Cornplanter (c.1736-1836) was a great war captain of the Seneca 
tribe, and member of the Iroquois League. The American Revolution 
split the league, destroying its New York bulwark against the white 
man. Most of the Iroquois, including Cornplanter's tribe, sided with 
the British against the Americans. To eliminate any further Indian 
threat, in 1779 General George Washington dispatched General John 
Sullivan, along with four thousand men, to devastate the Iroquois 
homeland.  Defeated, Cornplanter signed a treaty with the 
government, ceding land to the United States.  This disgraced him in 
the eyes of his people, but made him a favorite of whites-including 
Thomas Jefferson, with whom Cornplanter became friendly.  
Cornplanter was reputed to be about a hundred years old at his 
death. The painting above shows Cornplanter in 1796.