Five Medals
Encyclopedia
Five Medals first appeared in eastern records after the Battle of Fallen Timbers
. He was a leader of the Elkhart River
Potawatomi
. He disappears from the records shortly after the end of the War of 1812
. Five Medals lead his people in defense of their homelands and then to lead his people into the new world of agriculture.
, Miami
, Odawa (Ottawa)
and Chippewa (Ojibwa)
, from Wabash to Philadelphia, the nation’s capital. Five Medals was one of the two Potawatomi chiefs to go. Sailing from Detroit, they arrived in Philadelphia, where President Washington
honored them with a banquet. Washington extolled the chiefs to honor the Greenville Treaty
, which had been the result of a terrible war. He also called for all the tribes to take up agriculture. By 1800 Five Medals convinced that the poor winter hunts since 1796 could only be corrected if the tribe adopted agricultural methods. Topinabee asked the Americans for assistance.
In December 1801, another delegation went east, to Washington, the new Capital led by Little Turtle of the Miami
. Stopping in Baltimore
, Five Medals addressed a convention of Quakers, asking for assistance in agriculture and in stopping the flow of whiskey. In Washington, Five Medals supported Little Turtles call for annuity distribution at Fort Wayne instead of Detroit, which was more convenient to both nations. The villages further west than St. Joseph received little if any of the payment. Both leaders also joined Little Turtle’s call for the suppression of the liquor trade. Whiskey was reaching the Potawatomi from the Wabash River
trade. Governor Harrison
moved to have the annuities paid at Fort Wayne, then called for a land cession council at Vincennes
.
villages. When the treaty was completed in June 1803, the Potawatomi agreed. In 1807, William Kirk, a Quaker missionary, and Five Medals met to arrange for an agricultural mission to his village. It never materialized. That year and the next four years, he and Winamac
and Topinabee continued to ask the American Government for agricultural help. The equipment that was sent was never used, as only these chiefs were interested in agriculture, not their people. In September 1809, Governor Harrison met in council at Fort Wayne with the Winamac, Five Medals, and Keesass of the Potawatomi and the Miami chiefs. When the Miami refused to negotiate land cessions, the Potawatomi held firm to the Miami as allies, even as Winamac worked to convince the Miami to sell their land. Because of the nearness of American forts to Five Medals village, he remained friendly with the Americans, as did Keesass. He was concerned with Tecumseh
because of the trouble that would follow. In spite of repeated entreaties, Five Medals refused to listen to Tecumseh.
and Illinois
. To end the destruction, councils were called by the Americans to take place at Cahokia
and Vincennes
. Winamac and Five Medals assured the agents that the few anti-American warriors were not representative of the Potawatomi. Because of the influence of the pro-British chiefs, Winamac and Five Medals refused a trip to Washington. Tecumseh the Shawnee spoke at the council blaming Winamac and Five Medals for not controlling their warriors. In May, Tecumseh called an all-Indian council at Mississinewa
. Here Five Medals realized that he no longer had control of his warriors. He hurried to Fort Wayne to warn the commander there. Here he learned that a family from his village had been attacked on their return from a trade visit to Kentucky
. While the government obtains the family members taken prisoner and made presents for the two warriors killed, this only increased the hostility of the warriors against Five Medals. When Tecumseh and the Prophet
moved to on the Tippecanoe
, many of the Potawatomi warriors moved with them.
In August 1812, the Potawatomi supported the British
at the siege of Detroit, which succeeded in the surrender of the Post to the British. Immediately, the Potawatomi laid siege to Fort Wayne
. Five Medals was forced to support. Governor Harrison started troops up the Wabash River
to relieve the siege, which Harrison did on September 12. In retaliation, Harrison sent two detachments to raid the Potawatomi villages in northern Indiana while his troops continued to Detroit. Major Samuel Wells
lead one detachment to the Elkhart where Five Medals villages were located. Because they were vacant only the crops and buildings were destroyed. After the destruction of the village on the Elkhart River, Five Medals people moved nearer to Detroit on the .
Many Potawatomi continued with Tecumseh in support of the British and were defeated at the Battle of the Thames
(October 5, 1813). When the American Brigadier General Duncan McArthur
extended a truce to the nations of the lower lakes, Governor Harrison at first refused to let the Potawatomi join. He relented to insure peace on the frontier and Topinabee
, Five Medals and Main Poc
signed for the Potawatomi. It was Topinabee, Five Medals, and Metea
, who attended the council in July 1814, which sought to end the hostilities. The other chiefs stayed away. On August 12, 1815 a treaty of peace was signed between the Americans and Topinabee, Chebass, Five Medals, Metea, and Mad Sturgeon. In 1815, with the treaty ending the war, Shabbona
and Senachewine were supported by the Indian Agent at as the tribal leaders against the Fort Wayne Agents selection of Five Medals and Metea and the Chicago
Indian Agents support of Topinabee and Chebass. The confusion caused by these separate designations of tribal leaders began confusion among the Americans who sought to designate a single chief.
