he was not to use force unless necessary. The General Assembly also specifically sent messages to Chief

Totopotomoi Totopotomoi (c. 1615–1656) was a Native American leader from what is now Virginia. He served as the chief of Pamunkey and as ''werowance'' of the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom for the term lasting from about 1649-1656, when he died in the Battle ...

and the Chichahominy Indians, requesting their assistance. Colonel Hill led the Colonial Rangers, reinforced by 100 Pamunkey warriors under Chief

. When five "Richahecrian" chiefs came to negotiate, Hill ordered they be taken and killed, which resulted in the attack by the opposing force. During the battle, Hill and his men retreated, resulting in the slaughter of their Indian allies, including Totopotomoi himself. The large number of casualties—nearly all of the Pamunkey warriors, and a good part of the Colonial Rangers—earned the site its name of Bloody Run, as the creek was said to have run red with blood. Afterward, Hill was disgraced because of his defeat, censured by the Virginia Assembly, and stripped of his rank. The creek was the site of another bloody battle 20 years later, during Bacon’s Rebellion, in 1676. More Indian incursions led the Virginia colonists to authorize Nathaniel Bacon to march against the Indians. The battle of Bacon’s Quarter Branch took place near Bloody Run, and the creek was once again christened with blood. Today, the site of the battle had been paved over and the creek and spring have dried up. The only indication of the site is a state-erected marker commemorating the event in the northwest corner of

Chimborazo Park Chimborazo Park is a park and historic land site in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Created in 1874, the park was the site of Chimborazo Hospital, one of the world's largest military hospitals. Name The name Chimborazo comes from a volcano ...

.Noel, Tricia. ''The Battle of Bloody Run''. Church Hill People’s News. 2014-12-02. Web. Retrieved 2015-03-23.
The Battle of Bloody Run

External links

Virginia Historical Marker: Battle of Bloody Run

References

{{reflist History of Richmond, Virginia