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Monday, January 28, 2002

Staff Editorial

By Brian J. Evans
Examiner Staff Writer

"My son, you are now flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. By the ceremony which was performed this day, every drop of white blood was washed out of your veins; you are taken into the Shawnee nation and initiated into a warrior sept; you are adopted into a great family and now received with great seriousness and solemnity in this room and presence and place of a great man."

- a Shawnee Indian in Allan Eckert's nationally acclaimed books, The Frontiersmen and Blue Jacket War Chief of the Shawnees.

It is this sort of writing, not the phlegmatic writing of history textbooks, that brings history itself back to life.

It was this story, the adventure of a young white boy turned Shawnee warrior, that made so many want to learn more.

But, it was also this story that somehow sparked a controversy; a controversy that overshadows history itself.

Today, the more significant events in the life of Blue Jacket have taken the back seat to a dispute concerning the color of his skin.

And that is sad - sad that the color of a man's skin can take precedence over the role he played in history.

This comment, "sad-sad ….color…skin…history." leads the reader totally astray. The players in this event are not just historians, genealogists and authors, but real descendants of the two men discussed here. The descendants are the sufferers of this matter, because it is their heritage that has been bandied about and slammed to the ground and you should have so stated. There is no question that the Blue Jacket/Marmaduke Van Swearingen saga has, in itself, become a part of history and has earned a place in the heritage of the Blue Jacket and Swearingen families. However, Indian blood is most sacred to the Shawnee Tribe and the Blue Jacket family. For the last 119 years, unscrupulous authors have robbed the Blue Jackets of their Shawnee blood. Now you tell me it is "sad"!

The controversy surrounding the life of Blue Jacket has evolved into a bitter, begrudging "war" fought mostly by historians, genealogists and authors. To my knowledge, no author has written on this topic without some sort of criticism for taking one side or another.

By no means is anyone perfect.

It is also my knowledge that no authors intentionally desire to misrepresent the truth - whether or not they are inclined to believe things happened one way or another. Many authors knowingly misrepresent the truth!

The true interest in research should always be to discover the truth about the past. That should be the only motivating factor.

Metaphorically speaking, the life of Blue Jacket is a puzzle, a mystery if you will. For decades historians, authors and genealogists have worked tirelessly to put that puzzle together.

Today, there are still missing pieces.

While I do not consider myself an expert, much of the information presented in this series stems from the research of those who I do consider experts. This is a presentation of their findings and mine.

It is up to date with what has recently been uncovered.

However, as you read this, more evidence is being uncovered. In this modern controversy, concerning the color of Blue Jacket's skin, there is far more to the issue than meets the eye. A problem journalistic articles have, as this article displays, is that there is not time and space to document statements. There is no chastisement of any kind implied here, that is just the way it is. I will include some references as we go. As time goes by, you probably will have many conversations about this good work of yours and being able to scholarly defend it is another feather in your cap. As a lifelong career scientist, everything I do in my business requires scrupulous documentation. Guess’s are frowned upon by the investment community, but informed analyses are appreciated. This carries over into my study of Shawnee history.

Although little was known or written about the Shawnee warrior, from sparse documentation historians are able to determine basic facts about his remarkable career as a Shawnee warrior.

What really happened will never be fully understood. It can be interpreted and interpretations will always vary in this dispute. When it comes to history, one can argue something happened one way or another. Hopefully, that argument helps bring out the truth.

I encourage those who read this series, to follow it to the end, where the essence of the story unravels.

I gave this series the title Blue Jacket: A warrior in shadows, because Blue Jacket's life is so sparsely documented and he has been misunderstood in more ways than one.

Among all the various arguments about Blue Jacket, I have been able to ascertain one constant in all the works depicting the famous Shawnee war chief.

The legend of Blue Jacket is like no other.

May his legacy live on ...

Special thanks to: John Sugden, Robert Van Trees, Richard Pangburn, Helen Tanner, Carlyle Hinshaw, Donna Spencer, Roger Nimps, Jerry Winkleman, Jim Zehringerr and Hal Sherman - among others.

(Brian J. Evans is a staff writer at the Examiner and may be reached at 592-3060, extension 118, and at mailto:bevans@examiner.org)

Monday, January 28, 2002

By Brian J. Evans
Examiner Staff Writer

For some people, it's hard to imagine; to visualize the indigenous natives of the Northwest Territory when western civilization began inhabiting its wild countryside. Through historical books, people are able to catch a brief glimpse of the way these natives lived and how they fought to preserve their heritage.

