Main Poc
Encyclopedia
Main Poc was a leader of the Yellow River villages of the Potawatomi native Americans in the United States
. Through his entire life, he fought against the growing strength of the United States and tried to stop the flow of settlers into the Old Northwest. He joined with Tecumseh to push the settlers south and east of the Ohio River and followed him to defeat in Canada during the War of 1812
.
(July 1795) peace was to return to the frontier. For the Potawatomi
, peace brought an end to manhood; for it was only through war that a boy could prove himself and a warrior maintain his skills. The Potawatomi of the Kankakee
and the Tippecanoe
turned to their old enemy the Osage. Led by Main Poc of the Kankakee and Turkey Foot of the Tippecanoe, raiding parties crossed the Mississippi River
into Spanish territory to attack the Osage and the whites along the Osage River. Quickly, the settlements in Illinois along their route of travel were being attacked, stealing horses and livestock.
By 1796, warriors from Main Poc’s village expanded their raids to include southern Illinois, attacking the Wea and Piankashaw hunting groups along the lower Wabash. The raids expanded to include the routes traveled by the Cherokee
and Chickasaw
between Fort Massac along the Mississippi and their villages in Tennessee
and North Carolina
. The Americans attempted to stop these raids in 1804, but Main Poc’s warriors extended them against the Kaskaskia
villages near Cahokia
. A treaty council was called in St. Louis in 1805, but Main Poc and Turkey Foot did not appear. While the tribes around St. Louis and to the west grew careless, Main Poc led his warriors against the Osage that November. Through the winter of 1805-6, Governor James Wilkinson
sent to Indian Agent Charles Jouett, in Chicago to obtain the release of the Osage prisoners from the Kankakee villages. It would be 1807, before the prisoners held at Main Poc village were released. Meanwhile the number of raids grew as other Potawatomi villages followed the successful example of Main Poc. By 1806, the Americans were warning the Osage of impending raids. Often the Potawatomi warriors would turn back without attacking.
and his brother the Prophet sent messengers among the Potawatomi in 1807, Main Poc readily gave support. While his given name meant Crafty One, he was known as "Main Poc" or “Withered Hand”. He had a crippled left hand. All the fingers and thumb were missing. He had risen as a shaman and had visions and contact with the spirits. The fall of 1808 found Main Poc visiting the Shawnee Prophet at his village on the Auglaize River
in Ohio
. He went in November and spent two months among the Shawnees. Main Poc spent the winter at Fort Wayne, where he had been invited by the Indian Agent to winter. While the Americans saw this as a sign of loyalty by the Potawatomi chief, Main Poc continued to declare his independence from American demands. When Main Poc returned to his village on the Kankakee and again prepared for war against the Osage, the American Agents proposed to send Main Poc and a delegation to Washington, D.C.
He was in Washington by December and meet with President Thomas Jefferson
. He returned home in the spring of 1809. With the depletion of the food stocks at Prophetstown, which the prophet had moved to the previous summer, the Potawatomi warriors were returning to their own villages. Main Poc did like wise and spent a quiet spring on the Kankakee.
The following year (1810), Prophetstown was again growing and Main Poc moved there in June. The combined Indian nations were planning their attacks against the American posts. Main Poc was to lead a force of Potawatomi against Fort Dearborn
(Chicago).
In July 1810, a series of Potawatomi raids against the Osage increased the tension between the Americans and the Potawatomi. When Gomo of the Lake Peoria
Potawatomi went to St. Louis in September to profess friendship with the Americans and to promise to restrain the Illinois Potawatomi warriors. Main Poc had spent the summer in western Illinois raiding the scattered settlements and in November lead a raid against the Osage. During the raid, Main Poc was wounded and could not walk or ride. He was ferried down the Missouri
and up the Mississippi
to a village near Portage des Sioux
, where he spent the winter of 1810-11. In April, the recovered Main Poc moved his village to Crow Prairie at the northern end of Lake Peoria. From this new village, Main Poc lead raids against the American settlements and skirmished with the militia units. A delegation was sent to the Peoria villages of Gomo in an attempt to end the raids. Main Poc did not attend and the Peoria villages had not joined with Main Pocs warriors in the raids. The expedition returned south without gaining a cessation to the attacks. Instead, Main Poc journeyed north to the Rock River Sac and then to the Kickpoo villages on the Kankakee. Obtaining their allegiance, Main Poc traveled to the British post at Amherstburg (across from Detroit) to spend the winter of 1811 in Canada.
Harrison marched on Tippecanoe during August 1812 in an attempt to end the raids on the Illinois frontier. His victory ended the Indian Confederacy. But, Main Poc remained in Canada
, sending Wabameme to the Potawatomi villages around Lake Michigan
preparing them for war. In March 1812, an American delegation traveled the Illinois River inviting the Potawatomi to Cahokia for a council of peace. The council achieved little as the chiefs hostile to the Americans, like Main Poc did not attend. By July, word was received among the warriors following Tecumseh that Main Poc was returning from the British with kegs of powder. Plans went forward for the destruction of Fort Dearborn
. By this time, Main Poc was considered by the American military as second only to Tecumseh in influence among the pro-British warriors. Main Poc spend the summer on southern Lake Michigan, but his influence was felt as his messengers continued to counsel war among the Potawatomi villages. Main Poc and Shabbona were in Canada at the siege of Detroit, while Blackbird and Mad Sturgeon lead the attack (August 15, 1812) on Fort Dearborn (Chicago). On August 5, the Potawatomi led by Tecumseh turned back the American’s at the Battle of Brownstown
. Four days later, Caldwell and Main Poc at Monguaga ambushed another column sent to relieve Detroit.
