John Deseronto facts for kids

Captain John Deserontyon (also known as Captain John or Deseronto) was a Mohawk war chief. He was born around the 1740s and died in 1811. Deserontyon was an important ally of the British during the American Revolutionary War. After the war, he led his people to new land in what is now Ontario, Canada. They settled at the Bay of Quinte. This area is known today as Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. The town of Deseronto, Ontario is named after him.

Early Life of Deserontyon

John Deseronto (whose Mohawk name was Odeserundiye, meaning "The Lightning has Struck") was likely born in the Mohawk Valley in the 1740s. He went to a colonial school and learned about European customs.

Deserontyon fought alongside the British in several wars. In 1759, he was part of the French and Indian War. This war was a North American part of the Seven Years' War between Britain and France. He fought in the Battle of Fort Niagara. The next year, he was at the Battle of Quebec. He also helped capture Montreal with Amherst. In 1764, he joined an attack on Fort Detroit. This happened at the end of Pontiac's Rebellion.

Deserontyon in the American Revolution

When the American Revolution began, Deserontyon was a chief of the Mohawk people. He lived at Fort Hunter, New York, where he had a nice house and land. He chose to support the British and the loyalist Johnson family.

In 1775, he went with Guy Johnson to Canada. The next year, Deserontyon returned to the Mohawk Valley. He met with Sir John Johnson and helped him escape to Montreal in May 1776.

In July 1777, Deserontyon led a group of Mohawk warriors. They checked the defenses of Fort Stanwix. They attacked a work party outside the fort. Deserontyon reported that the fort was well defended. He took part in the Battle of Oriskany and the siege of the fort. After the British retreated, Deserontyon was shot and seriously wounded.

He then went to Fort Hunter to prepare his village to leave. On September 4, he arrived at General John Burgoyne's camp. He brought about 150 people from Fort Hunter. They had left their homes after rebels attacked the Mohawk Upper Castle. Deserontyon's group had to fight through American soldiers to reach Burgoyne's camp. The Fort Hunter Mohawks then settled near Montreal. The British supported them in exchange for their help in the war.

Deserontyon continued to be active in the war. In 1779, he led scouting parties. In 1780, he joined Sir John Johnson's raid on the Mohawk Valley. He also fought at the Battle of Klock's Field. In 1781, he led many raids into the Mohawk Valley. His warriors destroyed mills, took cattle, and captured prisoners. In 1782, Deserontyon and Captain Isaac Hill destroyed a mill at Little Falls. They also took some prisoners.

After the War

After the American Revolution, Deserontyon and Joseph Brant met with Governor Frederick Haldimand of Canada. They talked about the Mohawk people losing their land in New York. Haldimand promised to give the Mohawk new land. This land was near the Bay of Quinte, on the north shore of Lake Ontario. This area is now in Ontario, Canada.

Joseph Brant decided he wanted to settle on the Grand River instead. But Deserontyon chose to stay at the Bay of Quinte. Haldimand bought and gave the Mohawk a large piece of land there. About 200 Mohawk people, mostly from the Lower Castle, settled with Deserontyon. This place is now called the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Deserontyon personally received money, land, and a yearly payment for his losses.

The Canadian government also arranged for the Mohawk of the Upper Castle to settle at the Grand River. This area became known as the Six Nations Reserve.

In 1797, Deserontyon and Joseph Brant went to New York. They met with state leaders to discuss Mohawk land claims. They agreed to give up Mohawk land claims in New York for a small amount of money. However, the United States Congress never approved this agreement. Later, Native American nations argued that states could not make such land deals. Only the federal government could.

Deserontyon died on January 7, 1811. He passed away at the Mohawk settlement on the Bay of Quinte in Upper Canada.

Legacy

• The town of Deseronto, Ontario, is named in his honor. His grandson, John Culbertson, inherited Deserontyon's personal land. He then started selling parts of it to encourage the town to grow. In 1995, this land was part of a land claim called the Culbertson Tract. The government agreed to discuss this claim in 2003. The case was still being worked out in 2013.