For about nine years, one remarkable native, Chief Blue Jacket, a warrior of the Shawnee Indians, made his home in the area where Bellefontaine is located today. During that time, and after, he led a conglomeration of Indian tribes into several battles against white expansion. Today, because of sparse documentation, the life of this historical figure is obscure. His importance on the battlefield has been underestimated and his background has been misunderstood. Regardless, Blue Jacket was one of the most successful Shawnee warriors. Long after his death, numerous historical authors have written about the renowned chief. Stories about Blue Jacket have been published countless times. Many of these publications have depicted Blue Jacket as a young white captive turned Shawnee war chief. The story of this white captive has made it to Ripley's Believe it or Not! and Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story.

According to the tale, Blue Jacket's name was Marmaduke or "Duke" Van Swearingen. While out hunting with his brother during the Revolutionary War, Marmaduke was captured by a group of Shawnee Indians at the age of 17. After a short period of time, the Indians accepted him as one of their own. Soon, the young man became their leader, eventually even killing his own brother in battle.

Or so one side of the story claims ... Since the publication of local author Allan Eckert's nationally acclaimed Blue Jacket: War Chief of the Shawnees, in 1967, no, 1969 the disputed life of Blue Jacket has developed into a controversy. As genealogist and author Richard Pangburn wrote it in his book, Indian Blood II, "Allan W. Eckert made the 'fact not fiction' claim about Marmaduke Van Swearingen and started a war - the Blue Jacket war." Mr. Pangburn has since recanted that statement and now believes "that it was (genealogist and author Robert) Van Trees who started and continues this war fought by Van Trees and now ( Blue Jacket descendent Carlyle) Hinshaw against all books and plays which do not see history the way they do. "This controversy or so called "war" began in Ohio and has spread across the continent, even into Europe. It's an academic issue that many take personally. Here, I unequivocally state that Robert Van Trees and Carlyle Hinshaw only demand that statements about Blue Jacket and Marmaduke Swearingen be supported by factual information whenever possible. A war does not exist and personally, we only have interest in truth in reporting. You should know this full well. I will defend my Blue Jacket heritage against all comers!

Long after Marmaduke Swearingen and/or Blue Jacket died, historians, genealogists and descendants of the two men, have spent decades researching the tale, finding evidence that Marmaduke Van Swearingen and the famous Shawnee war chief Blue Jacket weren't the same man. Today, numerous historians and writers on the subject agree - they weren't the same person. They say Blue Jacket wasn't even a white man. He was born and raised a Shawnee Indian.

The story of him being a white man can be traced back to a single publication. From there, after several other publications, it snowballed into what some historians consider a great misconception. "I agree that stories of white captives identifying with Indians, though not uncommon in the late 18th Century, have interest for us," commented historical biographer John Sugden from his home in England. "But then the real story, Blue Jacket's story, of an Indian who learned much about the whites, far more than most of his native contemporaries, is also unusual."

Dr. Sugden, who in 2000 published what several historians consider a more accurate book on Blue Jacket, Blue Jacket: Warrior of the Shawnees, has done extensive research on the Shawnee chief and has worked with other historians to straighten out the facts. A graduate of Leeds, Lancaster and Sheffield Universities in England, Dr. Sugden has a doctorate in modern history. He has conducted research in more than 50 archives worldwide and written 60 articles and book reviews in various academic journals and periodicals. He wrote Tecumseh's Last Stand, 1985; Tecumseh, A Life, 1998; and Blue Jacket, 2000. His awards include the 1999 Distinguished Book Award of the Society for Military History for Tecumseh, A Life and the 2001 Ohioana Book Award for Blue Jacket.

"We are not talking about some backwoods yokel here. Blue Jacket was a remarkably sophisticated character. To defend the Ohio country he and his associates had to unite fragmented native communities and manage armies of warriors, rather than the usual small war parties. He always had an eye for what he could borrow from the whites, for what might be useful to him," Dr. Sugden added.Today, many ask what is the truth about Blue Jacket? Brian, here is an important point to be made regarding Dr. Sugden. During the time of Blue Jacket, England literally owned much of North America east of the Mississippi. Events were documented by the Brits and copies of records sent to the King. As a result, there are papers in English archives that are not present or have not survived in the United States. Sugden, living there, has a background that can be envied by American authors. .

