Essay on Joseph Brant

Hello, my name is Joseph Brant and I was born in 1742 on the Ohio River. I’m known for being a powerful and influential Mohawk chief who sided with the British during the American Revolutionary War. I was a Mohawk Loyalist and a Freemason with many ties to the British. My sister Holly married a British agent named William Johnson who was an agent for Indian Affairs. I first met him when he was thirteen. I learned how to speak English and studied Western History at the Indian Charity School in Lebanon, Connecticut. After I left school, I became a translator for the Anglican missionaries. Soon after, I worked with William Johnson as his secretary. I became the most reliable translator in the area. After William died in 1774, I worked for his nephew, Guy Johnson. Tory leaders, John Butler and Walter Butler, and I were to be leaders of the Loyalist resistance and terrorism in northwest New York. Those that were loyal to England were called Loyalists or Tories. There were many Indian tribes that were allied by the British, most especially the Iroquois tribes that occupied the lands from upstate New York to Northern Pennsylvania and extending west of the Great Lakes.
I later went to England to negotiate the return of Mohawk land and in return I offered native support throughout the Revolution. I was very well received by the British who assured me the Indian Loyalists would be used in the Revolutionary War. I returned to America, travelling by night to escape the Americans that were surrounding and guarding the area around Albany, New York. I became the principle war chief of the Mohawks in 1776. The British also appointed me captain of the Allied Native Forces. I tried to get the support of my people, but many natives resented my loyalty to the British crown. People actually accused me of being accountable for dividing my people and destroying the Six Nations. A tradition passed down through the generations that followed said that I promised my