Many Potawatomi joined with Tecumseh in support of the British as they retreated from Detroit into the southern Canada. They were defeated at the Battle of the Thames (October 5, 1813). Main Poc had remained near Detroit, planning to attack Governor Harrison’s supply columns. When the American Brigadier General Duncan McArthur, stationed to protect Detroit and the supply route, extended a truce to the nations of the lower lakes. Harrison at first refused to let the Potawatomi join. He relented to insure peace on the frontier and Topinbee, Five Medals
and Main Poc signed for the Potawatomi.
, where the pro-American chiefs of the Potawatomi attended. Main Poc and the other pro-British chiefs (Moran, Mad Sturgeon, and Chebass) stayed away. Main Poc moved to a new village on the Yellow River
(between Knox and Plymouth. From here, raids were made against Fort Harrison (Terre Haute). McArthur was instructed in August 1814 to raise a militia force and deal with the Potawatomi. Unable to raise a large enough force, no action was taken. In 1815, the news arrived that the Treaty of Ghent
had ended the conflict between the Americans and the British. Main Poc was at Mackinac when the British commander notified the Indian allies of the peace treaty. When invited to Spring Wells (near Detroit), to sit in a council of peace, Main Poc refused to attend. As peace came to the frontier, the mixed-blood tribal members were taking on leadership roles. Main Poc died in 1816, furthering the trend to leaders who were comfortable in both the Potawatomi villages and the American trading companies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Through his entire life, he fought against the growing strength of the United States and tried to stop the flow of settlers into the Old Northwest. He joined with Tecumseh to push the settlers south and east of the Ohio River and followed him to defeat in Canada during 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...
.
Early years
With the Treaty of GreenvilleTreaty 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...
(July 1795) peace was to return to the frontier. For the 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...
, peace brought an end to manhood; for it was only through war that a boy could prove himself and a warrior maintain his skills. The Potawatomi of the Kankakee
Kankakee River
The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time the river drained one of the largest wetlands in North America and furnished a significant portage between the Great Lakes and the...
and 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...
turned to their old enemy the Osage. Led by Main Poc of the Kankakee and Turkey Foot of the Tippecanoe, raiding parties crossed the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
into Spanish territory to attack the Osage and the whites along the Osage River. Quickly, the settlements in Illinois along their route of travel were being attacked, stealing horses and livestock.
By 1796, warriors from Main Poc’s village expanded their raids to include southern Illinois, attacking the Wea and Piankashaw hunting groups along the lower Wabash. The raids expanded to include the routes traveled by the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
and Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
between Fort Massac along the Mississippi and their villages in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The Americans attempted to stop these raids in 1804, but Main Poc’s warriors extended them against the Kaskaskia
Kaskaskia
The Kaskaskia were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation or Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in the Great Lakes region...
villages near 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...
. A treaty council was called in St. Louis in 1805, but Main Poc and Turkey Foot did not appear. While the tribes around St. Louis and to the west grew careless, Main Poc led his warriors against the Osage that November. Through the winter of 1805-6, Governor James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign...
sent to Indian Agent Charles Jouett, in Chicago to obtain the release of the Osage prisoners from the Kankakee villages. It would be 1807, before the prisoners held at Main Poc village were released. Meanwhile the number of raids grew as other Potawatomi villages followed the successful example of Main Poc. By 1806, the Americans were warning the Osage of impending raids. Often the Potawatomi warriors would turn back without attacking.
With Tecumseh
When TecumsehTecumseh
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...
and his brother the Prophet sent messengers among the Potawatomi in 1807, Main Poc readily gave support. While his given name meant Crafty One, he was known as "Main Poc" or “Withered Hand”. He had a crippled left hand. All the fingers and thumb were missing. He had risen as a shaman and had visions and contact with the spirits. The fall of 1808 found Main Poc visiting the Shawnee Prophet at his village on the Auglaize River
Auglaize River
The Auglaize River is a tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Erie. The name of the river either comes from a Shawnee phrase meaning "fallen timbers" or a French term for "frozen water."It rises in...
in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He went in November and spent two months among the Shawnees. Main Poc spent the winter at Fort Wayne, where he had been invited by the Indian Agent to winter. While the Americans saw this as a sign of loyalty by the Potawatomi chief, Main Poc continued to declare his independence from American demands. When Main Poc returned to his village on the Kankakee and again prepared for war against the Osage, the American Agents proposed to send Main Poc and a delegation to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
He was in Washington by December and meet with President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. He returned home in the spring of 1809. With the depletion of the food stocks at Prophetstown, which the prophet had moved to the previous summer, the Potawatomi warriors were returning to their own villages. Main Poc did like wise and spent a quiet spring on the Kankakee.