The truth is still being uncovered. The truth about the past, as Mr. Pangburn put it, is "just this great big jigsaw puzzle. We put it together one piece at a time, try pieces on for size, turn them this way and that. The puzzle is never complete because one puzzle just leads to other puzzles.

"Blue Jacket was probably born in Pennsylvania about 1740, although some argue he was born several years before that. He was originally called Sepettekenathe or "Big Rabbit." Sometime before 1778, in accordance with Shawnee tradition, he adopted the adult name Wayapiersenwah or "Whirlpool," says Blue Jacket descendant Carlyle Hinshaw. By as early as 1754, Here is the first published reference to Blue Jacket and it is very important to his and Shawnee history. On Tuesday, January 29, 1752, Capt. Christopher Gist, exploring down river on the Ohio for the Ohio Company, came upon the Shawnees at the mouth of the Scioto River. Shortly thereafter, the Ohio Company began trading up the Scioto. In their trading records of 1754, Blue Jacket’s transactions are listed and next to his, those of Silver Heels. (Bailey, Kenneth, P., 1938, The Ohio Company of Virginia and the Westward Movement, 1748-1792, Ph. D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles). Blue Jacket and Silver Heels had a long association as tribal leaders. Silver Heels was a brother to Cornstalk and the Grenadier Squaw. When minister David Jones "found" Blue Jacket in the winter of 1772-1773, (Jones, Rev. David, Reprint 1971 by Arno Press. ISBN 0-405-022820-2, A JOURNAL of Two Visits made to some Nations of INDIANS on the west side of the River OHIO in the years of 1772 and 1773, BURLINGTON, printed and sold by ISAAC Collins, M.DCC.LC|XXIV, Blue Jacket’s Town, Cornstalk’s Town and Grenadier Squaw’s Town were congregated near Chillicothe (the chief Shawnee settlement). In 1774, Cornstalk led Indians, mainly Shawnee, against Lord Dunmore’s troops at the Battle of Point Pleasant where the Kanawha River empties into the Ohio. Losing, Cornstalk was able to negotiate a peace at Camp Charlotte, just east of Grenadier Squaw’s Town. he was generally known to both Indians and whites as Blue Jacket. He likely belonged to the Pekowi division of the Shawnees and by as early as 1772, he was a war chief of the Upper Scioto Shawnees, where he had a village along Deer Creek.- From about 1777 until General Benjamin Logan's defeat in 1786, his town was located where Bellefontaine is today.

As the principal Shawnee war chief, he led a zealous intertribal confederacy that defended the Ohio country during the wars of 1786-95. In the defeats of Harmar and St. Clair, he was a premier leader. After the defeat at Fallen Timbers in 1794, he helped set up the Treaty of Greenville for General Wayne. Thereafter, he influenced Tecumseh and the Prophet.

There are no contemporary records of the veteran war chief's death. The widely accepted date of his passing is between 1808 and 1810, in a village by the Detroit River.

Because few Indians could resist Euro-American forces or inflict losses as successfully as Blue Jacket did, his record stands out today.

Few Indians were able to influence such large numbers of Indians belonging to tribes or groups other than their own. His prowess as a warrior rested on his comprehensive connections and familiarity with whites. He lived a sophisticated lifestyle, building substantial, well-equipped houses. His children were educated in white schools and learned English. He even owned a store. Blue Jacket was among the first of his people to raise stock and build houses similar to those of the whites. He slept in a four-poster bed, dining with silver cutlery. He was a trader, who would buy goods in Detroit then sell them to the Indians for profit. He was an intelligent, strong entrepreneur and diplomat and was one of the greatest Shawnee war chiefs.

It was over two centuries ago, that this legendary warrior walked the thick, wooded frontier where Bellefontaine and numerous other towns in Ohio are located today. And now, because of a controversial story, his presence is still felt by many. "Blue Jacket's achievements as a great warrior and diplomat stand whether he was white or Indian. Few men on the frontier at that time, of whatever race, could boast such a career," Dr. Sugden concluded. Tomorrows article will examine the first publication indicating Blue Jacket was Marmaduke Van Swearingen.

By Brian J. Evans
Examiner Staff Writer