Cornstalk Cornstalk ( Shawnee : Hokoleskwa ) ( ca . 1720 – November 10 , 1777 ) was a prominent leader of the Shawnee nation just prior to the American Revolution . His name , Hokoleskwa , translates loosely into " stalk of corn " in English , and is spelled Colesqua in some accounts . He was also known as Keigh - tugh - qua and Wynepuechsika . Cornstalk opposed European settlement west of the Ohio River in his youth , but he later became an advocate for peace after the Battle of Point Pleasant . His murder by American militiamen at Fort Randolph during a diplomatic visit in November 1777 outraged both American Indians and Virginians . Biography . Early years . Historians believe he may have been born in present - day Pennsylvania , and with his sister , Nonhelema , moved to the Ohio Country , near present day Chillicothe , when the Shawnee fell back before expanding white settlement . Stories tell of Cornstalk ' s participation in the French and Indian War , though these are probably apocryphal . His alleged participation in Pontiac ' s Rebellion is also unverified , though he did take part in the peace negotiations . Dunmore ' s War . Cornstalk played a central role in Dunmore ' s War of 1774 . After the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix , settlers and land speculators moved into the lands south of the Ohio River in present - day Kentucky . Although the Iroquois had agreed to cede the land , the Shawnee and others had not been present at the Fort Stanwix negotiations . They still claimed Kentucky as their hunting grounds . Clashes soon took place over this . Cornstalk tried unsuccessfully prevent escalation of the hostilities . Attempting to block a Virginian invasion of the Ohio country , Cornstalk led a force of Shawnee and Mingo warriors at the Battle of Point Pleasant . His attack , although ferociously made , was beaten back by the Virginians . Cornstalk retreated and would reluctantly accept the Ohio River as the boundary of Shawnee lands in the Treaty of Camp Charlotte . Cornstalk ' s commanding presence often impressed American colonials . A Virginia officer , Col . Benjamin Wilson , wrote of Cornstock ' s speech to Lord Dunmore at Camp Charlotte in 1774 : " I have heard the first orators in Virginia , Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee , but never have I heard one whose powers of delivery surpassed those of Cornstalk on that occasion . " American Revolution . With the American Revolution began , Cornstalk worked to keep his people neutral . He represented the Shawnee at treaty councils at Fort Pitt in 1775 and 1776 , the first Indian treaties ever negotiated by the United States . Many Shawnees nevertheless hoped to use British aid to reclaim their lands lost to the settlers . By the winter of 1776 , the Shawnee were effectively divided into a neutral faction led by Cornstalk , and militant bands led by men such as Blue Jacket . In the fall of 1777 , Cornstalk made a diplomatic visit to Fort Randolph , an American fort at present - day Point Pleasant , seeking as always to maintain his faction ' s neutrality . Cornstalk was detained by the fort commander , who had decided on his own initiative to take hostage any Shawnees who fell into his hands . When , on November 10 , an American militiaman from the fort was killed nearby by unknown Indians , angry soldiers brutally executed Cornstalk , his son Elinipsico , and two other Shawnees . American political and military leaders were alarmed by the murder of Cornstalk ; they believed he was their only hope of securing Shawnee neutrality . At the insistence of Patrick Henry , the governor of Virginia , Cornstalk ' s killers ( whom Henry called " vile assassins " ) were eventually brought to trial , but since their fellow soldiers would not testify against them , all were acquitted . Cornstalk was originally buried at Fort Randolph . In 1840 his grave was found and the remains were moved to the Mason County Courthouse grounds . In 1954 the courthouse was torn down and he was reburied in Point Pleasant . Legends arose about his dying " curse " being the cause of misfortunes in the area ( later supplanted by local " mothman " stories ) , though no contemporary historical source mentions any such utterance by Cornstalk .