Captain John Deserontyon (alt. Captain John, Deseronto, (Odeserundiye)), U.E.L (c. 1740s - 1811) was a

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

war chief allied with the British during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He led his people to Upper Canada after the war, settling on land granted by the Crown at the

Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...

in present-day

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. This reserve, initially settled primarily by Mohawk

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

from the Lower Castle, is known as

Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory is the main First Nation reserve of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation. The territory is located in Ontario east of Belleville on the Bay of Quinte. Tyendinaga is located near the site of the former Mohaw ...

Deseronto, Ontario Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located at the mouth of the Napanee River on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, on the northern side of Lake Ontario. The town was named for Captain John Deseronto, a nat ...

is named for him.

Early life

John Deseronto (alt. Deserontyon, ''Odeserundiye'' in Mohawk, meaning "The Lightning has Struck") was born in the 1740s, most likely in the Mohawk Valley. Educated in a colonial school, he had become acculturated to white customs. In 1759, during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

, the North American front of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

between Britain and France, he took part allied with the British in the

Battle of Fort Niagara The Battle of Fort Niagara was a siege late in the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British siege of Fort Niagara in July 1759 was part of a campaign to remove French control of the Great Lakes and Oh ...

, and the following year he was at the Battle of Quebec, and participated in the capture of Montreal with Amherst. In the summer of 1764, he accompanied

John Bradstreet Major General John Bradstreet, born Jean-Baptiste Bradstreet (21 December 1714 – 25 September 1774) was a British Army officer during King George's War, the French and Indian War, and Pontiac's War. He was born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia ...

in the attack on

Fort Detroit Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...

at the end of

Pontiac's Rebellion Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–176 ...

American Revolution

When the American Revolution started, Deseronto was a chief of the Mohawk, living at

Fort Hunter Fort Hunter is a hamlet in the Town of Florida in Montgomery County, New York, United States, west of the capital at Albany, on the south bank of the Mohawk River and on the northeast bank of Schoharie Creek. The hamlet developed around a fort of ...

where he owned a handsome house and of rich flat land. He had a wagon, plough, harrow, and ten beaver traps. This area was known as the Lower Castle. During this war he sided with the British and the loyalist Johnson family. He accompanied

Guy Johnson Guy Johnson ( 1740 – 5 March 1788) was an Irish military officer and diplomat. He served on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War, having migrated to the Province of New York as a young man and worked with his uncle, Sir Wi ...

when he left for Canada in the summer of 1775. Deseronto went back to the Mohawk valley the following year and met with

Sir John Johnson Brigadier General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, magistrate, landowner and colonial official in the British Indian Department who fought as a Loyalist during the America ...

. In May 1776, he again met with Sir John Johnson and helped him escape to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. In July 1777, Deseronto was the leader of a Mohawk party that assessed the defences of

Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built ...

. On 14 July, they surprised and attacked Ensign John Spoor's work detail as it was outside the fort cutting sod. Deseronto passed the information that the fort was strongly garrisoned back to

Daniel Claus Christian Daniel Claus (17271787) was a Deputy Agent in the British Indian Department and a prominent Loyalist during the American Revolution. He was born September 13, 1727, at Bönnigheim, Württemberg the son of Adam Frederic Claus and his ...

. Barry St. Leger decided to proceed without adequate artillery. Deseronto took part the Battle of Oriskany and the siege of the fort. After St. Leger had retreated, Deseronto stayed behind to enjoy a meal at the British commander's table. A scouting party from the fort found Deseronto in St. Leger's tent and shot him with buck and ball in the left arm and breast. Deseronto was seriously wounded and almost lost his arm. He continued to Fort Hunter, where he set about preparing the village for a mass departure. On 4 September, he arrived at General

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

's camp with the Fort Hunter families and several prominent loyalists, totaling about 150 persons. The villagers had abandoned their homes after hearing about the sacking of the Mohawk Upper Castle by rebel patriots. Deseronto's party had to fight through a 40-man scouting party, consisting of soldiers from the New Hampshire Continental regiments, to reach Burgoyne's camp. They reported killing seven of the Americans, brought in four scalps, and Deseronto was freshly wounded. The American rolls showed five killed and three missing for several days as confirmed by their being accounted for on later rolls. The Fort Hunter Mohawks settled at La Chine, near Montreal, and were supplied by the British in exchange for the war service. In 1779 Deseronto led two scouting parties up the Richelieu Valley. In 1780, he took part in Sir John Johnson's raid on the Mohawk valley and he was at the

Battle of Klock's Field A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. In 1781 he led multiple raids into the Mohawk valley destroying mills and cattle and taking prisoners. In the spring of 1782, Deseronto and Captain

Isaac Hill Isaac Hill (April 6, 1788March 22, 1851) was an American politician, journalist, political commentator and newspaper editor who was a United States senator and the 16th governor of New Hampshire, serving two consecutive terms. Hill was born on ...

destroyed the mill at Little Falls on the Mohawk and took some prisoners.Graymont, pg. 254

Post-war years

After the war, Deseronto and

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...

, a major war leader of the Upper Castle, met with Governor

Frederick Haldimand Sir Frederick Haldimand, KB (11 August 1718 – 5 June 1791) was a military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. From 1778 to 1786, he serve ...

of Canada to discuss the loss of their land in New York. Haldimand promised to resettle the Mohawk near the

, on the north east shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

(in present-day

, Canada). Brant decided that he preferred to settle on the Grand River. Brant and Johnson ridiculed Deseronto's decision to stay at the Bay of Quinte. Haldimand purchased and granted the Mohawks a tract 12 by on the Bay of Quinte. About 200 Mohawk, primarily from the Lower Castle, settled with Deseronto at what is now called the

. Deseronto was personally granted a lump sum payment of about £800 pounds for his losses, of land, and an annual pension of £45 pounds. The Canadian government acceded to Joseph Brant's desire and arranged for the Mohawk of the Upper Castle to settle at the Grand River, at what became known as the Six Nations Reserve. In 1797, Deseronto and

went to New York to meet with state leaders. In exchange for a small sum, they agreed to extinguish Mohawk land claims within New York. This treaty was never ratified by Congress, and later land claims by Native American nations were based on the state's lack of constitutional authority to conduct such land negotiations and agreements with Native Americans. It was reserved to the federal government. Deseronto died 7 January 1811 at the Mohawk settlement on the Bay of Quinte in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

Legacy

*The town of

Deseronto Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located at the mouth of the Napanee River on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, on the northern side of Lake Ontario. The town was named for Captain John Deseronto, a n ...

, Ontario is named in his honour. It was developed after his grandson John Culbertson inherited Deseronto's personal land grant. He received title from the government and started to sell off village tracts to encourage development. In 1995, the townsite was part of what was called the Culbertson Tract land claim, which the government agreed to negotiate in 2003. In 2013, the case was still unresolved.

Footnotes

References

"John Deseronto"
''Canadian Biography Online'' * Brown, Lloyd, and Peckham, Howard, ''Revolutionary War Journals of Henry Dearborn 1775-1783'', 1939 * Graymont, Barbara, ''The Iroquois in the American Revolution'', 1972, * Watt, Gavin, ''The Burning of the Valleys'', 1997, * Watt, Gavin, ''Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley'', 2002, {{DEFAULTSORT:Deseronto, John British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Indigenous leaders in Ontario Canadian Mohawk people American Mohawk people Native American leaders Native Americans in the American Revolution Pre-Confederation Ontario people 1740s births 1811 deaths Year of birth uncertain