Episode 398: The Shawnee-Dunmore War, 1774

After the Seven Years’ War (1754-1763), Great Britain instituted the Proclamation Line of 1763. The Line sought to create a lasting peace in British North America by limiting British colonial settlement east of the Appalachian Mountains.

In 1768, colonists and British Indian agents negotiated the Treaties of Fort Stanwix and Hard Labour to extend the boundary line further west. In 1774, the Shawnee-Dunmore War broke out as colonists attempted to push even further west.

Fallon Burner and Russell Reed, two of the three co-managers of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s American Indian Initiative, join us to investigate the Shawnee-Dunmore War and what this war can show us about Indigenous life, warfare, and sovereignty during the mid-to-late eighteenth century.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Ben Franklin’s World is a production of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios.

Episode Summary

During our investigation, Russell and Fallon reveal the geography of the Shawnee-Dunmore War and information about the different Native Nations involved in the war; The tensions, causes, and moving treaty lines that prompted the Shawnee-Dunmore War to break out; And, details about the Shawnee-Dunmore War, the skirmishes and battles it entailed, and the resolution of the war in the Treaty of Camp Charlotte on October 19, 1774.

What You’ll Discover

Geography of the Shawnee-Dunmore War
Native Nations and colonies involved in the Shawnee-Dunmore War
Causes of the Shawnee-Dunmore War of 1774
John Murray, Fourth Earl of Dunmore
The Proclamation Line of 1763
British promises of land around Pittsburgh
Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 1768
Treaty of Hard Labour, 1768
Naming the Shawnee-Dunmore War
The Shawnee Nation
Competition for land in the Ohio River Valley
Yellow Creek Massacre, April 30, 1774
Logan, Mingo leader
Logan’s attacks and Virginia’s mobilization
Shawnee entrance into the Shawnee-Dunmore War
Indigenous guerilla warfare
British brute force military tactics
The Battle of Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774
The Treaty of Camp Charlotte, October 19, 1774
Legacy of the Shawnee-Dunmore War

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Time Warp Question

Imagine if Lord Dunmore had pursued a diplomatic approach rather than a military one to address Virginians’ tensions with the Shawnee and Mingo tribes in 1774. How might a peaceful resolution have altered the course of events and their impact on colonial expansion and the American Revolution?