Appomattoc facts for kids

The Appomattoc (also spelled Appamatuck) were a historic Native American tribe in Virginia. They spoke a language from the Algonquian family. Their home was along the lower Appomattox River. This area is now Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Chesterfield, and Dinwiddie Counties in southeast Virginia.

The Appomattoc were part of the Powhatan Confederacy. This was a group of about 30 tribes led by Chief Powhatan. They controlled a large area known as Tenakomakah, which is now Tidewater Virginia. The Appomattoc were very close to Chief Powhatan's family. They were one of the first tribes he ruled before forming his big Confederacy.

The Appomattoc Tribe's Story

Early Encounters

The Appomattoc first met English explorers on May 8, 1607. A group led by Christopher Newport found one of their villages. This village was at the mouth of the Appomattox River. An old map from 1608 called it "Mattica." The English saw a Native American warrior holding a bow and arrow. He also held a pipe with tobacco. This showed the English that the tribe could choose war or peace. The English explorers soon settled about 30-40 miles away. Their new home was on Jamestown Island.

On May 26, Newport returned to Mattica with 24 more English colonists. The Appomattoc welcomed them with food and tobacco. Newport noticed the village was surrounded by fields of corn. The Native Americans grew this corn. A female leader, called a weroansqua, named Oppussoquionuske, led the village. Even though they welcomed the English, some Appomattoc warriors joined attacks on the English fort. These attacks stopped on June 13, when Chief Powhatan called for peace.

John Smith met the weroansqua of Appomattoc again. This was in December 1607, when he was captured. She was asked to wash his hands. He also saw her in February 1608. Chief Powhatan told her to serve him water, turkey, and flatbread.

Life and Challenges

In late 1608, John Smith and Ralph Waldo visited the Appomattoc village. They needed corn. They traded copper for corn. Smith reported that the tribe had 60 warriors that year. Some historians think this means their total population was about 220 people. A larger Appomattoc village was nearby. It was on the north bank of Wighwhippoc Creek, now called Swift Creek. This village was led by a male chief, called a weroance, named Coquonasum. He was the brother of Oppussoquionuske.

Relations between the English and Native Americans worsened in 1609. This led to the First Anglo-Powhatan War by 1610. Around Christmas 1611, the English took action. An Appomattoc ambush had happened a year before. So, Sir Thomas Dale seized Oppussoquionuske's village. He also took the nearby farmland. He renamed the area "New Bermudas." This settlement became the town of Bermuda Hundred in 1614.

After fighting started again in 1622, colonists attacked. Captain Nathaniel West led them. In August 1623, they destroyed Coquonasum's village. They forced the people to leave. The remaining Appomattoc moved their settlement. They went farther up Swift Creek. They also moved a bit south to Old Town Creek. This is in present-day Colonial Heights, Virginia. Colonists attacked them again in 1627.

In 1635, Captain Henry Fleet drove the Appomattoc from the upper Swift Creek Valley. Fleet had lived with Native Americans for four years. He spoke their Algonquian Powhatan language well. He built a small fort on a hill. This hill overlooked the falls on the north bank. Today, Virginia State University is on this site in Ettrick.

Changes and Assimilation

The Powhatan Confederacy was finally defeated by the English. This happened during the second major Anglo-Powhatan War (1644–46). The Confederacy broke apart. All the tribes, including the Appomattoc, then became loyal to the King of England. They were no longer under the Pamunkey Emperor. By this time, the Appomattoc lived mainly at Ronhorak (modern Rohoic Creek). They also lived at Matoks, on the opposite bank of the Appomattox. This was the start of the "Occaneechi Trail." This trail was a long-used Native American path. It went all the way to South Carolina.

In 1645, the Virginia Colony built Fort Henry. It was near Ronhorak. After a treaty in 1646, this fort marked the border of white settlement. This border lasted until 1691. The Appomattoc and other southern Powhatan tribes were separated from the northern ones. This was because a large area of English settlement was between them. Fort Henry was the only place where Native Americans could cross into white land. It was also the only place where white people could go into Native American land. At first, Native Americans had to wear a special cloth badge. This showed they were allowed in white territory. If they didn't, they could be harmed. In 1662, this law changed. They had to show a copper badge or be arrested. In the early 1900s, a 17th-century copper badge was found. It was inscribed with "Appomattock."

Fort Henry was also a starting point for English explorers. In 1650, an Appomattoc guide named Pyancha helped Abraham Wood. He took Wood's group beyond the river's source. In 1671, their weroance Perecuta led Thomas Batts and Robert Fallam. They explored what is now West Virginia. A count in 1669 showed the Appomattoc had 50 bowmen. This means their total population might have been about 150 people.

In 1674, a settler named Batts claimed land west of Matoks. This was beyond the allowed treaty limits. During Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, settlers destroyed the Appomattoc village. The nearby town of Matoaca, Virginia was named after this native village. Perecuta and his tribe were not included in the 1677 Treaty of Middle Plantation. He did sign an addition to the treaty in 1680. More land was claimed by settlers in 1680. This showed the Appomattoc were losing more of their lands.

Although the colony had banned Native American forced labor, Nathaniel Bacon brought it back in 1676. This caused much hardship for the people. Tribes would capture people from their enemies. These captives were then forced to work for colonists in Virginia and further north. The colonial government finally stopped this practice in 1691.

As the Appomattoc population became smaller, they were vulnerable. They faced attacks from enemy tribes from the west. On April 24, 1691, the female leader who followed Perecuta asked the colony for help. She wanted her people to live among the English colonists for protection. In 1705, Robert Beverley, Jr. wrote about the Appomattoc. He said they were only about seven families. They lived on the land of William Byrd II at Westover Plantation. This was the last time they were mentioned as a separate tribe. Historians believe they became extinct by 1722. Their descendants likely joined other tribes or became part of Virginia colonial society.

The names "Appomattox" and "Mattox" were sometimes used for another group. This group was called the Matchotic. They were other tribes from the Powhatan Confederacy. They lived mainly in the Northern Neck region. This area is between the Potomac and Rappahannax rivers. There were historic Matchotic villages in Northumberland and King George's counties.