In 1818 the Treaty of St. Mary's
ceded 1550 acres (6.3 km²) of Potawatomi land in western Indiana (Wabash River west) and in eastern Illinois
. Many individual bribes were given to the chiefs of all the participating nations. Topinabee, Five Medals, Chebass, Moran, and Mad Sturgeon all signed the treaty.
Battle of Fallen Timbers
The Battle of Fallen Timbers was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy and the United States for control of the Northwest Territory...
. He was a leader of the Elkhart River
Elkhart River
The Elkhart River is a tributary of the St. Joseph River in northern Indiana in the United States. It is almost entirely contained in Elkhart County. It begins southeast of Millersburg just across the county line in Noble County. It flows generally westward through Benton and then turns...
Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
. He disappears from the records shortly after the end of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. Five Medals lead his people in defense of their homelands and then to lead his people into the new world of agriculture.
Peace on the Frontier
In November 1794, long after the Battle of Fallen Timbers (August 18, 1794), the Potawatomi turned to the Americans for an end to the War. Five Medals, a leader of the Elkhart River Potawatomi lead a delegation to Fort Wayne and arranged to discuss peace at Greenville the following January. The armistice was concluded in January and a June peace council was arranged, also at Greenville. In 1796, the Americans were concerned over the continued contact between the Potawatomi along the St. Joseph. To enhance their position, the American Indian Agents arranged to send a delegation of Potawatomi, ShawneeShawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
, Miami
Miami tribe
The Miami are a Native American nation originally found in what is now Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is the only federally recognized tribe of Miami Indians in the United States...
, Odawa (Ottawa)
Odawa people
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
and Chippewa (Ojibwa)
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
, from Wabash to Philadelphia, the nation’s capital. Five Medals was one of the two Potawatomi chiefs to go. Sailing from Detroit, they arrived in Philadelphia, where President Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
honored them with a banquet. Washington extolled the chiefs to honor the Greenville Treaty
Treaty of Greenville
The Treaty of Greenville was signed at Fort Greenville , on August 3, 1795, between a coalition of Native Americans & Frontiers men, known as the Western Confederacy, and the United States following the Native American loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It put an end to the Northwest Indian War...
, which had been the result of a terrible war. He also called for all the tribes to take up agriculture. By 1800 Five Medals convinced that the poor winter hunts since 1796 could only be corrected if the tribe adopted agricultural methods. Topinabee asked the Americans for assistance.
In December 1801, another delegation went east, to Washington, the new Capital led by Little Turtle of the Miami
Miami tribe
The Miami are a Native American nation originally found in what is now Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is the only federally recognized tribe of Miami Indians in the United States...
. Stopping in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Five Medals addressed a convention of Quakers, asking for assistance in agriculture and in stopping the flow of whiskey. In Washington, Five Medals supported Little Turtles call for annuity distribution at Fort Wayne instead of Detroit, which was more convenient to both nations. The villages further west than St. Joseph received little if any of the payment. Both leaders also joined Little Turtle’s call for the suppression of the liquor trade. Whiskey was reaching the Potawatomi from the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
trade. Governor Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
moved to have the annuities paid at Fort Wayne, then called for a land cession council at Vincennes
Vincennes
Vincennes is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.-History:...
.
Land Cessions
Topinabee, Five Medals, Magaago, and Keesass came for the Potawatomi. The land and question was well south of Keesass’ town, which was the furthest south of the PotawatomiPotawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
villages. When the treaty was completed in June 1803, the Potawatomi agreed. In 1807, William Kirk, a Quaker missionary, and Five Medals met to arrange for an agricultural mission to his village. It never materialized. That year and the next four years, he and Winamac
Winamac
Winamac was the name of a number of Potawatomi leaders and warriors beginning in the late 17th century. The name derives from a man named Wilamet, a Native American from an eastern tribe who in 1681 was appointed to serve as a laison between New France and the natives of the Lake Michigan region...
and Topinabee continued to ask the American Government for agricultural help. The equipment that was sent was never used, as only these chiefs were interested in agriculture, not their people. In September 1809, Governor Harrison met in council at Fort Wayne with the Winamac, Five Medals, and Keesass of the Potawatomi and the Miami chiefs. When the Miami refused to negotiate land cessions, the Potawatomi held firm to the Miami as allies, even as Winamac worked to convince the Miami to sell their land. Because of the nearness of American forts to Five Medals village, he remained friendly with the Americans, as did Keesass. He was concerned with Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
because of the trouble that would follow. In spite of repeated entreaties, Five Medals refused to listen to Tecumseh.
War of 1812
Through the winter of 1811-1812, Potawatomi raids were launched against settlements in southern IndianaIndiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. To end the destruction, councils were called by the Americans to take place at Cahokia
Cahokia
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the area of an ancient indigenous city located in the American Bottom floodplain, between East Saint Louis and Collinsville in south-western Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds...
and Vincennes
Vincennes
Vincennes is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.-History:...
