Moluntha or Malunthy was a chief of the Shawnee

Shawnee

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...

 people following the death of Cornstalk

Cornstalk

Cornstalk was a prominent leader of the Shawnee nation just prior to the American Revolution. His name, Hokoleskwa, translates loosely into "stalk of corn" in English, and is spelled Colesqua in some accounts...

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Struggle for the Old Northwest

Moluntha fought at the Siege of Boonesborough

Siege of Boonesborough

The Siege of Boonesborough took place in September 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. The attack on the Kentucky settlement of Boonesborough was led by Chief Blackfish, a Shawnee leader allied to the British. Months before the battle, Blackfish had captured and adopted Daniel Boone, the...

 on the side of the British in 1778. In 1786, threatened with war by Richard Butler

Richard Butler (general)

Richard Butler was an officer in the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, who later died fighting American Indians in Ohio.-Early life:...

 and George Rogers Clark

George Rogers Clark

George Rogers Clark was a soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war...

, he was among the Shawnee leaders who signed the Treaty of Fort Finney

Treaty of Fort Finney

The Treaty of Fort Finney, also known as the Treaty at the Mouth of the Great Miami, was signed in 1786 between the United States and Shawnee leaders after the American Revolutionary War, ceding parts of the Ohio country to the United States. The treaty was reluctantly signed by the Shawnees, and...

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Death

Immediately before Logan's Raid

Logan's Raid

Logan's Raid was a military expedition early in the Northwest Indian War. In the fall of 1786, under orders from George Rogers Clark, General Benjamin Logan led a force of Federal soldiers and mounted Kentucky militia against several Shawnee towns in the Ohio Country along the Mad River, protected...

 commenced, Benjamin Logan

Benjamin Logan

Benjamin Logan was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Shelby County, Kentucky. As colonel of the Kentucky County militia of Virginia during the American Revolutionary War, he was second-in-command of militia in Kentucky. Logan was a leader in Kentucky's efforts to become a state...

 ordered his men not to kill any of the Shawnee that might choose to surrender. During the battle, Moluntha was cornered by William Lytle and surrendered to him. Moluntha was brought into the custody of Hugh McGary, and Logan reiterated his order that the prisoners not be harmed. McGary, who was bitter about his defeat at the Battle of Blue Licks

Battle of Blue Licks

The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis's famous surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east...

, asked Moluntha, "Were you at the defeat of the Blue Licks?" The chief misunderstood the question and answered in the affirmative. McGary immediately killed Moluntha with an axe. Logan relieved McGary of command and court-martialed him.

Moluntha had a son, Spemica-Lawba, who survived the raid. He was raised by Benjamin Logan, and eventually became known as Captain Logan

Captain Logan

Captain Logan was a scout during the War of 1812, serving under General William Henry Harrison. There exist two apparently conflicting theories regarding Captain Logan's identity:* Was Captain Logan's first name James or John?...

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