Wanagapeth ("Sweet Breeze"), (?)-1808 was the eldest daughter of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

war chief Michikinikwa, known in English as

Little Turtle Little Turtle ( mia, Mihšihkinaahkwa) (1747 July 14, 1812) was a Sagamore (chief) of the Miami people, who became one of the most famous Native American military leaders. Historian Wiley Sword calls him "perhaps the most capable Indian leader ...

. She married Apekonit, or William Wells. William Wells was captured and adopted into the Miami tribe. He had a wife and child who were captured in 1791 and presumed dead. William took Wanagapeth as his second wife, forging a strong family bond between Wells and Turtle that would last until their deaths. Wanagapeth and Wells had three daughters and one son. Their son, William Wayne Wells, or Wapemongah, graduated fourth in his class at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1821 and rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. He died in 1832 and had no children. One daughter, Ann, married but also had no children. Daughters Rebecca and Mary both have descendants living today. Little Turtle biographer Harvey Lewis Carter estimates that Sweet Breeze died during the Winter of 1805–1806, because after that year her children moved to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

to live with their uncle, Samuel Wells.Carter, 200 Wanagapeth's father, Mihšihkinaahkwa fought against the United States in the Northwest Indian War. A treaty stated that Americans would not disturb the land of the Native Americans, and the Native Americans would not disturb them if they did that. But American settlers failed to do this. The United States sent two campaigns against the Miami villages at

Kekionga Kekionga (meaning "blackberry bush"), also known as KiskakonCharles R. Poinsatte, ''Fort Wayne During the Canal Era 1828-1855,'' Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1969, p. 1 or Pacan's Village, was the capital of the Miami tribe. It was ...

. The Native Americans celebrated a significant victory in 1790 and one of the largest Native American victories in U.S. history in 1791. In 1794, Washington sent a

new army The New Armies ( Traditional Chinese: 新軍, Simplified Chinese: 新军; Pinyin: Xīnjūn, Manchu: ''Ice cooha''), more fully called the Newly Created Army ( ''Xinjian Lujun''Also translated as "Newly Established Army" ()), was the modernised ...

, this time under General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

, a revolutionary war general. Wanagapeth's father, Michikinikwa, warned the Native American Confederacy to avoid a fight with Wayne. Her husband, William, joined the United States. In August 1794, Wayne's army defeated more than 1,000 Native Americans under Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (

Blue Jacket Blue Jacket, or Weyapiersenwah (c. 1743 – 1810), was a war chief of the Shawnee people, known for his militant defense of Shawnee lands in the Ohio Country. Perhaps the preeminent American Indian leader in the Northwest Indian War, i ...

) in The

Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United State ...

, near present-day Toledo, Ohio. This defeat for the Native Americans crushed their dreams for keeping their land. In the

Treaty of Greenville The Treaty of Greenville, formally titled Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., was a 1795 treaty between the United States and indigenous nations of the Northwest Territory (now Midwestern United States), including the Wyandot and Delaware peoples ...

(1795), Native American leaders agreed to surrender most of the land in what is now Ohio.

References

* Carter, Harvey Lewis. ''The Life and Times of Little Turtle: First Sagamore of the Wabash.'' Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987. . https://connected.mcgraw-hill.com/ssh/book.lesson.do?bookId=6GQ3NPG4POKK1E58E1BP47GGDQ&nodeId=FZRXY3L3B5LMQR7G4ZPLO3RW1M 1808 deaths Miami people 18th-century Native Americans 18th-century Native American women Year of birth unknown {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub