The Tuscarora War was fought in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

from September 10, 1711 until February 11, 1715 between the Tuscarora people and their allies on one side and European American settlers, the Yamassee, and other allies on the other. This was considered the bloodiest colonial war in North Carolina. The Tuscarora signed a treaty with colonial officials in 1718 and settled on a reserved tract of land in Bertie County, North Carolina. The war incited further conflict on the part of the Tuscarora and led to changes in the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

of North and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. The first successful settlement of North Carolina began in 1653. The Tuscarora lived in peace with the settlers for more than 50 years, while nearly every other colony in America was involved in some conflict with Native Americans. Most of the Tuscarora migrated north to New York after the war, where they joined the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy as the sixth nation.

History

The Tuscarora were an

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoia ...

-speaking people who had migrated from the

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area into the Piedmont centuries before European colonization. Related peoples made up the Iroquois Confederacy based in New York and Southern Ontario.

Tensions

As the English settled Carolina, the Tuscarora benefited from trade with the English. By acquiring weapons and metal goods from the English, they were able to develop commercial dominance over other tribes in the region. These benefits were experienced to a greater degree by Northern Tuscarora than their Southern counterparts, who became cut off from the prosperous Northern Tuscarora by increasing numbers of European settlers. Over time settlers continued to push into territory held by the Tuscarora. As the settlers moved closer to the Tuscarora and the two began interacting more frequently, conflict arose over shared hunting grounds and cultural differences. The Tuscarora held John Lawson accountable for his role in the settlers' expansion into their territory. Lawson's writings emphasized the potential that the lands held for European settlement and he was also resented for his perceived role in the founding of New Bern, a settlement which encroached on Tuscarora territory. Settlers found eastern North Carolina to be swampy and difficult to farm, so they pushed westward attracted by the more fertile uplands. As settlement expanded, so too did the Indian slave trade in the region. These factors all led to tension between the Tuscarora and the growing population of colonists.

Outbreak of War

There were two groups in North Carolina in the early 18th century, a northern group led by

Chief Tom Blount Chief Tom Blount (1675-1731) was the chief of the northern band of the Tuscarora tribe in North Carolina who allied with the Colonial Militia of Carolina in the Tuscarora War. He and his allies fought against the southern band of Tuscarora. The ...

and a southern group was led by Chief Hancock. Blount occupied the area around Bertie County on the Roanoke River; Hancock was closer to New Bern, occupying the area south of the Pamlico River. Blount became close friends with the influential Blount family of the Bertie region, but Hancock's people had suffered raids and kidnappings by slave traders. Hancock's tribe began to attack the settlers, but Blount's tribe did not become involved in the war at this point. Some historians including Richard White and Rebecca Seaman have suggested that the war grew out of misunderstandings between the colonists and the Tuscaroras. The Southern Tuscaroras led by Hancock allied with the Bear River tribe, Coree, Cothechney, Machapunga, Mattamuskeet, Neuse, Pamlico, Senequa, and Weetock to attack the settlers in a wide range within a short time period. They attacked homesteads along the Roanoke, Neuse, and Trent rivers and in the city of

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beginning on September 22, 1711 and killed hundreds of settlers, including several key colonial political figures, such as John Lawson of Bath, while driving off others. The Baron of Bernberg was a prisoner of the Tuscarora during the raids, and he recounted stories of women impaled on stakes, more than 80 infants slaughtered, and more than 130 settlers killed in the New Bern settlement.

Barnwell's expedition

In 1711, the North Carolina colony had been weakened by

Cary's Rebellion Cary's Rebellion (also known as the Cary Rebellion) was an uprising against the Deputy Governor of North-Carolina in 1711 led by Thomas Cary, who refused to give up his governorship to Edward Hyde. The rebellion was a part of a long-standing t ...

, and Governor Edward Hyde asked

for assistance. South Carolina sent Colonel

John Barnwell John Barnwell (born 24 December 1938) is an English former football player and manager. He was the chief executive of the League Managers Association. Career Arsenal Born in Newcastle, Barnwell first played as an amateur for Whitley Bay and B ...

with a force of 30 white officers and about 500 Native Americans from South Carolina, including Yamasee, Wateree, Congaree, Waxhaw,

Pee Dee The Pee Dee is a region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It lies along the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, which was named after the Pee Dee, a Native American tribe that historically inhabited the region. Hi ...

, and Apalachee. Barnwell's expedition traveled over 300 miles and arrived in January 1712. There the force was supplemented by 50 local militiamen and attacked the Tuscarora, who retreated to Fort Neoheroka in Greene County. The Tuscarora negotiated a truce and released their prisoners.Shamlin, Jim.
The Tuscarora War
" ''North Carolina Literary Review'', Volume 1, Number 1, Summer 1992. Barnwell's expedition did not win the war. Barnwell left for South Carolina, displeasing the North Carolina settlers who wished for a total victory over the Tuscarora. The South Carolinians were unhappy that there was no payment for their help. Additionally, some South Carolina officers retained Tuscarora to sell as

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, which incited the Tuscarora into a new wave of attacks. These attacks came amid a

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outbreak that weakened the North Carolina colony; the combined pressure caused many settlers to flee. Governor Thomas Pollack requested the aid of South Carolina.

