Joseph Brant

This Mohawk war chief and statesman was born in 1742 in Indian territory south of Lake Erie claimed by New France, grew up in the colony of New York , and fought with the British in the Seven Years War. During the American Revolutionary War he served the loyalist cause and participated in the Battle of Long Island. British officers commended his physical stamina, courage under fire and dedication to the cause, and he gained the reputation of an able and inspiring leader. After the war he persuaded the Governor of Canada to grant the Six Nations Indians a huge tract of land along the Grand River near what is now Brantford , Ontario. He died near what is now Burlington, Ontario in 1807.