Gelelemend (1737–1811), known to whites as Killbuck or John Killbuck Jr., was a Delaware (Lenape) chief during the American Revolutionary War. His name signifies "a leader." This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about military actions only. ...

Biography

Gelelemend was born near the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania, son of Bemino (John Killbuck Sr.), a renowned war leader of the French and Indian War, and grandson of Netawatwees ("Newcomer"), principal chief of the Delaware. Lehigh River watershed Forest Scene on the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Bemino, known as John Killbuck, Sr, was a renowned medicine man and war leader of the Delaware Indians during the French and Indian War (1754-63). ... Combatants France First Nations allies: * Algonquin * Lenape * Wyandot * Ojibwa * Ottawa * Shawnee Great Britain Iroquois Confederacy American Colonies Strength 3,900 regulars 7,900 militia 2,200 natives (1759) 50,000 regulars and militia (1759) Casualties 3,000 killed, wounded or captured 10,400 killed, wounded or captured The French and... Netawatwees (1678-1776) was a Delaware chief of the Turtle subtribe. ...

At that time, Delaware Indians were members of one of three clans or phratries: turtle, turkey, and wolf. Each division had its own chiefs, councilors, and war captains. The chief of the turtle phratry—the senior clan—served as principal chief of the tribe. In 1774, White Eyes replaced the aged Netawatwees as principal chief, and Gelelemend served as councilor of the turtle clan. With White Eyes and Captain Pipe (war captain of the wolf clan), Gelelemend signed a treaty with the United States in 1778. After the death of White Eyes later that year, Gelelemend became principal chief. A phratry (Greek φρατρία, brotherhood, kinfolk, derived from φρατήρ - brother, see also frater) is an anthropological term for a kinship division consisting of two or more distinct clans which are considered a single unit, but which retain separate indentities within the phratry. ... White Eyes (c. ... Statue of Hopocan (Captain Pipe) in Barberton, Ohio Captain Pipe (Hopocan) was a chief of the Delaware Lenape Indians and a member of the Wolf Clan. ...

However, the Delawares were deeply divided over how to respond to the war, and bands led by Pipe and Buckongahelas broke away from the pro-American leadership of Gelelemend. By 1781, Gelelemend had been forced from power, and he turned against his own people, guiding Colonel Daniel Brodhead in an expedition to destroy the Delaware capital of Coshocton. With a few of his followers, Gelelemend returned with the Americans to Fort Pitt. He had become a man without a country. He remained at Fort Pitt until 1785, always in fear for his life. Buckongahelas (1725?–May 1805) was a Delaware (Lenape) war leader who led his followers against the United States during the American Revolutionary War and again in the Northwest Indian War; in the latter war he helped win the most devastating military victory ever achieved by American Indians against the United... Daniel Brodhead IV (1736-1809) was an American military and political leader during the American Revolutionary War and early days of the republic. ... Coshocton is the county seat in Coshocton County, OhioGR6. ... Fort Pitt refers to two forts: Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, and Fort Pitt, Kent. ...

Long interested in Christianity, Gelelemend joined the Moravian mission at Salem, Ohio in 1788. At the baptism ceremony, he took the name William Henry, after a man who had rescued him during the French and Indian War. He was the most prominent convert in the Christian Munsee community. Gelelemend died in Goshen, Ohio in 1811. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is a monotheistic... A Moravian is a Protestant belonging to a religious movement that originated in Moravia, Czech Republic. ... Salem is a city in Columbiana and Mahoning[1] Counties in the state of Ohio, United States. ... For other men with the same name, see: Wiliam Henry (disambiguation). ... The Christian Munsee were a group of Lenape native American Indians, primarily Munsee, who converted to Christianity, following the teachings of the Moravian missionaries. ... Goshen is an unincorporated community in Goshen Township, in northwest Clermont County, Ohio. ...

Legacy

Many of Gelelemend's descendants used Henry as a middle name, including Katherine Henry Kilbuck, the daughter of John Henry and Edith Kilbuck, in gratitude to Colonel Henry, and Michele Gelelemend Giachetti (b. 1988). John Henry Kilbuck Jr. ...

References

• Jordan, Francis. The Life of William Henry, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1729-1786, Patriot, Military Officer, Inventor of the Steamboat; A Contribution to Revolutionary History. Lancaster, Pa.: New Era Printing Company, 1910. Pp. 7-18.
• Ballard, Jan. "In the Steps of Gelelemend: John Henry Killbuck." Jacobsburg Record (Publication of the Jacobsburg Historical Society). Volume 33, Issue 1 (Winter, 2005): 4-5. [1]