. Winamac and Five Medals assured the agents that the few anti-American warriors were not representative of the Potawatomi. Because of the influence of the pro-British chiefs, Winamac and Five Medals refused a trip to Washington. Tecumseh the Shawnee spoke at the council blaming Winamac and Five Medals for not controlling their warriors. In May, Tecumseh called an all-Indian council at Mississinewa
Mississinewa River
The Mississinewa River is a tributary of the Wabash River in eastern Indiana and a small portion of western Ohio in the United States. It is long. Via the Wabash and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. During the War of 1812, the river was the site of the Battle of the...
. Here Five Medals realized that he no longer had control of his warriors. He hurried to Fort Wayne to warn the commander there. Here he learned that a family from his village had been attacked on their return from a trade visit to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. While the government obtains the family members taken prisoner and made presents for the two warriors killed, this only increased the hostility of the warriors against Five Medals. When Tecumseh and the Prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
moved to on the Tippecanoe
Tippecanoe River
The Tippecanoe River is a gentle, river in northern Indiana that flows from Big Lake in Noble County to the Wabash River near Battle Ground, about northeast of Lafayette. The name "Tippecanoe" comes from a Miami-Illinois word for buffalo fish, reconstructed as */kiteepihkwana/.The Tippecanoe...
, many of the Potawatomi warriors moved with them.
In August 1812, the Potawatomi supported the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at the siege of Detroit, which succeeded in the surrender of the Post to the British. Immediately, the Potawatomi laid siege to Fort Wayne
Siege of Fort Wayne
The Siege of Fort Wayne took place during the War of 1812, between United States and American Indian forces in the wake of the successful British campaigns of 1812.-Background:...
. Five Medals was forced to support. Governor Harrison started troops up the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
to relieve the siege, which Harrison did on September 12. In retaliation, Harrison sent two detachments to raid the Potawatomi villages in northern Indiana while his troops continued to Detroit. Major Samuel Wells
Samuel Wells
Samuel Wells was an American politician and the 25th Governor of Maine.He was born in Durham, New Hampshire on August 15, 1801. He studied at local school and later studied law. He had a successful career in law. He served as an associate justice of the Maine Supreme Court from 1847 to 1854. Wells...
lead one detachment to the Elkhart where Five Medals villages were located. Because they were vacant only the crops and buildings were destroyed. After the destruction of the village on the Elkhart River, Five Medals people moved nearer to Detroit on the .
Many Potawatomi continued with Tecumseh in support of the British and were defeated at the Battle of the Thames
Battle of the Thames
The Battle of the Thames, also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was a decisive American victory in the War of 1812. It took place on October 5, 1813, near present-day Chatham, Ontario in Upper Canada...
(October 5, 1813). When the American Brigadier General Duncan McArthur
Duncan McArthur
right|thumb|350pxDuncan McArthur was a Federalist and National Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the 11th Governor of Ohio....
extended a truce to the nations of the lower lakes, Governor Harrison at first refused to let the Potawatomi join. He relented to insure peace on the frontier and Topinabee
Topinabee
- People :* Topinabee , the elder, a Potawatomi chief* Topinabee , the younger, a Potawatomi chief- Places :* Topinabee, Michigan, an unincorporated village in Mullett Township, Cheboygan County, Michigan- Other :* USS Topenebee, a U.S. Navy ship...
, Five Medals and Main Poc
Main Poc
Main Poc was a leader of the Yellow River villages of the Potawatomi native Americans in the United States...
signed for the Potawatomi. It was Topinabee, Five Medals, and Metea
Metea
Chief Metea or Me-te-a was one of the principal chiefs of the Potawatomi during the early 19th century. He frequently acted as spokesman at treaty councils. His village, Muskwawasepotan, was located on the St...
, who attended the council in July 1814, which sought to end the hostilities. The other chiefs stayed away. On August 12, 1815 a treaty of peace was signed between the Americans and Topinabee, Chebass, Five Medals, Metea, and Mad Sturgeon. In 1815, with the treaty ending the war, Shabbona
Shabbona
Shabbona , also known as Shabonee and Shaubena, was an Ottawa tribe member who became a chief within the Potawatomi tribe in Illinois during the 19th century.-Early life:...
and Senachewine were supported by the Indian Agent at as the tribal leaders against the Fort Wayne Agents selection of Five Medals and Metea and the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Indian Agents support of Topinabee and Chebass. The confusion caused by these separate designations of tribal leaders began confusion among the Americans who sought to designate a single chief.
In 1818 the Treaty of St. Mary's
Treaty of St. Mary's
The Treaty of St. Mary's was signed on October 6, 1818 at Saint Mary's, Ohio between representatives of the United States and the Miami tribe and others living in their territory. The accord contained seven articles. Based on the terms of the accord, the Miami ceded to the United States...
ceded 1550 acres (6.3 km²) of Potawatomi land in western Indiana (Wabash River west) and in eastern Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Many individual bribes were given to the chiefs of all the participating nations. Topinabee, Five Medals, Chebass, Moran, and Mad Sturgeon all signed the treaty.