Existing comment:
Sagoyewatha (Red Jacket), c 1758-1830:
Seneca chief Sagoyewatha, a swift runner for the British during the Revolution, was given the name Red Jacket from the scarlet coats he habitually wore. During the War of 1812 he cast his lot with the Americans, but after participating in several battles, including the Battle of Chippewa, he proposed that Indians fighting on both sides of the conflict withdraw from the war, and he went home.
Sagoyewatha's claim to celebrity was not as a warrior, but as an orator. An eloquent defender of Indian land claims and culture, he detested Christianity and white civilization. Nonetheless, in his many portraits he proudly wears the peace medal presented to him by President Washington in 1792 when he went to Philadelphia to assert Seneca claims and grievances.
Thomas Hicks, after Robert W. Weir, 1868 after 1828 original |