American Allies Further Reading British Allies: A First Nations Perspective The Six Nations of the Iroquois The Creeks The Battle at the Villere Plantation

A First Nations Perspective The U.S. did not have many native allies since most First Nations associated the American government with an intense pressure to adopt the homesteading lifestyle, if not the outright extermination of all native people. Yet, there were a few notable exceptions. In June of 1813, General Henry Dearborn informed the Iroquois of the New York region that he wanted 150 "young warriors of the Six Nations" to meet him at Fort George on the Niagara frontier. Although they had tried for months to remain neutral, these Iroquois warriors succumbed to American pressure and agreed to help the U.S. troops. This alliance led to the defeat of a British and First Nation force at the Battle of Chippawa. Realizing that their alliance with the Americans had led to the slaughter of many of their Grand River cousins, these Iroquois withdrew from the conflict soonafter. Some Seneca tribes of the Great Lakes region proved more amenable to fighting alongside American soldiers. In July of 1813, Seneca warriors were employed in the defense of Black Rock and Buffalo. Several nations from the southern U.S., including the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee and pro-American Creeks also fought alongside U.S. forces in 1813 and 1814. As long as federal agents kept much-needed supplies flowing into their homelands, these native warriors agreed to join the Americans in their two-pronged war in the South - against other hostile First Nations and against the British. Most of these First Nations and American alliances were short lived. Native peoples became increasingly distrustful in light of America's insatiable appetite for land, and the increasingly severe restrictions placed on them in the wake of this expansion.