Chief Blount and the Moore Expedition

South Carolina dispatched Colonel James Moore with a force of 33 colonists and nearly 1,000 Native Americans, which arrived in December 1712. The settlers offered Blount control of the entire Tuscarora tribe if he assisted them in defeating Hancock. Blount captured Hancock, and the settlers executed him in 1712. In 1713, the Southern Tuscarora lost their Fort Neoheroka in Greene County. Neoheroka was one of several Tuscarora forts of that time. Others include Torhunta, Innennits, and Catechna. These forts were all destroyed during the Tuscarora War by North Carolina colonists.Harris, Ron L. “The Tuscarora War: Culture Clash in North Carolina.” ''Central States Archaeological Journal'', vol. 63, no. 4, 2016, pp. 201–203. ''JSTOR'', www.jstor.org/stable/44715267. Accessed 30 Mar. 2020. An archaeological analysis of Fort Neoheroka indicates that the Tuscarora were adapting new methods of warfare in North America, specifically the advent of firearms, explosives and artillery. Ultimately, it was not the defensive limitations of the Tuscarora that cost them at Fort Neoheroka. In fact, the fort was "...equal to, if not superior to, comparable Euro-American frontier fortifications of the same era."Heath, Charles L & Phelps, David S. "Architecture of a Tuscarora Fortress: The Neoheroka Fort and the Tuscarora War (1711–1715)." Coastal Carolina Indian Center. 14 December 2011. Accessed 30 March 2020. https://www.coastalcarolinaindians.com/architecture-of-a-tuscarora-fortress-the-neoheroka-fort-and-the-tuscarora-war-1711-1715/ In actuality, the Tuscarora's defeat was not caused by inadequate fortification, but by an arsenal lacking the artillery and explosives employed by their opponents. About 950 people were killed or captured and sold into slavery in the Caribbean or New England by Colonel Moore and his South Carolina troops.''A People and A Nation'', Seventh Edition, 2005

Aftermath

Following the decisive defeat, many Tuscarora began a migration to New York. There they joined the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy and were accepted as the sixth tribe. Some Tuscarora bands remained in North Carolina with Blount for decades, with the last leaving for New York in 1802.

Further conflict

The Tuscarora War did not ensure lasting peace in the region. On Good Friday, April 15, 1715, a group of Native Americans attacked South Carolina. Among them were Apalachees, Savannahs, Lower Creeks, Cherokees, and Yamasees, as well as others. These were all allies of Colonels Barnwell and Moore during the Tuscarora War. This attack began what is known as the

Yamasee War The Yamasee War (also spelled Yamassee or Yemassee) was a conflict fought in South Carolina from 1715 to 1717 between British settlers from the Province of Carolina and the Yamasee and a number of other allied Native American peoples, incl ...

. The Yamasee and other tribes in South Carolina learned from the Tuscarora War that colonial settlers were heavily invested in the slave trade of Native Americans. Furthermore, the Tuscarora War had drastically cut down the number of Native Americans in the area who could be enslaved. With this in mind, the tribes of South Carolina decided on a preemptive attack. As one historian put it, " tter to stand together as Indians, hit the colony now before it became any stronger, kill the traders, destroy the plantations, burn Charles Town, and put an end to the slave buyers." During the Yamasee War, Col. Maurice Moore, the brother of Colonel James Moore, led a regiment in the battle against the Yamasee. Among his regiment were some seventy Tuscarora warriors who were keen to fight against the Yamasee, a tribe who had fought against them during the Tuscarora War. Following the Yamasee War, these Tuscarora were asked by South Carolina officials to remain in South Carolina as their allies and to protect the colony from Spain and its Native American allies. As part of the arrangement, South Carolina would return to the Tuscarora one slave taken during the Tuscarora War for each Tuscarora killed in the line of duty and for each enemy Native American they captured. During this time, the Tuscarora came to be so well respected by the South Carolina government that they were given land in the colony. The Yamasee War and other conflicts between the remaining Tuscarora and other Native American groups in the region are examples of how the Tuscarora War destabilized relationships among southern Native Americans.

Effect on slavery

The Tuscarora War and the Yamasee War were turning points in the Carolinas' slave trade. By 1717, South Carolina began to regulate its slave trade. Additionally, after two wars between colonists and Native Americans, the number of Native Americans available to be enslaved had fallen considerably. The most valuable role of Native Americans also shifted during this time from slave to ally because of the ongoing power struggle between the French and English to control North America. Because colonists sought to ally themselves with Native Americans, the enslavement of Black Americans began to proliferate.

Legacy

Nearly 300 years after the Tuscarora were defeated at Fort Neoheroka, the fort was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 17, 2009. A monument was constructed and commemorated there in March 2013. The ceremony was attended by Tuscarora descendants, some from New York and others from North Carolina.Harris, Ron L. “The Tuscarora War: Culture Clash in North Carolina.” ''Central States Archaeological Journal'', vol. 63, no. 4, 2016, pp. 201–203. ''JSTOR'', www.jstor.org/stable/44715267. Accessed 30 Mar. 2020.

References

External links

NC Historic Sites: Historic Bath: The Tuscarora War, 1711–1715

The Way We Lived
Nooherooka 300th Commemoration
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