Interviewees:
-
Katherine Hermes
- Professor Emeritus, Central Connecticut State University
- Publisher of Connecticut Explored
Connecticut's Native peoples—among them the Mohegan, Mashantucket and Eastern Pequot, Quinnipiac, Wangunk, Tunxis, and Schaghticoke—were among the Patriot cause's most enthusiastic supporters, enlisting in proportionally large numbers in a fully integrated army. Many had been educated at Moor's Charity School or Joseph Johnson's school in Farmington, and many belonged to the Brothertown movement, founded by Mohegan minister Samson Occom to create a Christian Native community on Oneida lands in New York. Captain Daniel Nimham organized an Indian Corps under the Continental Army. It was largely destroyed at the Battle of Kingsbridge in August 1778. Judith Lines of Windham, of Native descent, served as a camp follower and laundress, contracted smallpox, and left a rich pension record. Despite their service, Connecticut's Native peoples lost reservation lands after the war, and many joined the Brothertown migration to Oneida and eventually Wisconsin, where a significant community still resides.
