Gnadenhutten Massacre

Background. The Moravian Christian Indians, committed to Christian pacifism, had taken no side in the American Revolutionary War, which drew suspicion from both the British and the Americans. In September 1781, British-allied Native Americans, primarily Wyandot and Lenape, forced the Christian Native Americans and missionaries from the Moravian villages. In February 1782, more than 150 were permitted to return to their old villages, including Gnadenhutten, Salem, and Shoenbrunn, to harvest crops and collect stored food.

Militia Attitudes and the Raid. Western militiamen, many of whom had lost friends and family in Native American raids against settlers' encroachment, blamed all indigenous people for the acts of some and did not distinguish between friendly and hostile bands. On March 4, 1782, a raiding party of 160 Pennsylvania militiamen led by Lieutenant Colonel David Williamson marched toward the Tuscarawas Valley, and on the morning of March 6 they murdered Joseph Schebosh Jr., a Moravian Christian who pleaded for his life.

The Massacre. The militia feigned goodwill, promising relocation away from the warring parties, and persuaded Moravians from Salem to come to Gnadenhutten. Once gathered, the soldiers bound the unarmed Indians and accused them of participating in raids into Pennsylvania, charges the Moravians rebutted. On the morning of March 8, the militia brought them to two killing houses, one for men and one for women and children, where victims sang hymns and offered one another consolation until all were slain.

Aftermath and Legacy. Eighteen militiamen opposed the killing and withdrew, including Obadiah Holmes, Jr., who later rescued a Lenape child and raised him. Moravian Christian Indians at Schoenbrunn fled to Sandusky, escaping a planned second massacre. When the Moravian missionaries' accounts became generally known, the massacre was recognized as a crime against humanity, and a monument to the Moravian Christian Indian Martyrs was dedicated ninety years later.