The following year (1810), Prophetstown was again growing and Main Poc moved there in June. The combined Indian nations were planning their attacks against the American posts. Main Poc was to lead a force of Potawatomi against Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of...
(Chicago).
In July 1810, a series of Potawatomi raids against the Osage increased the tension between the Americans and the Potawatomi. When Gomo of the Lake Peoria
Peoria Lake
Peoria Lake is a section of the Illinois River between Peoria in Peoria County, Illinois and East Peoria in Tazewell County, Illinois. The oldest section of Peoria, the largest city on the river, lies at its shores....
Potawatomi went to St. Louis in September to profess friendship with the Americans and to promise to restrain the Illinois Potawatomi warriors. Main Poc had spent the summer in western Illinois raiding the scattered settlements and in November lead a raid against the Osage. During the raid, Main Poc was wounded and could not walk or ride. He was ferried down the Missouri
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
and up the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to a village near Portage des Sioux
Portage Des Sioux, Missouri
Portage Des Sioux is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The town sits on the Mississippi River roughly opposite Elsah, Illinois, and is the home of the riverside shrine of Our Lady of the Rivers. The population was 367 at the 2007 census. The city was founded in 1799 by...
, where he spent the winter of 1810-11. In April, the recovered Main Poc moved his village to Crow Prairie at the northern end of Lake Peoria. From this new village, Main Poc lead raids against the American settlements and skirmished with the militia units. A delegation was sent to the Peoria villages of Gomo in an attempt to end the raids. Main Poc did not attend and the Peoria villages had not joined with Main Pocs warriors in the raids. The expedition returned south without gaining a cessation to the attacks. Instead, Main Poc journeyed north to the Rock River Sac and then to the Kickpoo villages on the Kankakee. Obtaining their allegiance, Main Poc traveled to the British post at Amherstburg (across from Detroit) to spend the winter of 1811 in Canada.
Harrison marched on Tippecanoe during August 1812 in an attempt to end the raids on the Illinois frontier. His victory ended the Indian Confederacy. But, Main Poc remained in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, sending Wabameme to the Potawatomi villages around Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
preparing them for war. In March 1812, an American delegation traveled the Illinois River inviting the Potawatomi to Cahokia for a council of peace. The council achieved little as the chiefs hostile to the Americans, like Main Poc did not attend. By July, word was received among the warriors following Tecumseh that Main Poc was returning from the British with kegs of powder. Plans went forward for the destruction of Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of...
. By this time, Main Poc was considered by the American military as second only to Tecumseh in influence among the pro-British warriors. Main Poc spend the summer on southern Lake Michigan, but his influence was felt as his messengers continued to counsel war among the Potawatomi villages. Main Poc and Shabbona were in Canada at the siege of Detroit, while Blackbird and Mad Sturgeon lead the attack (August 15, 1812) on Fort Dearborn (Chicago). On August 5, the Potawatomi led by Tecumseh turned back the American’s at the Battle of Brownstown
Battle of Brownstown
The Battle of Brownstown was an early skirmish in the War of 1812. Although United States forces outnumbered the British forces 8 to 1, they lost the battle and suffered substantial losses while the enemy was almost untouched....
. Four days later, Caldwell and Main Poc at Monguaga ambushed another column sent to relieve Detroit.
Many Potawatomi joined with Tecumseh in support of the British as they retreated from Detroit into the southern Canada. They were defeated at the Battle of the Thames (October 5, 1813). Main Poc had remained near Detroit, planning to attack Governor Harrison’s supply columns. When the American Brigadier General Duncan McArthur, stationed to protect Detroit and the supply route, extended a truce to the nations of the lower lakes. Harrison at first refused to let the Potawatomi join. He relented to insure peace on the frontier and Topinbee, Five Medals
Five Medals
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...
and Main Poc signed for the Potawatomi.
American domination
The summer of 1814 witnessed the Treaty of GreenvilleTreaty 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...
, where the pro-American chiefs of the Potawatomi attended. Main Poc and the other pro-British chiefs (Moran, Mad Sturgeon, and Chebass) stayed away. Main Poc moved to a new village on the Yellow River
Yellow River (Indiana)
The Yellow River is a tributary of the Kankakee River in northern Indiana in the United States. Via the Kankakee and Illinois rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of...
(between Knox and Plymouth. From here, raids were made against Fort Harrison (Terre Haute). McArthur was instructed in August 1814 to raise a militia force and deal with the Potawatomi. Unable to raise a large enough force, no action was taken. In 1815, the news arrived that the Treaty of Ghent
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent , signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
had ended the conflict between the Americans and the British. Main Poc was at Mackinac when the British commander notified the Indian allies of the peace treaty. When invited to Spring Wells (near Detroit), to sit in a council of peace, Main Poc refused to attend. As peace came to the frontier, the mixed-blood tribal members were taking on leadership roles. Main Poc died in 1816, furthering the trend to leaders who were comfortable in both the Potawatomi villages and the American trading companies.